You Are Here: Mill Pond and Goodhue Hill

Continuing my quest for shorter hikes while I recuperate, I headed back over to the dePierrefeu-Willard Pond area in Antrim. Laura, Vanessa and I did the Bald Mountain side a couple of years ago, I needed to complete the 2 trails on the other side of the road. Mill Pond Trail and Goodhue Hill Trail. I parked in the parking area and walked a few yards down to the northern end of Mill Pond Trail. Marked with a sign and yellow blaze, I headed in and was immediately met with some debris. I hoped the entire hike wasn't going to be like this.. thankfully, it was not. While leaves obscured the path in a few places, it was beyond well marked and easy to follow. A short ways in, I encountered an interesting water crossing. There was a bridge, but it started halfway across. There were some large rocks to hop over, but they were a little icy, so I had to be careful. I wondered if the water was just especially high, or if it's always like this. The trail skirts around Hatch Mill Pond and in about 0.3 miles meets up with Goodhue Hill Trail, marked with a sign and red blazes. I took the left onto Goodhue Hill Trail. Not far in, the trail starts to climb. Another well marked trail, which was appreciated when the leaf cover was heavy, there were also a couple of small blowdowns, but nothing causing problems. The trail climbs for a little over half a mile before easing off. Just below the summit, the area opens up into a clearing where there was quite a bit of evidence of moose activity. No sightings today. The trail continues through some tall grasses before heading back into the woods and up to a bench with a great view. I could see on the map, the true summit wasn't too far, so started to head into the woods to see if it was marked when I noticed an obvious path and tree with pink flagging not too far in. I figured that was the summit, so headed up and was surprised to see a tree with a handle in it also! Retracing my steps down Goodhue Hill Trail, at the bottom I took the left onto Mill Pond Trail to continue to loop. I could hear water ahead and was surprised by another water crossing. This time over a beaver dam and small waterfall, thankfully with a bridge. The other side traversed the top of a mossy covered stone wall with rope, which I didn't use, but gave me a sense of security! A large blowdown was on the other side of the stone wall, which I carefully climbed over and popped out on the road, alongside a private garage and just a short ways down from the parking area. Walking back to the car, I noticed a large glacial erratic with a memorial to the woman who preserved the area and silently thanked her. Both of my visits here have been without expectation and I ended up pleasantly surprised at how delightful they were!

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