Pine Mountain (Gorham, NH)
After spending a fun night with a lot of great people at Barnes Field. My buddy Mistah Jay and I decided to go up Pine Mountain. A small hike that was recently added the 52 With a View list here in New Hampshire.
After breaking down the camp, eating breakfast and saying goodbyes to some friends we made our way to the trail head.
The trail head was just a mile or two up the road from the campground and we arrived we saw there was a bit of a road walk. We continued to drive down about another quarter mile thill there was a gate and more parking. We set off down the road about 11:15 AM.
| Date: | 8-16-2020 |
| Location: | Gorham, NH |
| Distance: | 4 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 842′ |
| Total Time: | 3 hr 0 min |
| Parking: | 4-10 cars |
| Difficultly Rating: | Easy |
After about a mile of road walking we arrived at the ledge trail. This trail was moderate and then got a little steeper once we got to the ledges.
once we got to the bottom ledges there were magnificent views of Mt. Madison and Pinkham Notch. And the views just got better as we got higher.
When we got to the top of ledges we saw a nice notched seat cut into the granite slab. In the seat was cut “Carol Williams Horton” who was once the owner and who the Horton Center is named after.
We then made our way to the summit where there is some concrete blocks that used to hold a Fire Towner. Beyond the summit was a small loop trail that would take us back to the road. On this trial there were several outlooks with views of the town of Gorham and Chapel Rock.
Chapel rock is a large rock formation that is used for church services by the Horton Center.
As we came to the next junction there was a trial to the Horton Center that told hikers this was private property and to not go down. Another trail lead to Chapel Rock so we proceeded down that way. There was no service so we proceeded up Chapel Rock for a look.
Again there were great views of Pinkham Notch, Pine Mountain and Mt. Madison as well as the Carter Range and Cater Notch. After a few pictures we headed back to the junction and made our way down to the road and back to the car. My GPS died on the way down but the whole hike was about 4 miles and took us 3 hours with lots of time taking in the views and pictures.
This was short hike but really had some amazing views. It does look like it could get a little crowded on the weekends but still worth the views. This would be a fun family hike that does not take up your whole day.
