You Are Here: Bear Mountain

There are probably a lot of Bear Mountains in New Hampshire. This one is in Hinsdale and is part of the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail. In my efforts to still avoid snow, I again headed far south. Parking for this trail is at the Kilburn Trailhead across the street in Pisgah State Park. Carefully cross Rt 63 and walk maybe a tenth of a mile down to a gate. Here you will see a map for the W-M Trail. Pass through the gate and follow the blazed stakes around the abandoned vehicles and up the road. Today it was frozen mud and a little bit of ice, and I wondered if it would be like this the entire way. I had my spikes in my bag, but for now I could avoid the slippery bits easily enough. Another abandoned truck is in the woods halfway up the road, and then you come upon a cabin. I always find this a bit disconcerting, but there were no signs of life and I continued on my way. The road got a bit muddier/icier but soon came to a sharp left turn. The mud/ice ended here thankfully and the next couple tenths was through some overgrown grasses, but continued to be well marked. At about half a mile from the car, the trail enters the Bear Mountain State Forest and everything changes. The trail became pine needle bed and the forest became enchanting. I passed a bench at a small cleared area, but there were no views this morning with low hanging clouds. The trail continues to climb gently before reaching a sign on a tree stating Bear Mountain Peak.. this is in fact not the true summit of Bear Mountain, which is about 75 yards off trail ( I did not visit the true summit). There are no views, so I just continued over the mountain and started down the other side. The descent started moderately at first, then became rather steep and even though there was no snow or ice, it was very leafy, which made it slippery going at times. There were a couple areas that could use a little maintenance, but the trail is very well marked and nothing impeded progress. Once down the other side, I crossed Plain Road and started up the Bear Mountain Connector Trail.. which was renamed the Tom Duston Trail this past September. I had read this trail was rather steep and that description rang true. Only 0.7 miles up to the Moon Ledge vista, but that 0.7 miles packs a lot of punch, particularly after having come up and over one mountain already. My legs were burning by the time I reached Moon Ledge. I had been up here a couple years ago when doing the Daniels Mountain Loop, so reaching it from this direction completed all the trails in the Madame Sherri Forest/Wantastiquet Mountain immediate area for me. I stopped for a snack and enjoyed the views.. and even contemplated if there was another way back to the car via roads instead of having to go down and up and down all those steep climbs.. alas, there wasn't anything miles and miles long, so I began the steep descent back down the Tom Duston Trail. As is always the case, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined while climbing up. I saw my first 2 people of the day (who commented that they do this trail almost every weekend and I was one of the first people they'd ever seen on it!) and then I encountered a hunter a little further down. Back at Plain Road, I crossed back over and took a deep breath before having to do the steep climb back up Bear Mountain. Although there is absolutely nothing to scenic to see along this trail (with the exception of the bench and small lookout) it was a pleasant walk nonetheless.

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