PINE MOUNTAIN: 7/6/16

On a very warm Wednesday afternoon Carol and I enjoyed a leisurely hike to this rewarding small mountain at the NE edge of the Presidentials. It's one of those hikes that gives you "a big bang for the buck."




Before heading to Pine Mountain, I took a short hike off bump-infested Dolly Copp Road to Triple Falls.

As expected, the water flow was at a low ebb, as seen here at Proteus Fall.

Not much happening at Evans Fall.

The Town Line Brook Trail is short (0.2 mile long) but steep and traverses the edge of a gorge; not recommended for young children unless closely supervised.

We took the "sporty" route up Pine Mountain via the Ledge Trail.

The trail traverses the base of the ledges with the top of the south cliff visible up to the left.

View across the valley to Mts. Madison and Washington from the first open ledge.

A wide-screen vista south to Pinkham Notch and Wildcat.

Carol takes in the amazing vista.

The Ledge Trail offers some mild scrambling.

Looking across to the Carters from another ledge.

Ascending broad glacier-scratched ledges to the top of the south cliff.

This is the prime spot on the mountain.

Mount Moriah, with Middle Moriah and Shelburne Moriah to the left.

A quartz dike.

Lots of room to hang out. We saw no one at these ledges during our sun-baked stay of nearly an hour.

Footings from the former fire tower on the 2405-ft. summit of Pine Mountain.

One of three side paths to viewpoints along the crest north of the summit.

An outlook named "Chapel View" provides a splendid look at the cliff-faced north peak, known as Chapel Rock, and also called Pulpit Rock.

Farther along the crest, a well-constructed side path leads to this rocky pinnacle.

The outdoor chapel used by the Douglas Horton Center, a summer camp owned by the Congregational Church. The Horton Center occupies a 100-acre tract on the summit. Hikers are welcome on the trails, but should be respectful of church services and other activities conducted by the camp.

From Chapel Rock the main summit of Pine Mountain obstructs part of the Presidential view.

But there's a wide vista towards Pinkham Notch.

A new trail bypasses the buildings of the Horton Center for those ascending or descending via the Pine Mountain Road.

Walking down the Pine Mountain Road.

Presidential view panorama at pulloff along Route 2 in Randolph.