Until a couple of years ago, I had never heard of Albany Mountain. While hiking on Caribou Mountain in the Evans Notch area with friends Laurie Wunder and Tom Meredith, they pointed out the nearby 1,930-foot summit and recommended it as another scenic hike in the area.
As northern New Hampshire residents, Tom and Laurie have acquired a vast knowledge of the best hikes in the region, so I place high value on their mountain recommendations. Our interest piqued; a few days later, my wife, Nancy, and I joined them for our first ascent of the secluded peak and thoroughly enjoyed the stimulating outing.
Albany Mountain is located in Albany Township, a mountainous area between West Bethel and Stoneham and part of the eastern sector of White Mountain National Forest. Unlike many hiking destinations in the area, it doesn’t get much foot traffic.
Since Nancy and I are coping with nagging physical ailments, we’ve been looking for easy to moderate mountain hikes this fall that don’t exceed our limitations. In an email conversation with Tom and Laurie, we suggested Albany Mountain for a Halloween Day outing. Tom couldn’t make it, but Laurie was game.
Getting to the Albany Mountain trailhead is a bit of a chore. The old Maine expression, “you can’t get there from here” applies. Leaving Topsham, we drove to Norway and then followed Routes 118 and 5 to Patte Mill Brook Road on the left. We maneuvered down the narrow dirt road to a left onto Crocker Pond Road. The trailhead and small parking area is on the right after traveling .6 mile.
We met Laurie at the trailhead on a glorious, warm sunny fall day. When we arrived, I immediately realized we should have planned the trip two weeks earlier as the peak autumn foliage had passed and most of the leaves on the deciduous trees had fallen. Still the downed leaves and dark green conifer trees provided a brilliant array of colors. Since bird hunting season was underway, we wore a combination of hunter’s orange vests and bright yellow tops.
Our trek began on a well-worn path covered with leaves and marked with yellow blaze. We hiked easily in a predominantly barren hardwood forest on gentle terrain until reaching a beaver pond.
The pond presented the most challenging hiking conditions of the day. An attenuated muddy branch-infested path leads around the rim of the pond. Our primary concern was keeping footwear dry. A misstep on one side would soak our feet while an errant move in the opposite direction would result in sinking into ankle deep mud. We carefully negotiated through the maze of obstacles while avoiding any significant accidents.
The trail widened on a gentle hard packed dirt surface covered with a thick carpet of leaves. As we progressed, the gradient steepened and the character of the passageway transitioned to a circuitous route over sometimes slippery granite ledges.
We passed a side trail that leads to an overlook and agreed to explore it during our return. More extensive upsloping ledges led us to a rounded top crowned with a small cairn that appeared to be the highpoint. We did not find a summit marker.
From that location, we descended on an obvious path to exposed ledges that provide expansive views of the surrounding valley. Based on Laurie’s recollection that more panoramic vistas were in the area, we continued searching through narrow passages that led to more scenic revelations.
Satisfied we had experienced the best of the southern views, we returned over the summit and dropped down to the spur trail previously bypassed. The unremarkable path ends at an impressive west facing overlook with spectacular views of the White Mountains. We stopped for a lunch break while trying to identify the various peaks. Laurie ended speculation by retrieving a map of the Whites from her pack.
The warm summer-like weather provided an added incentive to linger. However, concerns about driving after dark with trick-or-treaters on the streets motivated us to move on.
While the majority of our descent was uneventful, we still had to carefully navigate around the problematic beaver pond. Fortunately, our traverse along the edge of the tiny tarn was mishap free.
Ron Chase’s book, “Maine Al Fresco: The Fifty Finest Outdoor Adventures in Maine,” narrates nine more exciting mountain hikes around the state.
