Beauty Ledge & Phoebes Nable 3/4/12

"A Snow Shoe Figure 8 at Moose Mountains" (pictures)

Yes, here we were again at Moose Mountains! After getting 10 inches of snow and not having much time on the snow shoes this year we opted to stay close and keep it simple. Besides, MMR is always a great visit especially now that we have a trail to an awesome ledge! We began our trip at about 9:45am. I tried to drive into the parking lot but my truck wouldn't make it. So I parked at the end of the drive. We began our walk on Burrows Farm Trail then at the junction took a right onto North Trail. The snow mobile trail runs along this section and it had certainly been used a little.

We followed the North Trail to it's upper junction at a large clearing. Here we took a sharp left into the trees along the soon-to-be Beauty Knob trail (pink tape). It was a lovely moderate climb and soon we were at the junction for Beauty Ledge Trail. A short distance we were over the knob and down on the ledge. What a beautiful view! And the sun came out just in time as we stood on the ledge. We took a short break then headed down Beauty Ledge trail down past Snapping Turtle Rock and back down to North Trail.

From here we hooked a right back onto Burrows Farm trail and headed up past the Burrows Field and up Phoebes Nable Mt. We ate our lunch here as we talked about everything we saw and ideas for what needs to be done this year for work. Once again the sun came out conveniently as we took our rest on the top of the mountain. Soon we headed down the other side of the mountains on Phoebes Nable Mt. trail (pink tape). We got some nice views of Beauty Ledge from certain points along the way. Making several turns we finally ended up back at the parking area at 1:15pm. Where there were two other vehicles now parked, one was one of our MMR friends...must have missed them!

Not a bad day. The snow was a little tough to walk in as it had a crusty layer on top of the rain the day before. And later in the day it had become soft from the sun popping out now-and-then. The sun hid most of the day. But when it broke through the clouds it was bright and warm. It was a great hike making the several loop options! 3.5 hours round trip approximately 4.5 miles...not bad! Oh, and someone carved their initials in the Burrows Field Sign...not cool! That sign seems to be the target for mischief. We'll have to take some sand paper to the luckily small section and stain it in the spring, grrrr!