Western Mountain Loop

The Perpendicular Trail on Mansell Mountain is the finest of the fine. It rises steeply up a talus slope to Mansell's south ridge, then follows the ridge and a narrow ravine to the summit, passing through mixed woods much of the way, past granite outcrops and cliffs. Both the trail and its landscape are beautiful. The best section is a mounting series of six switchbacks built with sustaining and retaining wall of stone mined from the talus. A stairway fit to join heaven and Earth. The name of the trail does not do it justice, making it sound too stern and too steep. The route is more serpentine than perpendicular. Rebuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the '30's when labor cost five dollars a months (plus three squares a day and a roof overhead) and trails were built rather than merely blazed through the woods, the Perpendicular Trail is a period showpiece that is a national treasure sixty years later.

The Western Mountain ridge and south face trails, on the other hand, allow passage without benefiting the landscape. The ride trail joins summit to summit in straightforward fashion, while at the same time cutting into tenuous layers of soil, promoting erosion, undoing thousands of years of natural improvement. Where the trail is difficult, hikers have stepped aside in search of easier ups and downs, widening the spread of the trail, narrowing the spread of trailside vegetation. Having said that, I have to add that the ridge of Western Mountain is a great place to hike. The woods and ground cover are worth the effort. The ridge is serrated with ups and downs, the hiker having to scramble in a few spots, but there is no other trail like it in the park. And the south face trail curving around from Bernard's summit in a long sweep through mixed woods down to Mill Field and the Western Mountain Truck Road is a pleasant amble in its own right.

There are several overlooks along the trail. The first is at the upper end of the Perpendicular Trail. Another is where the Razorback Trail heads off the ridge toward Gilley Field. That one overlooks Great Notch and the green flanks of Knight Nubble and Bernard Mountain. The nubble has a comparable outlook facing the other way. Bernard has an overlook facing the other way. Bernard has an overlook facing north over Long Pond and west over Blue Hill Bay.

I climbed some 1,360 feet, all told, though not in one stretch. Mansell's summit is 889 feet above the pumping station. From there I went down to Great Notch (640 feet), up to Knight Nubble (930 feet), down to Little Notch (890 feet), and up again to Bernard at 1,071 feet.