It's been a rough week, so some time in nature was just what the Doctor ordered. Vanessa accompanied me today. We headed back up to the Gilmanton/New Durham area to explore Mt Bet. A newer network in the SELT system, I had read it was a little steep, though nothing technical, and not all that long. We decided on a car spot up and over Mt Bet, with a road walk back to the Gilman Pond Conservation Area where I needed to grab a couple tenths of a mile on a snowmobile trail I had missed last time. I was also excited to share the finds I made over there with a friend. All the cool rock formations from the old quarry. We spotted a car at Gilman Pond and headed over to the Mt Bet trailhead on Drew Hill Road. That took some back and forth as roads I tried to go down ended up being Class VI roads, but we got there. The very start of the trail is a snowmobile trail but quickly branches off. We were told this trail was just cut last Summer, so super fresh, but really well maintained and marked with blazes and flagging tape. It was just under a mile to the highpoint and a spur loop over to a viewpoint. We actually got up there relatively easily, I had expected a much more strenuous hike, so it was a pleasant surprise to realize we were up already. The viewpoint offered some lovely views over Merrymeeting Lake. We didn't bushwhack to the true summit, thought about it, but ultimately didn't. We continued over Mt Bet and down the other side, which switched back and forth rejoining the snowmobile trail and ending up at Chesley Road. We road walked Chesley Road, which is Class VI at first, then hard dirt, up to Drew Hill Road and back down to the Gilman Pond trailhead. For a short section, it was very, very buggy, but that was really the only time they were a nuisance. We followed the Dave Lawrence Trail to the white blazed Scenic Trail up to Seavey Trail. We stopped for a lunchbreak at the small viewpoint on Scenic Trail. I showed Vanessa the old quarry and family memorial site. We then backtracked down the snowmobile trail. I had thought it would take us all the way to the road, but it ended up in a big open field. We weren't sure exactly where to go, so just sort of crossed over it and eventually did a very short road walk back up to our spotted car. Really, really enjoyable day in the woods!
Strava Activity
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| Mt Bet trailhead on Drew Hill Rd |
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| turning off the snowmobile trail |
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| viewpoint spur |
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| rejoining the snowmobile trail |
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| end of Mt Bet trail at Chesley Road |
