May 29, 2026
We had two separate hikes this past Friday on what turned into a lovely day despite the threatening rain,
Hermit Falls Hike Report: May 29, 2026
(Report submitted by Jeff Sturgis)
At the beginning of the week, the weather reports indicated a rainy Friday. As the week progressed, the rain was pushed later and later in the day. So, it was with a great deal of optimism that 16 Denmark Mountain Hikers gathered at Basin Pond in Evans Notch for their weekly hike.
Hiking today were Jeff Sturgis, Jacob Schor with Ruby and Piper, Andrew Bradford, Kathy Huchthausen, Tina Estes, Jennifer Schmidt, Greg Dean, Pat Marchetti, Jane Gibbons, Jean Murch, Sandra Bell, Polly Lombardi, Laura Caissie, Robin Marciello and Dale and Kitty Nelson.
The weather had a “Goldilocks” quality; not too hot, not too cold and sunny with a slight breeze that mitigated the nuisance of the first bugs of the spring season. The Basin is a beautiful, horsehoe-shaped bowl on the west side of Evans Notch nestled below a mountain rim that stretches north from the Baldfaces to the Royces. Hermit Falls is at the back of the basin tucked under that rim.
We organized, took our kiosk picture and hit the trail at 9:40 am. With such a large group, we spread out over the trail reflecting the various paces of the group members. (Piper apparently took the lead while Ruby hung to the rear of the line as Jacob was the sweep) The trail first skirts the south side of the pond then crosses Basin Brook, then a bridge over a dry washout and finally heads deeper towards the basin wall. The trail around the pond was boney and wet in some places and crossed several small brooks before we reached Basin Brook. After crossing the brook and the nearby bridge we enjoyed the fairly flat walk through a blooming deciduous forest until, at 10:35 am and a little over a mile, the main body reached the junction with the Rim Junction Trail, which, as its name suggests, rises quite steeply to the rim. The trail to Rim Junction peels off to the right and, on the left, a short spur leads to the falls.
From here it was a short jaunt down, and then up the spur to the falls. The falls are fairly broad, with the water cascading over “steps” at the top with the channel narrowing at the bottom.
Reaching the falls by 10:45 am, we enjoyed a pleasant 20 minutes eating snacks and lunches in the coolness of the mist and the shadows of the surrounding ridges above.
After our group picture at 11:10 am, we started back down the trail at a steady pace marveling in our good luck that the rain, predicted for the afternoon, was still several hours in the future. We filtered into the parking lot around the noon hour, and some of us scouted out the shore of the pond with Greg finding a number of milk snakes that make their home there. It was a very nice hike with the only disappointment being that the Stowe Corner Store, that had been open when we passed iby in the morning, had closed when we came by in the early afternoon. No ice cream for us!
NOTE: We are preparing the summer hike schedule. If you have any recommendations for hikes you would like us to schedule, please forward their names to: jeffreysturgis54@gmail .com
Speckled Mountain May 29, 2026
(Report submitted by Greg Moulton)
Five Denmark Mountain Hikers climbed Speckled Mountain in Evans Notch, Maine on Friday, May 29, 2026.
Hiking today were Greg Moulton, Louise Jensen, Carol Strozewski, Janet Arens, and Laura Sullivan. We ascended via the Spruce Hill Trail, then the Bickford Brook Trail to the summit, and returned by the same route. The Spruce Hill Trail leaves the east side of Route 113 just north of the height of land in Evans Notch.
We started on the trail at 9:40 AM. The weather at the start was ideal for hiking: temperatures in the low 50s, later rising into the 60s, with partly sunny skies, and an occasional cool breeze. The forecast called for rain starting mid-afternoon, and our hope and plan was to be done or on the way out by then. Mosquitoes were active in the parking lot, so we put on insect repellent. They weren’t too bad on the trail most of the time, especially if we kept moving. If we stopped, they would come after us, which was a good incentive to keep moving. The breeze helped deter them, especially at the summit.
The trail was very pleasant. It would ascend moderately by spells but then level off to allow us to catch our breath. It was relatively smooth with good footing (for a New England trail…). There were no really steep or difficult sections, except for a token mini-scramble on the final approach to the summit. The trail ascends through beautiful forests, deciduous trees below and coniferous trees above, with occasional views through the trees. We saw a lot of trilliums (Because trillium comes from Latin, you may see the Latin plural form trillia or trillii, depending on the gender assigned to the plant, but trilliums is accepted and used in everyday and botanical English.), and some of the hobblebushes were showing off beautiful white blossoms.
We saw moose poop but no moose.
We reached the summit at 12:10 PM. The summit is beautiful; open ledges with a panoramic view, especially to the north and west, including Mount Washington and many other mountains.
We had dueling PeakFinder apps going to identify them all. The weather was still partly sunny, with good visibility. There was a strong breeze, which was refreshing at first, but led us to seek a sheltered spot for lunch. The summit had concrete foundations from the old fire tower, and also a summit benchmark. There is apparently a tradition of taking a picture of the toes of hiker’s boots encircling the benchmark. Greg had never heard of this tradition, and was glad to finally be enlightened.
We spent 35 minutes at the summit, eating lunch, admiring the view, and taking pictures. We started down at 12:45 PM. We made good time on the descent, as clouds thickened overhead. As we neared the end, a light rain began to fall. At that point we didn’t care, and just powered our way down to the parking lot, finishing at 2:40 PM.
Greg’s GPS showed a distance of 6.4 miles, 1804 feet elevation gain, in 5 hours. All agreed it was a great hike, not to mention our excellent timing with the weather.
Next week’s hike
Five Kezars Pond
June 5 – Moderate – 3 mi RT, 600’ elevation gain, RT hiking 3 hrs, RT driving 1 1/2 hrs.
Kezer Pond Info Link
There are two trailheads about half a mile apart that are either end of the loop trail. We typically do both Ron’s loop and the mountain trail and the Orange Trail, which connects them. We usually start at one trail head and just do the loop and come back to the other trailhead. It’s a short distance between the trailheads. There is not a lot of parking at either trailhead,. Dale may go down this week to scope it out and then let you know. . We will provide further details later in the week letting you know which of the trailheads we will meet at..
Meet at the Denmark church at 8:30 am.
Directions to the Trailhead:
From North Waterford, begin at P & Kay’s gas station on Route 5. turn right onto Route 35 (Valley Road), then right again onto Five Kezars Rd. At almost 2 miles turn right onto Kezars Ridge Road, and follow this road for about 0.6 miles. Shortly thereafter a sign marks the first GLLT trailhead, with the trailhead for Ron’s Loop being another 0.5 miles down this road.
This may not feel like a detailed enough description to our regular readers so expect another hike announcement in the coming days providing clarification and further details about next Friday’s hike.
Paddle the Ponds with Polly
Polly is suggesting that once finished with the hike we all go for a paddle in the ponds, so consider bringing a paddle boat (kayak or canoe rather than inner tube). Again, more information will show up during the week.
Leave a comment