BillDC
New member
Pleasant Mountain, Denmark
Pleasant Mountain is in Denmark and Bridgton and has at least 4 or 5 trails up to its many named peaks. I took the fire wardens trail this time around.
The fire warden’s trailhead starts just off of Wilton Warren road in Denmark. The trailhead is well marked with a small parking area nearby. The trail starts out as a well worn jeep road (gated and locked). This is the original carriage road for the Pleasant Mountain House hotel that used to be on the summit in the late 1800's. The road is well traveled as there is active logging in the area. Along the way, I spotted at least 2 rotted telephone poles in the woods with insulators. These likely carried a phone line for the hotel and later for the fire tower. The road crosses an unnamed brook where there is a nice little waterfall. Fork right and the road continues up in grade and you eventually run into some active logging spur roads on the left and right. Through this area, it was very muddy due to deep tracks left by trucks plus there were logs and slash to navigate over. Continuing on, the road parallels the brook until it gets to a point where the road forks right and crosses the brook again. I did this hike 20+ years ago and this is where things really started to look different. This area looks to be an active logging area as it is all torn up. I crossed the brook on an old foot bridge (a very old rotted bridge remains sit just before the crossing) and you enter a cleared area. This is the area I recall the old Fire Watchman's cabin was, but this area is now all cleared on the right and left of the road now. I saw no evidence of anything left. I also recall a campsite with a fire ring nearby as well. Continuing, though the cleared area the trail is obscured with skidder roads in all directions. There was some flagging straight ahead on a skidder road, so I tried it. After a bit of wondering if I was on the trail, I saw a red blaze on a tree confirming I was indeed on the right track.
This portion of the trail is rocky with many areas of flat rock. The skidder roads were paralleling the trail for a while and then they started to cross the trail in many areas. In at least one of these areas, I lost the trail and had to switchback and re-check by bearings. The red blazing is inconsistent and not present in many of these areas. The skid roads cross in at least 3 places creating slash piles and muddy areas on the trail. After the first one, I started to pay close attention so as to not loose the trail again. The trail itself, when not encroached with skid roads is in good shape. There was only 1 or 2 blowdowns and they were insignificant. It was also clear that snow machines use this trail regularly. Getting closer to the top, there is more flat rock and in some areas, the trail looks like it is paved. On the way down, the rocks proved to be very slippery.
Just below the summit, there is a left fork where the Bald Peak trail comes in. This takes you out to the northern peaks where Shawnee Peak Ski Area resides. This junction has good signage. The trail continues on rock where blue blazes mark the trail near the top. When you pop out at the summit of this peak, it is crowned with a Fire Tower. The tower is closed and boarded up, but is in good shape and can be climbed to get nice panoramic views. The views from the base of the tower are best to the westerly direction. The growth is starting to knock out the views in some directions. The summit of this peak is also shared with some radio towers and huts just to the south of the tower.
Overall this has always been a favorite hike. This trail is only about 2.3 mi and a moderate effort for great views. I was a bit disappointed to see the trail mowed over by skidders so many times, but it is what it is.
Some photos are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/PleasantMountainME6252010?feat=directlink
Ossipee Hill, Waterboro
On the way back from Pleasant, I stopped at Ossipee Hill in Waterboro. This hill is just a chip shot from the parking area, but has nice views especially if the fire watchman is in the tower.
From Waterboro center at the lights, take Ossipee Hill road for just a few yards and immediately turn right onto McLucas road. This is a narrow dirt road that gradually rises. Go around 1.7 mi to a left. McLucas road continues straight. After the left, the road is steep and rocky but should be passable with an average vehicle. At about .2, there is a new road on the right being constructed for a new radio tower site. Pass this site and go just a little bit further to an old rusted yellow gate. This is the summit road. The gate is usually locked, but was open when I showed up. I parked off to the side and hiked up. The access to the summit is about .3 mi up this moderately steep, rocky road. Just before the last rise to the summit, you can see the radio towers peeking up and a clearing on the left marks the site of the former watchman's camp. The summit is mostly all rock and houses multiple radio towers and buildings. Also at the summit, a 35 foot wooden fire tower still stands. This is one of only 5 remaining wooden towers in Maine. This tower is also still staffed and is part of a 3 tower York County system of volunteer lookouts. Today, I found the watchman on duty and climbed for a visit. The views were fairly good, though there was still a bit of haze. Unlike most Maine towers that have ladders, this tower has a stairway and landings so views can be had even if the watchman is not up.
