Bickford and Scarface – Now There's a Pair!

Nearly due east of the Skookumchuck trailhead are three little mountains: Bickford (2,368 ft), Scarface (2,802 ft) and Big Bickford (3,261 ft). Since bushwhacking is the only means of access, these mountains only have a few occasional visitors.

On 12-April, I visited Bickford and Scarface mountains.  Every so often, it's a nice change of pace to pay a visit these two little guys. Getting to them is a pleasant trek through open hardwoods, and both mountains have a little ledge that provides an interesting view southward toward Cannon Mountain.

For anyone unfamiliar these mountains, the map shown below will help to help pinpoint their location.

My bushwack on this particular day took me through some mixed snow conditions. As shown in the side-by-side photos below, sometimes the ground was completely snow-free, whereas at other times, there were large patches of snow.

Along the way, I came upon a couple of interesting things . . . like a dead porcupine! Maybe this prickly critter was a meal for a Fisher (click HERE for information about "Fisher Cats")?

A short distance away from the dead porcupine, I spotted a small patch of fern that was alive and perky. It was refreshing to see some green vegetation beginning to emerge!

With having to navigate my way through occasional patches of snow, it took about 45 minutes to reach the tiny ledge on Bickford Mountain. Shown below is the view from there.

Next on my hit list was Scarface. It took about another 45 minutes to bushwhack over to this mountain. The view toward Cannon Mountain from Scarface is very similar to the view from Bickford. Although it's a more open view from Scarface, I personally think that the view from Bickford is just as good. The little ledge on Scarface does provide a limited view toward Lafayette which Bickford doesn't have (or if it does, then I have yet to find it).

Shown below are two views from Scarface Mountain.

So, as indicated in the title of this little report, Bickford and Scarface are quite a pair! They provide a pleasant few hours of hiking and a few views to boot!

For a longer hike, a loop can be done by continuing on over to Big Bickford, and then shoot southward to pick up the Skookumchuck Trail and follow it back to the trailhead on US Rt. 3.

ADDENDUM (Added on 14-April-2011)

Since Bickford Mountain isn't shown on all maps, it caused me to wonder if perhaps I had picked up some erroneous information somewhere along the way. So, to relieve my self-doubt, I did some additional research and came up with material which I think verifies that "Bickford Mtn" is an officially-recognized Place Name, and it is separate and distinct from "Big Bickford Mtn".

However, whoever incorporated "Mtn" into the name "Bickford Mtn" has caused some confusion!! 

According to GNIS (Geographic Names Information System), the place that is named "Bickford Mtn" is NOT classified as a summit, but rather it is classified as a ridge (with a high point of 2,368 ft).  Whereas, Scarface Mtn and Big Bickford Mtn are BOTH classified as a summit.  Have your eyes glazed over yet?! :) 

For anyone interested in what I found, I've posted the two images shown below. They both came from the website Topoquest (click HERE to access that site).

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