Two of our regular hikers were honored this past week.
Phil Johnson’s tractor was featured at a tractor competition this past week at the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum. Actually I’m not sure whether his tractor won or whether just Phil won a raffle and received an oil painting of a tractor that is a bit newer than his but looks pretty much the same to someone not well educated in Oliver Tractor. Phil got to lead the tractor parade.
Our Greg Dean, who has volunteered as an Ambassador at Mt. Pleasant for Loon Echo Land Trust was honored by them at their annual meeting this past Wednesday.
Let me paste in the short speech that Matt gave prior to presenting Greg the award:
“This year’s Dibner Lakes Region Heritage award goes to a dedicated land steward. A quiet and humble volunteer who spends countless hours on the trail, being everywhere our staff can’t be, especially at Pleasant Mountain. This person never asks for or receives much credit for the ways they’ve impacted Loon Echo Land Trust and more broadly the community of people who spend time outside in the Lake Region. So it’s with great pleasure that we publicly and joyfully acknowledge all that this person has done on behalf of the land and trails across our region. This year’s award is presented to Greg Dean. “
How does one crop a photo? It should be easy. I did find a button that removes all background.
Hike Report Mt. Peary July 31, 2026
Allen Crabtree Memorial Hike
By Jeff Sturgis
On a slightly muggy July morning with temperatures rising into the low 80’s, twenty Denmark Mountain Hikers gathered at the trailhead to Peary Mountain to honor the life of our friend and mentor, Allen Crabtree.
Mt. Peary’s summit was the first mountain that the DMH climbed in 2010 and also the site of our first Crabtree Memorial Hike last year at this time.
The trailhead picture included Jeff Sturgis, Jacob Schor, Laura Sullivan, Sue Meuse, Marji Bergman, Ron Paquette, Carol Strozewski, Kathy Huchthausen, Paul Waterhouse, Patti Brady, Robin Marciello, Phil Johnson, Polly Lombardi, Jean Murch, Diane Sinclair, Allmuth “Curly” Perzel, Susan Sedita and Gianna, and David Atchason.
We hit the trail at 9:10 am starting up the gentle slope of the 1.3 mile trail to the summit.
Our goal was not the actual summit. It was the open ledge on the northern end of the summit plateau that has great views of Pleasant Mountain and the Whites in western Maine and the white Mountain National Forest to the northwest.
This is a favorite spot of ours as it has a flat granite “bench” that serves as a table for the goodies that we share on our annual hikes that celebrate the New Year. [It should also be mentioned that for a short drive and a relatively easy hike, the views are spectacular]
As we hiked through some open grassy areas and old logging clearings at the beginning of the hike, we were joined by Sonya Proctor who had arrived late but easily caught up to us, and Allison Cook, who along with her husband Ed, own the land at the beginning of the trail over which the trail is located.
Just below the overlook, the trail took a sharp left turn on an old woods road and the a little further up that section it turns sharply to the right up a short steep section to our destination.
Reaching our goal at 10:05 am, we spread a tablecloth on the granite slab and all the goodies came out of our packs to be placed on our “table.” We spent about a half hour enjoying the spread and socializing. Then we gathered together to have a quiet time to remember Allen and all that he meant to us. Many of us spoke about our unique experiences with Allen over the 15 years he spent as the leader of the Denmark Mountain Hikers.
After a period of silence in his memory, we gradually picked up the leftovers and began working our way down the mountain at 10:45 am.
We spread out over the trail as we leisurely descended back to the parking lot. We reached our vehicles at the trailhead around 11:25 am and slowly left the parking lot after our tribute marking the one-year anniversary of the loss of our much-loved leader and friend.
Next Week’s Hikes: Dual Hike Week
That means two choices
August 7 Dual Hikes – Easy – Shell Pond, Lovell, ME – 2 mi RT, 187’ elevation gain. RT hiking 1.5 hr. RT driving 1.5 hours. (HL – Jeff Sturgis)
Difficult – Caribou Mountain (2,828 ft), Evans Notch, ME – 6.8 mi RT, 1,950 ft. elevation gain. RT hiking 5 hours. RT driving 2 hours. (HL – Greg Moulton)
Further information will follow
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