This 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.
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