Hiking in Maine: Pleasant Mountain

Route: Bald Peak Trail - Firewarden's Trail - Ledges Trail - Mountain Road
Distance: 4.2 on trail + approx. 1 mile road walk

It was late morning, I was uncharacteristically unprepared in planning, and Erick offered to come hiking with us.  Sounds like an ominous start, right? Erick had done Pleasant in Bridgton (Shawnee Peak Ski Area) with work before so we settled on that but we still had to decide between several ascents.  After missing the turn for one that sounded particularly attractive in a post by Diaries of a Wandering Lobster, I figured we would do Ledges Trail, the most common route, assuming it would be easier to access and find.  Driving down Mountain Road, I pulled into the first hiking lot I saw, making the poor assumption two trailheads to the same peak wouldn't be on the same back road.  I pulled all the way up to see blue markers, thought, "the interwebz said blue markers for this trail, it must be it (since I couldn't remember the name)" and I parked.

Trailhead

The Loon Echo Land Trust has handy map brochures at the start of the trail and I quickly realized we were on a totally different one; we were on Bald Peak Trail.  Erick said we were already hiking and if the grade was about the same, let's just stick with it.  Feet gained/distance looked similar enough so we continued on, passing utterly dehydrated stream beds.  Sorry pups.

Sage, upset she can't get down to a pool of water with the others

The day was warm but the footing was good so minimal extra effort had to be applied to going upwards and I was quite happy with the mistakes made that landed us there. It was quite like a state park nature trail with elevation.  There was also a nice balance between level ground and inclines.

It got steeper after the junction for Sue's Way and we utilized some interesting wooden steps I had never seen before on trails.

As we closed in on the top of the ridge (along which Big Bald Peak lies further down according to the map), there was a one-rock scramble that most of us went around but Sage decided to (try to) go straight up.  No dice for the young adventurer.  She settled for getting me tangled in a tree instead when I led her to the side path.  A couple more slabs and we reached the ridge.

Once there, it took me a second to understand the handful of people rotating around in the shrubs, nearly everyone was blueberry picking.  Millions of perfect, tiny, Maine blueberries everywhere.  I was surprised and delighted, as were Ty and Tango.  We made our way towards the saddle between Bald and Pleasant slowly and un-purposefully.  Our attention had shifted almost entirely to picking.  At times we found ourselves waiting for the dogs to finish before moving on.  The diversion gave us the break and motivation for Erick to agree to a another mile and change over to the main summit.

Redefining "pickers"

Boss lady watching us pick

Erick pointing out a good patch to the dogs

Between the two was a lovely ridgewalk like many I've been on and almost sand-like trails at times.  We passed through another open space that was likely the actual summit of Big Bald Peak. Near the junction with the Firewarden's Trail that would take us to the summit was a hemlock grove (I believe, I am the shame of arborists and naturalists everywhere!) that blocked out some of those pesky Fahrenheits.

Upon ascending and reaching the Firewarden's trail, the trail leveled and widened.  We quickly caught our first glimpse of the fire tower and reached it moments later.

The summit is of the open and ledgy with gorgeous views - type I've come to seek out and it didn't disappoint.  Truthfully, I'd been wanting to hike Pleasant for awhile and when I finally got the chance, it was even better than expected: outstanding views and a little more of  challenge than I was giving it credit for.

We decided to head down the Ledges Trail to mix things up, knowing we would have a mile-ish of a road walk at the end.  The ledge-y, scenic portion of this trail is phenomenal.  So fun to go down, it must be even more fun to go up the slabs.  Made me rethink my choice in tread-less toe shoe footwear when being pulled down by an adolescent Carolina Dog but it was excellent practice in control and balance!

As we entered the woods, the trail was much like the other in that the footing was excellent.  This is another catch-up report and I don't recall much detail about the descent except the smile on my face so it must've been nice in an easy, "being pulled by this puppy isn't going to kill me" kind of way.  We didn't pass any water, nor any spots that looked like there would be in wetter months.  The Ledges Trail makes quite a few turns, some sharp, and has a handful of lovingly built staircases before the grade evens towards the end.

When it did level out, I knew the day was nearly done.  There was a trailhead sign then sharp drop to the road with parking on the other side.  The parking is merely a pulloff and is easier to spot than the trail sign.  Not much to report from then on, as it was only a road walk.  We saw a deer and I pounced on Ty, knowing her collar clip would pop if she charged, and contemplated what would've happened if that doe had been on the trail 30 minutes before....

But to end on a positive, bigger perspective note: this peak is really great.  I understand why it is allegedly so popular (and has been branded "family friendly") and grateful we somehow got there at a quieter time. The blueberries are delight and I've marked my calendar for early August of next year!  The trails we used had excellent footing but I imagine they become as dangerous as wet rocks after the rain.  There was a lot of loose dirt on the ascent that will get very slippery with nothing in the trail to provide a stop or traction.  The pups were quite happy, it was a great hike for newbie Sage (who has since been adopted!), and it was particularly "old man friendly" (as we've taken to calling Tango) except for the lack of running water.  I consider it comparable to peaks like Mount Major, Welch-Dickey, and Burnt Meadow Mountain (for which I still need to produce a write-up for).  The summit is open with plenty of room for many visitors with some nice seating on the rocks near the ledges (which aren't too steep or scary for worry) and the views are, hmm, well, I think I said "gorgeous" earlier.  My favorite aspect was that usually, we're either in the mountains or quite far from them so to see the Whites rise up a short distance away over Kezar Pond (among others) and the Freyburg area was a treat.  We will certainly be back!

