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.

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