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

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Lookout Rock 7/10/2026

Today's hike was a pretty straightforward one up to Lookout Rock in Township C. It had been a few years since I had hiked it, and the trail seems much the same, with the notable absence of the former trailhead sign (only the post remains). The trail itself is a moderately steep 0.6 mile long trail, marked with both blue blazes and flagging tape. It climbs to a ledge-top viewpoint on the side of an unnamed peak.

Start of the trail up to Lookout Rock

The lower part of the trail passes through hardwood forest.

The upper part of the trail is mostly in softwood forest

On our hike today, we found that the trail was pretty well maintained and easy to follow. We were treated to excellent views through Black Brook and Sawyer Notches, as well as of the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake.

View towards Old Blue Mountain

View towards Black Brook & Sawyer Notches

View towards C Bluff Mountain and the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake

After descending, we stopped by Silver Ripple Cascade for a swim. We had the cascade mostly to ourselves, and we also visited the adjacent Devil's Den.

Silver Ripple Cascade

Silver Ripple Cascade

Devil's Den

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Mystery Mountain Trail 6/19/2026

This morning, we headed over to Rumford for a short hike up the Mystery Mountain Trail to its two viewpoints on an unnamed 1,212' peak. It had been a few years since I'd hiked here, but things remained pretty much the same as I remembered. The short trail is in good shape and is well marked.

Junction of the Mystery Mountain Trail & Sweet Fern Road

View from the first viewpoint

Sampson at the upper viewpoint

We enjoyed good views from both viewpoints, and lingered near the upper viewpoint a bit. We also checked out the trail that continues to the higher peak above and followed it a short distance to a recently installed "No Trespassing" sign. On the way down, we changed it up a bit and followed Sweet Fern Road back to the parking lot. The road is quite overgrown and the trail is definitely the preferred route.

View from the upper viewpoint

Sweet Fern Road

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Bald Mountain (Oquossuc) 6/5/2026

Today's hike brought us to Bald Mountain in Oquossuc. Although I've done this hike plenty of times, it had been a few years since I'd been up it last. As I almost always do, we started our hike at the Route 4 Trailhead and started up the Bald Mountain Link Trail. This pleasant section of trail was easy going, and we didn't see anyone on it.

Start of the Bald Mountain Link Trail

Bald Mountain Link Trail

Junction with the Bald Mountain Trail

After reaching the junction with the Bald Mountain Trail from the Bald Mountain Road Trailhead, we started seeing a lot more people, but still less than usual for this popular hike. The High Peaks Alliance Trail Crew has done excellent work mitigating the wort sections of erosion and trail braid, although the trail still suffers from persistent overuse.

New stairs on the Bald Mountain Trail

View west from the viewpoint below the summit

Observation tower on the summit

At the summit, a few people were leaving as we arrived, but we enjoyed over an hour with the summit completely to ourselves, which is rare mid-day on such a nice day. There was some haze, but the views from the observation tower were still excellent in all directions. 

Sampson at the top of the tower

View east

View south

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Glassface Ledges 5/10/2026

This morning, we headed over to Rumford with a list of potential hikes to check out. After striking out on all three possibilities (so many gates and no trespassing signs!), we decided to go on a little hike up Glassface Ledges. The short, but rewarding jaunt up the Glassface Ledges Trail is a popular local hike. Although I drive by it all of the time, I realized that it had been seven years since I actually hiked there.

Trailhead kiosk

Heading through the cemetery with the ledges in the background

Leaving from Hastings Landing in Rumford Center, the trail passes through a cemetery before climbing moderately 0.8 mile to the clifftop viewpoint. Beyond the viewpoint, a herd path continues another 100 yards or so to the 1,337' peak. As we sat at the viewpoint, the low clouds rose, revealing beautiful views of the Androscoggin River Valley.

Muddy start to the trail

New bridge

The actual peak above the viewpoint

Sampson at the viewpoint

After enjoying the view for a bit, we headed back down to our car. After revisiting Howard Pond Overlook last year and now Glassface Ledges today, it makes me think I should go back and rehike the Mystery Mountain Trail sometime soon. Out of the five Rumford area ledge-top viewpoints of the Androscoggin Valley, it is now the one that I have gone the longest without hiking.

View from Glassface Ledges

View west

View south

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Bull Rock & Sugarloaf 5/3/2026

For our second hike of the weekend, we headed over to Dixfield to hike the loop over Bull Rock and Sugarloaf. It was a cool day with some rain showers as we started, but it dried up during our ascent. We hiked the loop counterclockwise, first ascending to Bull Rock.

Sampson & I taking a break on the way up

View of Dixfield from Bull Rock

View northwest from Bull Rock

North & South Sugarloaf from Bull Rock

After a brief break, we continued on to the summit. The super steep trail into the saddle and to the north peak is always a fun challenge! It was windy at the top as we enjoyed the views and ate lunch.

View west from the summit

View southwest over Dixfield

View south

After lunch, we headed down the much shorter side of the loop, arriving back at the car only half an hour after leaving the summit. Sugarloaf is a beautiful and easily accessible hike that often gets overlooked, and I enjoy having it as a nearby option!

Descending

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