1HappyHiker
Well-known member
Making a Mountain Feel Appreciated & Like One of the Guys (Square Mtn: 01-Sep-2008)
Poor remote Square Mountain! Bushwhacking is the only way to reach this mountain which is located just to the east of Rogers Ledge (its more famous neighbor!!). Since Square Mountain is so remote, it’s probably a rare event that this lonely summit receives many visitors, and probably even more rare to have visitors on 2 consecutive days! Upon opening the summit canister I was surprised to see that “Barbarossa” had been there just the day before me (on 31-Aug)!! Wow! Square Mountain must have felt less like a “square” and more like “one of the guys” with its sudden surge of popularity!!
But anyway, here are a few details about my visit to Square Mountain. The trek began on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail at the South Ponds trailhead. The hike got off to a great start by sighting two loons enjoying their day on the water as I walked along the South Ponds shoreline. The photos below show these beauties, but the images captured by my compact digital camera do not do them justice. (Maybe I should get a better camera!)
About an hour into the hike, I left the Kilkenny Ridge Trail at about 2200’ and began the approximate 1 mile bushwhack to Square Mountain through predominately open woods. I headed nearly due east, and eventually headed in a more southerly direction where I picked up a very faint herd path for the final short whack up to the summit of Square Mountain.
Just like Rogers Ledge, this mountain abruptly ends at a massive cliff face on its southern end. It’s almost like a giant cleaver came down and bisected the mountain. Ouch! In the first photo below, the breadth & depth of the cliff face is inadequately depicted, but perhaps it provides some idea. (This shot was taken looking toward neighboring Greens Ledge to the east.) The other photo below shows a huge boulder located near the summit of Square Mountain. It’s sort of like a natural cairn!
If you’ve ever been to Rogers Ledge, the views toward the Presidentials & the Carters are somewhat similar to the views from Square Mountain, as shown in the photos below.
However, unlike Rogers Ledge, there are views from Square Mountain to the northwest toward Percy Peaks (1st photo below). Also, Square Mountain provides a nice view to the southeast which I feel is better than the southeast view from Rogers Ledge (2nd photo).
Following a very nice trek to scenic Square Mountain, it was made even nicer by arriving back at a trailhead that is quite scenic on its own merit! I took time to linger a bit and admire the views from the shoreline of South Ponds. However, no loons were spotted this time!
The Bottom Line to All This: It was a great trek to Square Mountain, and good to have perhaps made this remote mountain feel appreciated and more like “one of the guys” by having visitors on 2 consecutive days! Also, it was an unexpected treat at the beginning of my trek to see loons enjoying their day on the water. Seems like it was a good day for the loons, the mountain, and me!
1HappyHiker
Poor remote Square Mountain! Bushwhacking is the only way to reach this mountain which is located just to the east of Rogers Ledge (its more famous neighbor!!). Since Square Mountain is so remote, it’s probably a rare event that this lonely summit receives many visitors, and probably even more rare to have visitors on 2 consecutive days! Upon opening the summit canister I was surprised to see that “Barbarossa” had been there just the day before me (on 31-Aug)!! Wow! Square Mountain must have felt less like a “square” and more like “one of the guys” with its sudden surge of popularity!!
But anyway, here are a few details about my visit to Square Mountain. The trek began on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail at the South Ponds trailhead. The hike got off to a great start by sighting two loons enjoying their day on the water as I walked along the South Ponds shoreline. The photos below show these beauties, but the images captured by my compact digital camera do not do them justice. (Maybe I should get a better camera!)
About an hour into the hike, I left the Kilkenny Ridge Trail at about 2200’ and began the approximate 1 mile bushwhack to Square Mountain through predominately open woods. I headed nearly due east, and eventually headed in a more southerly direction where I picked up a very faint herd path for the final short whack up to the summit of Square Mountain.
Just like Rogers Ledge, this mountain abruptly ends at a massive cliff face on its southern end. It’s almost like a giant cleaver came down and bisected the mountain. Ouch! In the first photo below, the breadth & depth of the cliff face is inadequately depicted, but perhaps it provides some idea. (This shot was taken looking toward neighboring Greens Ledge to the east.) The other photo below shows a huge boulder located near the summit of Square Mountain. It’s sort of like a natural cairn!
If you’ve ever been to Rogers Ledge, the views toward the Presidentials & the Carters are somewhat similar to the views from Square Mountain, as shown in the photos below.
However, unlike Rogers Ledge, there are views from Square Mountain to the northwest toward Percy Peaks (1st photo below). Also, Square Mountain provides a nice view to the southeast which I feel is better than the southeast view from Rogers Ledge (2nd photo).
Following a very nice trek to scenic Square Mountain, it was made even nicer by arriving back at a trailhead that is quite scenic on its own merit! I took time to linger a bit and admire the views from the shoreline of South Ponds. However, no loons were spotted this time!
The Bottom Line to All This: It was a great trek to Square Mountain, and good to have perhaps made this remote mountain feel appreciated and more like “one of the guys” by having visitors on 2 consecutive days! Also, it was an unexpected treat at the beginning of my trek to see loons enjoying their day on the water. Seems like it was a good day for the loons, the mountain, and me!
1HappyHiker
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