Pleasant Mountain 2006'

Southwest Ridge Trail/ Fire Warden's Trail

5 miles 1800' Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy, Wicket, Smokey Joe & Cath

We felt we were long over-due to visit this gem of a mountain we had gazed upon from afar so many times. we met Cath at Jockey Cap and drove over to Bridgton where we easily found the roads we wanted.

Leaving our car at the base of the Fire Warden's Trail we had a little difficulty finding the Southwest Ridge Trailhead until I remembered it was on Denmark Road. The lot was full and we had to park on the road.

There was little wonder the lot was full on such a gorgeous day. Overnight rain had cleared the hot, hazy air and we were blessed with clean, fresh, dry air and cooler temps.

We ascended by the Southwest Ridge Trail, also known as the Mackay Pasture Trail. It was a first for all of us, and we found it to be a beautiful, steady, but gentle rise, which often delivered us to rocky ledges from which we had gorgeous sunlit views in varying directions.

By the time we reached the Southwest Summit at 1900', we had already ascended nearly 1600' of the 1800' elevation gain on this hike. This meant the hike across the ridge to the Pleasant Mountain summit was relatively flat and quite enjoyable, winding it's way through mostly open hardwoods.

Along the trail we found many wildflowers and an ample supply of Low-bush Blueberry. Among the flowers were some I didn't recognize and I will trust to friends to ID for me. There were also many I did recognize, including some favorites in the Hare-Bells which were plentiful. I even found some white ones, which I had never seen before.

On the summit ledges surrounding skies and distant mountain vistas were spectacular in the fresh, crisp air. A steady breeze blew from the west and kept all bugs at bay which was a welcome relief from previous hot, sweaty, bug-infested hikes in recent days.

We descended as planned via the Fire Warden's Trail, which was pleasant as it provided good shade for the dogs, but little in the way of views outside of the surrounding forest. The eventual discovery of a beautiful, mossy rill on our descent quite made up for our lack of views.

Our thanks to Loon Echo Land Trust and the private landowners who allow the public to enjoy this beautiful mountain!