Mill Brook Trail starts from the main building of the Berlin Fish Hatchery on York Pond Rd. It runs for 3.8 miles before connecting with the KRT. Over the almost 4 miles you gain 1151'. But the elevation change is only 871' Somewhere you lose 280'. I always wondered where that goes. ;-) Anyway, the point is this is a long gradual climb through some of the prettiest, ever changing, woods I've seen yet. Following Cold Brook for 2/3's of the way. It starts out in tall pines.
Then a beautiful birch forest.
Then back to the soft woods. The photos don't do it justice.
I'm going to have to come back to this trail when everything is lush and green. I do love hiking in late fall when you can see for every through the woods but I want to see this trail when it's alive with colors. Shortly after turning right on the KRT you get a glimpse of Rogers Ledge. Well, when there's no leaves you do.
The KRT circles around to the north side where the final climb is fairly steep. Square Mtn. and what I believe is Greens Ledge can be seen through the trees.
Once on top, form the ledge, you get not quite a 180* view. But, it's spectacular. East towards the Mahoosucs.
S/SE towards the Presi's and Pinkham Notch.
SW towards the Pilots.
I was a bit disappointed I couldn't see Square Mtn. so I went on a little mission to see what could find. I did a short whack north of the summit and found a small exposed ledge that gave me this. I will be going there. :)
We spent close to an hour there, quite a treat. On the hike out it seemed like a mid-summers day. Simply gorgeous. We took our time enjoying the beauty of the Mill Brook Tr. once again. We stopped at the Moose check station once back at the Hatchery. I found it interesting but if you're anti-hunting you can skip those photos.
I read several hiking forums and don't remember ever reading a report on Rogers Ledge. I can't imagine why. This is a fantastic hike.
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteThis is yet another one of your terrific adventures that I so much enjoy reading about!
Rogers Ledge is one of those underappreciated places in the Whites. It's a lovely spot, and I've made several visits there. I've written trip reports, but since my trips were several years ago, they probably don't show up on most searches of the Internet.
It's great to read that you plan on whacking to Square Mountain the next time you're in the area. It's an easy whack, and I know you'll love it!
Also, here's something else that might interest you. There is a Forest Road (FR 105, I think) that is on the north side of York Pond Road. If you hike that road and continue following it slightly north of Round Mountain, there is an old logging cut which provides a nice head-on view of Square Mountain and Greens Ledge. Also, regarding Round Mountain, it's challenging to find, but there is a faint bootleg trail to that ledgy mountaintop. Even if you don't locate the bootleg trail, it's pretty easy to whack to it.
John
Thanks John. For the comments and especially the info. I remember passing that Forest Road. I couldn't see any ledges on Round from Rogers but can see them on GE. That will make for a really great 3-fer bushwhack to "Ledgey Goodness".
ReplyDeleteJoe
Great report, Joe! I'll echo John's sentiments, Rogers Ledge is one of the gems of the Whites. And Square, Greens and Round are all fine ledgy destinations. Square is especially awesome - what a cliff! If you poke around, you can also find some view ledges on the North Peak of Rogers Ledge, one of which gives a great side profile of Square.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Thanks Steve. I'll have to check out North Peak as well someday. A very cool area indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnother great TR Joe. After seeing some other trip reports on this, I've added it to "the list." Great pics!
ReplyDeleteHiking Lady
Thanks HL. It's a great hike for sure. I'm surprised you haven't done that yet.
ReplyDelete