A little taste of the Presi's: Low's Bald Spot

Route: Old Jackson Road - Madison Gulf Trail - side path (out and back)
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,050 feet
Duration: Longer than book time when the views are that good! (book time 2hr45min)

By far, the longest time it's taken me to write up a trip report but for such a great a little hike, it was worth plugging through!  Being that this hike was awhile ago now, I'll provide a simple description for hikers considering it.

Low's Bald Spot is a fantastic and strangely quiet viewpoint on the western side of Mount Washington, minutes off of the Auto Road, providing some super cool views.  In the days leading up to the hike, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do for foster pup Sage's first hike and spotted the suggestion on my AMC White Mountains National Forest map.  Instantly sold on the idea, I messaged Hannah and she agreed to come along for the short, fairly easy trek.

waiting to go!

Excited for her first hike!

Good start on the views!

It begins at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (read: start early!).  I was feeling especially anti-social that morning and parked in (what looked like) the last spot at the end of the overflow lot.  Later, someone wedged a Corolla next to me and some little $%&$ behind me, making me extremely grateful Hannah was there to guide me in backing out.  Come on people, show some courtesy and foresight!

NOT cool!  As the "driveway" narrowed, people continued to line
the outer edge. 

Back to my happy place... mere steps onto the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, Old Jackson Road departs and the chaos of summer hikers not only subsides but all but disappears.  For awhile we tramped on at a brisk pace over relatively flat terrain.

Bridge over nothing - only some drinking puddles
this time of year

The trail soon widened and the incline was more moderate with even better footing.  It was at that point we passed a group of guys taking a break.  I've always said, "the trail provides" and they proved it.  Sage is a shy gal.  I don't think she met many people before being brought into a shelter in Texas.  They were friendly enough to send good vibes but not insistent enough to try to say hello.  She had a great experience with the benign nature of strangers and got her first of many trail-related confidence boosts.

Thanks guys!

After the incline, the trail evened and crossed running water.  We'd passed a handful of dry stream beds so far and this was a veritable swimming pool.  Okay, kiddie pool.  Then came a sharp left turn up a staircase.  We passed it slightly for another water break before ascending.

Small scramble I don't have a good angle on due to being
attached to Miss Sage

The bulk of the trail from that point to the crossing with the Auto Road was surprisingly flat.  Small boulders required an iota of effort to maneuver between paths but the ease of the hard packed dirt was a welcome change from the usual.  The make-up of the forest also offered diversity, from the oaks and maples at the start to hardwoods and a lot of fallen logs and mosses reminding me of a section of the Jewell Trail towards the first viewpoint (nearing the alpine zone).

That first viewpoint is accessed via a herd path just after ascending a very short and easy scramble.  We enjoyed a snack and giggles at Sage's seating position before continuing on.

She's a natural!

I'll just leave this here...

We didn't make it far before crossing the Auto Road and the dogs took another drink and we observed some curiosities:

Not strange, per se, but not something I've seen
on a trail before

To quote Hannah, "I have questions."

After a few minutes of gentle ascent, we reached the intersection with the side path and a scramble that beckoned us towards Low's.  Sage handled it like a natural and we traversed the exposed bedrock up to our resting point just shy of the actual summit, which we eventually visited as well.

Still, "only" a teaser vista

With hardly any wind, blue skies, and natural seating, we hung out for quite awhile, only being passed by two other sets of hikers.  I suppose, being what it's surrounded by, the seeming lack of popularity of this hike shouldn't be a surprise but to me, it's a semi-hidden gem.

Until Blogger starts limiting my picture uploads...:

Ooh, la, la, don't tell Tango!

Titus enjoys displacing Nalgenes

Ever the composed four-legger

So many friends!

"Been there, done that!"

Wooing all the ladies today!

And I just can't get enough of these two!

Carved from the same mold, these two daredevils

Looking northeast - Wildcat ridge being the most prominent feature

Wildcat Ski Area

Smallest summit cairn ever!

Dingo-esque dogs ate Hannah while the pibble stood idly by!

Tried all day to capture those bright, happy eyes!

Heading down the scramble

We will definitely return when the day calls for an easy, bang-for-our-buck kind of hike.  While there is 1,050 feet of elevation gain, we hardly noticed any until we were cruising down.  Well, somewhat cruising, poor Titus tweaked something that he has an upcoming visit with a specialist for.  The silver lining is this gem:

This time of year, there was not a heck of a lot of water but it was obvious that there is during others. Considering what Ty and I are currently working on with training, I liked that this trail mostly parallels the road.  Out of earshot and relatively quiet but being so close to roads and more popular trails cut down significantly on the critter sightings.  It was such a fun day, I recommend this hike as a starter jaunt, for a quick view, or simply a hike on the more relaxing side.  But with one fun scramble!

^ Hiking win! ^