Denmark Mountain Hikers

July 24, 2026

Report submitted by Dale Nelson, hike leader

Blue skies “reigned” on this Friday morning as we converged to hike Province
Pond in South Chatham, NH.

Eighteen  hikers gathered in the trailhead parking lot,, some coming from
the Denmark Church but the majority directly from their various homes. Hiking today were trip leaders Dale and Kitty Nelson, Toni Carros, Beverly Reid, Laura Sullivan, Janet Arens, Susan Sedita, Sandy Bell, Robin Marciello, Polly Lombardi, Kathy Hutchausen, Patty Brady, Fred Muratore, Robert Boros, Curly Peval, Jeff Stuigis, Jacob Schor and Roger Marks.

After our obligatory group photo at the trail sign,  we commenced walking at 9:30am on what turned out to be a delightful hike up the well maintained trail that also doubles as a snowmobile trail in the winter months for most of the way. The. hike up was for the most part uneventful if you consider walking in one of the most beautiful corners of the globe uneventful.

There was some evidence of a sizable blowdown as we approached the SE end of the pond at the Province Brook outlet. We followed the south side of the pond and diverged off the snowmobile trail via a marked path and arrived at the shelter soon after at approx. 10:20 to 10:30am. Here we gathered for a snack, hydration and friendly conversation. (hey it rhymes)

Real humans talking about human things.

The shelter is in great shape with what looked like a recent roof replacement. We spotted 2 Phoebe nests in the rafters indicating recent activity.

At just before 11am we took two group photos, one with backs to the shelter and a second with backs to the lake.

We then headed back down the trail getting back to our vehicles at 11:50am. Some of us had pre-conceived plans to stop in at Sherman’s Farm for ice cream on the way home.

Allen wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Dale Nelson

Trip Leader/Scribe

Next Week’s Hike:

July 31 – Easy – Peary Mountain (984 ft), Brownfield.  2 mi RT, 584 ft. elevation gain. RT hiking 1.5 hr. RT driving .5 hour. (HL – Gordon Farrell) This will be our Allen Crabtree Memorial Hike with refreshments and a remembrance at the summit. Please bring goodies to share as we honor the memory of our good friend and leader for his service to our group. 

AllTrails describes this hike as 3 miles in length (out and back) with a 606 foot elevation gain and suggests that it will take about 90 minutes to complete.  Allen might have had a calculus to employ in predicting how much longer it might take the DMHs but I am unaware of the correction factor he would apply to make that calculation so let’s say an hour and a half give or take.

Peary Mountain (958 ft) in Brownfield, Maine, is named for Arctic explorer Admiral Robert E. Peary, Sr., a one time resident of neighboring Fryeburg from 1878 to 1879. The trailhead for this easy to moderate hike is located in Brownfield, Maine, off Route 113.

Trailhead Directions: Follow Farnsworth Road about 1.3 miles from Route 113 to a small dirt/grass parking area on the right side of the road, just before a one-lane bridge over the Little Saco River. In the summer, this can also be reached from the west (Fryeburg) side, but the road can be closed in winter months.

The signpost and trail through the woods at the parking area appear inviting, but these are for snowmobile trails so cross Farnsworth Road and take a left into the woods just before the river (sign for Certified Family Forest). The quiet trail heads steadily uphill, turning from a woods road/snowmobile trail to a single track path (follow signs for summit) as it passes logging areas, and reaches the ledges facing the White Mountains. A well-placed stone slab bench surveys the panoramic view.

Note: This parking lot is small and we best make an effort to carpool from the church. As always meet at the Denmark Church and we will depart from there shortly after 8:30 am.

Peary Mountain was the first group hike taken by the Denmark Mountain Hikers. That would have been in the winter of 2010. It felt appropriate last year when we decided to hike to that same summit to escort our long-time club leader, Allen Crabtree, well his ashes at least, up the same mountain one last time.  We’ve decided to go back again this year to mark the anniversary of his death as, for many of us, a year hasn’t been quite long enough to not be thinking of him and we desired to mark this anniversary.  As Allen always seemed happy to have an excuse to create something of a festive air during our hikes, we’ll bring snacks to potluck with on the summit bench and as it’s a relatively short climb, we’ll have plenty of time to do so.