I used to hike Parker Mountain multiple times a week, almost every week while my kids were in middle school. I haven't been up there in over 10 years. They have developed 2 new trails off the backside of the mountain connecting to Evans Mountain. Laura and I decided to explore those today. It was still warm after a heatwave we just had, so we didn't want to do anything too strenuous. We parked at the cemetery on Evans Mountain Road. There is only snow mobile signage, so this one is helpful to have a map. There are no digital footprints that I could find yet, but there is a map on the town of Strafford page and some of the trails show up as they are snowmobile corridors. The trail starts on the continuation of Evans Mountain Road, alongside Evans Mountain Farm (a gorgeous property). We felt like we must have missed it because it felt like we were going too far, but we hadn't. This road descends and was a bit wet and muddy in places, but we were able to navigate around easily enough. Passes a few ponds and intersections. I had seen a picture from a previous hiker, so I knew what we were looking for. A blue sign set back a little indicating the start of the hiking trail part of Whippoorwill Trail. Turn left here and start to ascend up to the ledges overlooking Bow Lake. This section was really nice. A mix of climbing through boulders, ferns, and blueberries. I don't eat blueberries, but Laura enjoyed some. The trail was a bit of a rolling up and down and in just under a mile we reached the first of 3 ledges with views. Each one becoming slightly more open but all gorgeous views over Bow Low. Would be great to be up there for the 4th of July fireworks, I imagine. We continued the second ledge, which was off an unmarked, but easily seen spur from the main trail. Whippoorwill Trail ends at the 3rd set of ledges, where the old Spencer Smith Trail (blazed red, Whippoorwill Trail is blazed blue) picks up. We sat and enjoyed the view for quite a while before backtracking to the first of the ledges and picking up the newest trail, Partridge Trail, which is blazed orange. While easy to follow, you can definitely tell it's still in the development phase, although I know it has existed for at least 6 months. There were blazes and flagging tape and even some stumps in the ground painted orange. The trail used a combination of trail and snowmobile corridor at the end and wound around and up and down the slopes of Parker and then Evans Mountain before popping out right opposite the parking area. The worst part was it was up to return. And that section being snowmobile trail was some longer grassy areas. We each picked up a couple ticks in that area. Overall, I was reminded what a wonderful little gem this mountain is, right in my hometown!

view back down Evans Mountain Rd from the parking

along Evans Mountain Road

where Whippoorwill Trail enters the woods

blueberries!

1st ledge

2nd ledge

also 2nd ledge

3rd ledge

firepit near the 3rd ledge

heading down Partridge Trail

don't trip or follow the way

entrance to Partridge Trail from Evans Mountain Rd

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Kilburn Pond and Davis Hill

I drove 2 hours to hike 8.3 miles to pick up 0.3 miles for the spreadsheet. That's it. That's the story.

Well, a little more detail.. decided to go grab 2 spurs that were added formally after I completed Pisgah State Park previously, and stumbled upon a third not yet added, but I know will be, so grabbed that in anticipation! It was warm, and I'd have liked a little bit more of a breeze, but by the grace of God, it wasn't buggy until the last couple of miles.. I was worried, because my previous non Winter adventures in Pisgah have been horrendous with bugs. I parked at Kilburn Trailhead and it was already busy. By my return 5 hours later, the parking lot was full and cars spilled out and down the road! I started on Kilburn Loop and took the first right once down by the pond. Explored a couple of side paths down to the water. At the junction with John Summers Trail, I continued on Kilburn Loop about a quarter mile to the now marked Kilburn Canyon. One of the new add ons I needed. Not as canyony as I had expected, just a little trek down to the stream with some cascades and cool rock formations coming off the pond. I backtracked to John Summers Trail and finished the loop around the pond. Passed several groups and a lot of the rock outcrops had sun worshippers on them. I was surprised to see so many groups that weren't hikers, just people down to enjoy the pond. I took Town Forest Trail over to Baker Pond and up Davis Hill Trail to the spur for the shelter. There is now an official spur to a viewpoint called Herrick's Ledge which I needed. Back on Davis Hill Trail, I decided to go up and over the highpoint. This is where it started to get buggy and I was also tired, so moving fast to escape the bugs wasn't as doable at this point. It was also a bit wetter along this trail, which might have explained the bugs. I stopped at the bench viewpoint and discovered another new bench that looks back over to Monadnock. Coming back from this was when I saw (had missed it initially) the new spur to the Davis Hill Summit. A short little climb up to the wooded summit marked with a sign for Pisgah High Point.. also the high point for the town of Chesterfield. Along this spur is a large rock with the geologic survey marker as well. I continued back down Davis Hill Trail to complete my big loop.

Strava Activity

along Kilburn Pond Loop

lots of mountain laurel around the pond today

Kilburn Canyon

back on John Summers Trail

John Summers Trail

along Town Forest Trail

Baker Pond from Baker Pond Trail

to the ledge view

Herrick's Ledge view

along Davis Hill Trail

new bench on Davis Hill Trail

Davis Hill Trail

Sunday, June 7, 2026

Rose Mountain

Today would have been my Dad's 85th birthday, so I felt it appropriate to go and finish the trails I need for Rose Mountain. It was a warm day, but thankfully there was a slight breeze which kept it very pleasant. I parked at the trailhead for Summit Trail on Scout Road. This is a bit of a rougher road to get down, but I was able to pass without too much difficulty. Summit Trail was a nice ascent using a combination of hiking trail and snowmobile trail. Lower down it was a bit muddy, but nothing that impeded progress just made it a bit buggier than I would have liked.. but still on the mild end of annoyance. It was a much gentler ascent than I was anticipating and I reached the intersection with Helen's Trail quicker than I thought. I continued on to the summit which I have previously visited and opted to do the out and back to complete Summit Trail before going over to the view point, so I could enjoy that on my way down. I only went to the property boundary for Rose Mountain Preserve as technically that is where Summit Trail ends. I wasn't exactly sure where that was (was expecting a gate, and there wasn't one) but I saw some signage that seemed to line up with the property boundary on the map I was following... I continued a bit past just to be sure, then turned around and headed back up. The map online shows a trail called Northern Trail, but there is signage here indicating it is snowmobiles only and closed to hiking due to erosion. I did the out and back to the viewpoint and enjoyed a beautiful clear view. Heading down, I opted to take what the online map shows as Cut Thru Trail, which descended back to the Class VI portion of Scout Road. This was really eroded and rather wet, but I was still able to continue with care. In just over 3 miles for the entire hike, I was back at the car. I really enjoyed this area.

Strava Activity

Trailhead on Scout Road

some of the mud lower down

intersection with Helen's Trail

heading down Summit Trail from the summit

what I believe is the property boundary for Rose Mountain Preserve

avoiding the closed Northen Trail

Sunday, May 31, 2026

The Pinnacle

I first visited The Pinnacle during Covid. There were trails back then, but it has since been developed into a more formal network with signs and blazes. It's a neat little area. From the parking area, I started on Carriage Road Trail and headed down to the Village Overlook Loop, which has a bench that overlooks the village of Hooksett... imagine that! I then continued on Carriage Road Trail doing an out and back on the Carriage Road Bypass. Spent a little time at the summit, where there is also a bench now. I saw a herd path that took in some alternate views, so explored a little, then headed back to the car on Icehouse Trail. There were a couple trails that looked like they went down to the pond, and I explored 3 before I got an unobstructed view across the pond, with the scenic backdrop of I-93! All in all, it ended up being just over 2 miles. Perfect little Sunday morning adventure.

Strava Activity