With today's excellent weather, I decided to head over to the Oxford Hills and White Mountains to hike some new to me trail segments on a variety of mountains that I had been on before.
My first hike was a very short one in the Heald & Bradley Ponds Reserve. The Homestead Trail is a short trail which was a new addition to the latest edition of the Maine Mountain Guide. It was a quick out and back hike up this trail, which has some interesting foundations near its end.
Next up was another hike in the Heald and Bradley Ponds Reserve from a different trailhead. I hiked a loop up and over Amos Mountain, utilizing the Rogers Family, Heritage Loop, and Amos Mountain Trails. This was a nice little loop and I enjoyed the views west from the viewpoint on the Heritage Loop Trail.
I then drove a bit west into the White Mountain National Forest. I wasn't certain whether or not the gates on the Deer Hill Road would still be open, but they were, despite the coating of snow on the ground. This hike was another relatively short out and back, this time to Deer Hill Spring off of the Deer Hill Trail. Deer Hill Spring is a very unique spot, and the water was spurting up quite close to the edge of the pool today, so it was easy to observe up close.
My fourth, and longest hike, was nearby on Lord Hill. I drove up Forest Road 9A, a short distance past the split in the Conant Trail Loop, to park. I then made a loop via the Mine Loop and Conant Trail over Lord Hill. This was quite a nice loop through hardwood forests, with only one short steep part. I walked through the mine pit and enjoyed the view over Horseshoe Pond, before heading back down.
My last hike was up Hawk Mountain in Waterford. The dramatic south facing cliffs on this mountain make it one of my favorites in the Oxford Hills. Last time I visited, the Cyrus Trail was the only hiking trail that had really been cleared on the mountain. As of my hike today, it appears thatmost, of not all of the trails shown on the trail map are now cleared footpaths and not just overgrown skid roads. I ascended via the Cyrus Trail, as that was the portion of the loop described in the MMG which I had not yet done. If you aren't specifically trying to follow the guidebook's described route, I would recommend actually avoiding the described route, as the newer footpaths are far more interesting than the eroded Cyrus Trail and the fire road. I visited the summit (no cairn) and the spectacular viewpoint, before descending via the Africa & America Trails. This was a pleasant descent route which brought me past another small viewpoint looking west.
