It had been three-and-a-half month span since our last hike up Beauty Ledge trail at Moose Mountains Reservation. This is a trail Scott and I built on the Reservation to which we are Forest Society Land Stewards. It was 3:30pm, cold and the sun was setting fast so it was to be a quick hike just to check on how the trail looked. After the mile walk along the woods roads that are Burrows Farm and North trails we began the hike up Beauty Ledge trail. After the steep climb we passed by Snapping Turtle Rock and followed the trail along boulders of broken ledge. Through the woods we could see the massive profile of Beauty Ledge, jutting out into the woods with the appearance of the bow of a battle ship!
The trail breaks away from the ledge area and cuts through a grassy area before returning to the ledge. Here the trail climbs steeply passing more boulders and rock outcrops. We passed by the Beauty Knob trail junction and on towards the knob. The trail climbs around it and then drops down to the ledge. The setting sun cast a glow on the valley below and to the horizon beyond. The moon sat high in the sky and Bowser Pond was cast in shadow. Such a beautiful sight and quite as always. After taking it all in we headed back down the way we came up. Everything looked good. And after receiving trail building training we can see plenty of changes and improvement we can make to this trail to make it even better!
