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Bethlehem, New Hampshire, United States
E-mail contact: randonneur8@yahoo.com | Facebook: facebook.com/1HappyHikerNH

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09 May 2015

A Day's Worth of Hiking in Maine

In early May, I traveled from my home in Bethlehem, NH to spend a full day of hiking in the neighboring State of Maine.  Although this mini-adventure involved four separate hikes, the combined mileage for all four was just under 6 miles.  It can be fun to experience a variety of small hikes during a day, rather than getting locked into a day-long mega hike.

BALD MOUNTAIN (near Weld, ME)

Of the four hikes, Bald Mountain was my favorite (click HERE for a detailed description of this hike).  

There are 360 degree views from the bare summit, but my favorite snapshot of day was the one shown below.  In the foreground is a small tarn reflecting a nearby pine tree with Mt. Blue on the near horizon.  I had to wait a while to get this shot.  Persistent wind gusts were causing the reflection to be blurred.

Below is another photo of Mt. Blue (on near horizon, just right of center) with Hills Pond in the foreground.

A large portion of Bald Mountain's summit area consists of beautiful rocky ledges that are interlaced with blueberry bushes and low growing conifers, as seen in the next photo.

The vast acreage of ledges provide sweeping vistas such as shown in the panorama photo below.

One of these vistas includes a very distant view of the Presidential Range poking up behind the Sunday River ski slopes. (The zoomed photo shown below isn't the best, but will give a general idea.)

BELGRADE LAKES REGION OF MAINE:

Mount Phillip:

Of the three hikes done in this region, the first was a trek to Mount Phillip (click HERE for a detailed description of this hike).

From a ledge near the top of Mount Phillip is a very picturesque vista overlooking Great Pond, just one of the many bodies of water in the Belgrade Lakes Region.  It was a very pleasant surprise to see such a pristine vista.  I was sort of expecting the shoreline to be cluttered with a variety of lakeside cottages, etc.

French Mountain:

My second hike in this region was to French Mountain which provided a dramatic view overlooking Long Pond as seen in the photo below.  (Click HERE for a detailed description of this hike).

The Mountain Trail:

The third hike in the Belgrade Lakes Region was along a trail simply named "The Mountain Trail". (Click HERE for a detailed description of this hike).  Although the vistas were less striking than those from the other two hikes in this region, there were some pleasant views as seen in the snapshot below.


To sum it up, I'll present the following map which will provide a general idea as to where these four hikes occurred.



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5 comments:

Steve Smith said...

Very fine report, John - you found some real gems over there! Perfect for this time of year. Beautiful combos of ledge and water in your photos.

Steve

1HappyHiker said...

Thanks Steve! There is such a delightful variety of hikes in Maine that are within a 2-hour (one-way) drive from my home in Bethlehem. Although there are many excellent hikes much closer to home, I find it enjoyable to occasionally “go the extra mile” to experience new hiking venues.

John

One Day in America said...

Very nice, John. All of these short hikes look like lots of fun. Not to mention the spectacular scenery! You had wonderful weather too.
Due to my recent shoulder surgery there will be no hiking for me for a couple months, so I'll have to hike vicariously through your blog!

1HappyHiker said...

Hi Rita,

Thanks for reading my report and taking time to post your comments.

Speaking of “vicarious hiking”, you provide me with a lot of that through your blog (onedayinamerica.blogspot.com). Through your reports I’m able to vicariously experience adventures in the Western U.S. which is a region of the country where I’ve rarely hiked.

Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery from your shoulder injury!

John

One Day in America said...

Thanks John!