Some photos are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/OssipeeHillME6252010?feat=directlink
Bill
Pleasant Mountain is in Denmark and Bridgton and has at least 4 or 5 trails up to its many named peaks. I took the fire wardens trail this time around.
The fire warden’s trailhead starts just off of Wilton Warren road in Denmark. The trailhead is well marked with a small parking area nearby. The trail starts out as a well worn jeep road (gated and locked). This is the original carriage road for the Pleasant Mountain House hotel that used to be on the summit in the late 1800's. The road is well traveled as there is active logging in the area. Along the way, I spotted at least 2 rotted telephone poles in the woods with insulators. These likely carried a phone line for the hotel and later for the fire tower. The road crosses an unnamed brook where there is a nice little waterfall. Fork right and the road continues up in grade and you eventually run into some active logging spur roads on the left and right. Through this area, it was very muddy due to deep tracks left by trucks plus there were logs and slash to navigate over. Continuing on, the road parallels the brook until it gets to a point where the road forks right and crosses the brook again. I did this hike 20+ years ago and this is where things really started to look different. This area looks to be an active logging area as it is all torn up. I crossed the brook on an old foot bridge (a very old rotted bridge remains sit just before the crossing) and you enter a cleared area. This is the area I recall the old Fire Watchman's cabin was, but this area is now all cleared on the right and left of the road now. I saw no evidence of anything left. I also recall a campsite with a fire ring nearby as well. Continuing, though the cleared area the trail is obscured with skidder roads in all directions. There was some flagging straight ahead on a skidder road, so I tried it. After a bit of wondering if I was on the trail, I saw a red blaze on a tree confirming I was indeed on the right track.
This portion of the trail is rocky with many areas of flat rock. The skidder roads were paralleling the trail for a while and then they started to cross the trail in many areas. In at least one of these areas, I lost the trail and had to switchback and re-check by bearings. The red blazing is inconsistent and not present in many of these areas. The skid roads cross in at least 3 places creating slash piles and muddy areas on the trail. After the first one, I started to pay close attention so as to not loose the trail again. The trail itself, when not encroached with skid roads is in good shape. There was only 1 or 2 blowdowns and they were insignificant. It was also clear that snow machines use this trail regularly. Getting closer to the top, there is more flat rock and in some areas, the trail looks like it is paved. On the way down, the rocks proved to be very slippery.
Just below the summit, there is a left fork where the Bald Peak trail comes in. This takes you out to the northern peaks where Shawnee Peak Ski Area resides. This junction has good signage. The trail continues on rock where blue blazes mark the trail near the top. When you pop out at the summit of this peak, it is crowned with a Fire Tower. The tower is closed and boarded up, but is in good shape and can be climbed to get nice panoramic views. The views from the base of the tower are best to the westerly direction. The growth is starting to knock out the views in some directions. The summit of this peak is also shared with some radio towers and huts just to the south of the tower.
Overall this has always been a favorite hike. This trail is only about 2.3 mi and a moderate effort for great views. I was a bit disappointed to see the trail mowed over by skidders so many times, but it is what it is.
Some photos are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/PleasantMountainME6252010?feat=directlink
Ossipee Hill, Waterboro
On the way back from Pleasant, I stopped at Ossipee Hill in Waterboro. This hill is just a chip shot from the parking area, but has nice views especially if the fire watchman is in the tower.
From Waterboro center at the lights, take Ossipee Hill road for just a few yards and immediately turn right onto McLucas road. This is a narrow dirt road that gradually rises. Go around 1.7 mi to a left. McLucas road continues straight. After the left, the road is steep and rocky but should be passable with an average vehicle. At about .2, there is a new road on the right being constructed for a new radio tower site. Pass this site and go just a little bit further to an old rusted yellow gate. This is the summit road. The gate is usually locked, but was open when I showed up. I parked off to the side and hiked up. The access to the summit is about .3 mi up this moderately steep, rocky road. Just before the last rise to the summit, you can see the radio towers peeking up and a clearing on the left marks the site of the former watchman's camp. The summit is mostly all rock and houses multiple radio towers and buildings. Also at the summit, a 35 foot wooden fire tower still stands. This is one of only 5 remaining wooden towers in Maine. This tower is also still staffed and is part of a 3 tower York County system of volunteer lookouts. Today, I found the watchman on duty and climbed for a visit. The views were fairly good, though there was still a bit of haze. Unlike most Maine towers that have ladders, this tower has a stairway and landings so views can be had even if the watchman is not up.
Some photos are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/OssipeeHillME6252010?feat=directlink
Bill
