The Horn & Saddleback Junior 7/17/2026

Today's hike brought us up two of the most spectacular peaks in the state, The Horn and Saddleback Junior! After the drive in to one of the side roads off of Potato Hill Road, we started on our hike on an abandoned section of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. Although there was lots of tall grass, this section of trail was pretty clear. We then followed the ATV trail to the start of the Berry Picker's Trail.

Start of the Berry Picker's Trail

View south from Berry Picker's Trail

View towards The Horn from the AT

Berry Picker's was in good shape, and we enjoyed the beautiful views from the ridgeline on this clear, windy, and somewhat chilly day up high. After reaching the Appalachian Trail, we ascended to The Horn, where we saw our first other hikers of the day. It was windy and a bit cold on the summit, so we didn't linger too long, but we did take a bit of time to take in the amazing 360 degree view.

Summit of The Horn

View north from The Horn

View west from The Horn

From the summit of The Horn, we descended to Redington Stream Campsite, where we had lunch. Backpackers should note that the water source at this camping area is almost completely dry right now. From the camping area, we started the steep and rough climb to Saddleback Junior. With its summit poking just above treeline and its location in the center of the High Peaks, the 360 view from Saddleback Junior is one of my favorites anywhere. The fact that very few day hikers visit it makes it even better! By then, it was a bit warmer, so we lingered a bit on the top.

The AT between The Horn & Saddleback Junior

Summit of Saddleback Junior

View southwest from Saddleback Junior towards Saddleback & The Horn

We then descended a short distance down the east side of Saddleback Junior, before turning onto the east side of the unofficial Saddleback Junior Loop. While descending the loop, we took a detour on the trail to Wildcat Ridge to get one more great view. We finished our hike by descending the ATV trail back to our vehicle.

Saddleback Junior from Wildcat Ridge

View northeast into the High Peaks from Wildcat Ridge

A small man-made pond near where we parked

AllTrails Activity

Bucks Ledge Community Forest 5/1/2026

After a bit of rain yesterday, today went back to the dry, sunny, and windy weather that we have been seeing a lot of lately. We took advantage of another beautiful day by heading over to Bucks Ledge Community Forest in Woodstock. Starting from the main parking lot, we walked up the improved gravel road to the accessible trail and its viewpoint, from which are great views of Bucks Ledge. We then cut over to Mann Road, before ascending Bucks Ledge from the west.

Trailhead

Viewpoint on the accessible trail

Sampson at a trail intersection

At the top of Bucks Ledge

After pausing to enjoy the great views from the top of Bucks Ledge, we continued along the ridge line on the J n J Trail to the top of Moody Mountain. This section of trail was especially enjoyable with its multiple viewpoints along the ridge.

View along the ridge

The summit of Moody Mountain

View from the top of Moody Mountain

After another break at the top of Moody Mountain, we descended the steep trail to the logging road. Before heading up the north side of Lapham Ledge, I took a short out-and-back detour down the Echo Lane Trail, which I hadn't been on yet. It's an easy walk to Rumford Avenue and back, and makes a nice alternative entrance or connection with the elementary school. We enjoyed lunch at the top of Lapham Ledge and then headed back down to the car via the Bucks Ledge Alternate Trail.

Lapham Ledge summit sign

View from Lapham Ledge

Bryant Pond & Mount Christopher

It was an excellent day for a hike, and the trails are all in good shape. Even with a number of cars in the parking lot, we passed only one person on our entire hike, which is rare for this busy trail system!

AllTrails Activity

 

Moxie Bald Mountain (2,629') & Moxie Bald North Peak (2,350'), Bald Mountain Twp. 10/5/2023

Moxie Bald's North Peak

 

Today I made my way up to the Moxie Pond area to return to Moxie Bald Mountain, this time starting at the Troutdale Road, instead of the AT Road. The bridge across Austin Stream on the Troutdale Road is still closed, and looks like it will be for some time, but the trailhead is easily approached from the south via the Stream Road from Moscow.

Signage at the trailhead

I chose to do this hike today because we haven't had much rain in a while, and the crossing of Baker Stream just after the trailhead is rather notorious for being a difficult one. It turned out this was a good choice, as the wide crossing of the stream was rock-hoppable without much issue today.

The crossing of Baker Stream

The first few miles on the AT were quite easy, and it wasn't too long before I reached the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To.

Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To

 

 

A waterfall near the lean-to

After the lean-to, the trail crosses AT Road, and soon starts to climb steeper. I first visited the main summit, where the view south was blocked by a fog bank, but there were some views north and west.

The summit with footings from the former fire tower

View across the undercast to the west from the summit

I then continued on to my favorite part of the mountain, North Peak. The exposed alpine ridge and windswept summit are spectacular and rare for a mountain with this elevation.

The northern ridge of Moxie Bald

As expected, it was extremely windy on the ridge, but there were excellent views all around, including some undercast views to the south.

At North Peak

Looking back towards the main peak

The view west from North Peak

The view north from North Peak

After spending a while on North Peak, I descended via the AT and the Summit Bypass Trail.

Remains from the fire watchman's camp at the junction of the AT and the Summit Bypass Trail

Moxie Bald never fails to impress, and I only saw 2 other people during the entire 12+ mile hike.