RoySwkr
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- Sep 4, 2003
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"Pistareen mountain, situated on the eastern shore of Spafford's lake, is next in importance. It is formed like a sugar loaf, and is almost inaccessible--large rocks projecting from its sides. It is called Pistareen mountain from having once been sold for a pistareen, or 20 cents. To see it, one would think that a fair price. "
http://brattleborohistory.com/connecticut-river-wantastiquet/mine-mountain.html
With a writeup like that, I needed to go there. It's not quite as inaccessible as indicated as there are now 2 radio towers and a trap shooting range, near the summit but outside the highest contour. The road up to them apparently starts up a private driveway, and the gate to the cemetery mentioned on peakery.com was closed with no good parking, so I wound up climbing from the WNW via a series of skid roads and snowmobile trails. It was steep with zigzags but no rocky cliffs. Note also that real estate prices in the area have changed: a 5-acre lot with the lower end wetland and upper part steep slopes with driveway crossing one adjacent property and possibly someone else's driveway crossing it lists for $125,000. Ah, things today aren't like they sounded in the good old days.
The clearing shown on the satellite photo is apparently a trap shooting range with outhouse and picnic tables, but I didn't find any signs indicating who owned it - good SW views from here but the rest of the summit is wooded. The bump identified as the summit on peakery.com is in the woods near one of the radio towers, there is a bump of similar elevation maybe 100 yards W where the snowmobile trail comes up and lots of smaller bumps.
http://brattleborohistory.com/connecticut-river-wantastiquet/mine-mountain.html
With a writeup like that, I needed to go there. It's not quite as inaccessible as indicated as there are now 2 radio towers and a trap shooting range, near the summit but outside the highest contour. The road up to them apparently starts up a private driveway, and the gate to the cemetery mentioned on peakery.com was closed with no good parking, so I wound up climbing from the WNW via a series of skid roads and snowmobile trails. It was steep with zigzags but no rocky cliffs. Note also that real estate prices in the area have changed: a 5-acre lot with the lower end wetland and upper part steep slopes with driveway crossing one adjacent property and possibly someone else's driveway crossing it lists for $125,000. Ah, things today aren't like they sounded in the good old days.
The clearing shown on the satellite photo is apparently a trap shooting range with outhouse and picnic tables, but I didn't find any signs indicating who owned it - good SW views from here but the rest of the summit is wooded. The bump identified as the summit on peakery.com is in the woods near one of the radio towers, there is a bump of similar elevation maybe 100 yards W where the snowmobile trail comes up and lots of smaller bumps.
