Denmark Mountain Hikers

Bald Ledge Hike Report

September 18, 2026

By Jeff Sturgis

On a beautiful, sunny fall day with temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s, twelve Denmark Mountain hikers met at the Varney Road trailhead parking lot for the hike up to Bald Ledge in Porter. Hiking today were Jeff Sturgis, Tom Dugas, Jacob Schor, Dale Nelson, Kitty Nelson, Tina Estes, Kathy Huchthausen, Jean Murch and Riley, Robin Marciello, David Atchason, and Polly Lombardi. Our plan was to take the .7 mile Bald Ledge Preserve Trail to the summit and then descend the 1 mile Bald Ledge Summit Trail to the Colcord Pond Road parking lot. From there we would complete the loop hike by a short walk up the Colcord Pond Road to an old woods road that is now used as a four -wheeler and snowmobile trail until it intersects with the old abandoned Varney Road that would take us back to our starting point.

We took our trailhead picture at 9:10 AM and started up the Preserve Trail. This short trail starts on the Varney Road then branches off over a stone wall and rises gently through a nice forest. The elevation gain is a modest of 270’ to the ledge that gives you a nice view to the southeast over Colcord Pond. We arrived at the overlook at 9:35 AM and spent about 15 minutes enjoying the view and snacking in the warm sun.

Here we parted with Robin, Jean and Riley as they returned back down the Preserve Trail to their vehicle.

We then started down the Summit Trail which winds through a beautiful forest down to the Colcord Pond parking area with a drop of 575’. We arrived there at 10:35 AM for a longer break for lunch. The parking area is relatively new and is ringed by boulders which provided enough seats for all of us to eat our lunches. During lunch we heard a shout from the trail behind us and were surprised to see Sheldon Ashby and Sandy Warren, accompanied by Sheldon’s dog, Kitty, emerge from the woods. They had had trouble finding the trailhead, but once they did, they were able to  catch up to us.

At 11:00 AM, after lunch and our usual socializing, we started up the road to complete the loop. This lead to another surprise encounter as Curly Perzel drove up beside us as we walked up the road.

She happens to live on Colcord Pond and was driving home. She drove along and visited with us as we all proceeded up the road. Shortly, we turned onto the old abandoned Breakneck Hill Road that now serves as a four-wheeler trail in the summer and a snowmobile trail in the winter. This was the worst part of the hike because the use by these motorized vehicles has worn the trail’s surface down to a jumble of rocks. This section rises gently and we passed two intersections of trails that branch off to the right, the second of which goes to Devil’s Den, where we have hiked to in the past but from another direction.

At the crest of this rise, we reached the final leg at the intersection with the trail that

follows the old Varney Road that lead us back down to our vehicles. This section rises gently over the rocky surface that eventually turns into a very pleasant, carpeted forest trail with old rock walls on both sides.

We reached the parking area at 11:50 AM after a total 2.7 miles under our boots, and after two surprise reunions with other DMHers. After some discussion, we decided that when we next do this hike, we’ll try starting the hike at the Colcord Pond Road trailhead but still go counter clockwise. This would get the road walk and rocky hike up the Breakneck Hill road section out of the way early in the hike and save the very nice Preserve and Summit Trails for the last half of the hike.

Next Week: Friday, Sept 25, 2026

Arethusa Falls

September 25, 2026 – Moderate – Arethusa Falls (2,000 ft) Crawford Notch, NH – 3.0 miles RT, 900 ft elevation gain. RT hiking 2.5 hours.  RT driving 3 hours. 

Meet at the Denmark church at 8:30 am – Trailhead is on Arethusa Falls Road, a short paved access road off US-302 in Harts Location, about 10 minutes north of Bartlett and 25 minutes northwest of North Conway. Google Maps and the NH State Parks page both pin the trailhead correctly.