Hiking: Burnt Meadow Mountains colorful history and hiking

View towards Stone Mountain from Burnt Meadow Mountain. (ED PARSONS PHOTO)

Well made trail signs. (ED PARSONS PHOTO)

The lower mountainous regions around the White Mountains generally have colorful histories, and offer interesting hiking as well. The Burnt Meadow Mountains of Brownfield, Maine are no exception.

Cutting off an hour’s drive for hikers coming from Portland, Maine and easily accessible from Conway as well, this group of mountains has some fun trails to great views out over pastoral landscapes.

The history of these small mountains can go as far back as you want. Recent “fission track dating,” which measures “damage tracks of fission fragments in Uranium bearing minerals,” has contributed greatly to knowledge of the thermal history of the continental crust. Recent testing of rock from the Burnt Meadow Mountains dates their volcanic activity at 177 million years old, a little younger than White Mountain activity at 180 million.

Jumping to modern history, the area around the mountain range was granted to Captain Henry Young Brown in 1764 for his services in the French and Indian War.

In Brownfield, farming and small industry from water power along the Saco River provided a living. After the Civil War, a rail line passed through long-side the river.

But in 1947, the great fire destroyed 85 percent of Brownfield. Eventually a ski resort was proposed on Burnt Meadow Mountain to help the local economy. It opened in 1971, had its day, and closed in 1982.

Recently, the world class Stone Mountain Arts Center has put the town on the map and a few houses have crept up the mountain sides.

But in this modern day of outdoor recreation, the Burnt Meadow Mountains are seen as an asset to the area and both the town and the numerous private landowners of the range are aware of this.

Trails both old and new are being enjoyed by hikers that are local, from eastern cities, and those passing through from much further afield as hiking websites offer trail descriptions and directions. This helps the local economy.

Such low lying mountains with a potential for great trail systems often attract volunteers to work on them. Sometimes, if the area is fortunate, these volunteers are willing to put a great deal of time and effort into it. Such is the case with Doug Ofiara from Scarborough, Maine and Keith Chapman of South Portland. They have been working on the trails in the Burnt Meadow Mountains since 2004.

Cooperating with private landowners that year, they upgraded the 1.3 mile Burnt Meadow Trail — possibly also reopened after the 1947 fire — to the open rocky summit of Burnt Meadow Mountain (1575 feet).

Since then, with the involvement of the Maine chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and working with other volunteers willing to get their hands and knees dirty, they have built two other trails in the range.

The 2 mile Twin Brook Trail forms a great 3.3 mile loop hike with the Burnt Meadow Trail, going through a saddle between Burnt Meadow Mountain and Stone Mountain (1624 feet). Starting in the summer of 2007, Ofiara and Chapman determined the location of this trail, did the flagging and layout, and then the initial rough cut. With other volunteers, they finished it by 2009.

The next summer of 2010 saw them building the new Stone Mountain Trail with a crew of seven. It starts in the saddle at a junction with the Twin Brook Trail, and climbs 0.72 miles to the great southeastern view on top of Stone Mountain.

Their present plans don’t stop there. They dream of a trail along the entire Burnt Meadow range, and across intervening lower summits all the way to Mount Prospect in Freedom, creating a 2 to 3 day hiking experience. Of course this is dependant on land owner approval. They have kept the Brownfield selectmen abreast.

Presently, they are working with a cooperative landowner — Hugh Hasting of Fryeburg — who owns a small 1,200 foot mountain in Brownfield separate from the Burnt Meadow range, that is aligned with their proposed route to Freedom. Ofiara is presently flagging a trail up this mountain, which he calls Hastings Mountain.

Landowners along the route might even build primitive cabins or a bed and breakfasts, also stimulating the local economy.

This route would also likely have a connector trail with the Mount Cutler area in Hiram. Doug Ofiara has also worked on trails up Mount Cutler, in cooperation with the present landowner.

Hiking communities, like other communities with good leadership, tend to grow. Presently, Ofiara and Chapman lead an expanding group of 20 to 30 people called the Friends of the Burnt Meadow Mountains (their Website, friendsofburntmeadowmountains.com will be up and running in November, 2011). Some of these members work hard building trails, yet others are simply enthusiastic hikers who frequently hike in the Burnt Meadow/Mount Cutler areas. They are able to report any changes, needs, or violations they might find there.

Hiking the oak ridges of these peaks, with pastoral views from rocky outcrops, are well worth checking out. To get to the parking lot for the Burnt Meadow Trail, take Route 113 east from Fryeburg. In Brownfield, after the four corners by the G@S convenience store, take a diagonal right on Pig Street. Go to its end and turn left on Route 160. In 1.2 miles, on a blind corner, turn right into the rustic parking lot. This has been considerably expanded and improved by a cooperative landowner. The trail sign is on the right. Be aware that there are one or two steep scrambles on the Burnt Meadow Trail as you near the top.

Note: Here is a suggestion for a combination hike and cultural event that my friend and I are doing tomorrow, Sunday October, 9th. In the morning we are going to hike the loop up the Burnt Meadow Trail and down the Twin Brook Trail (with a possible side trip to the top of Stone Mountain if we have time).

At 2:30 p.m., we are going to a free talk and concert at the Hiram Historical Society called “Longfellow and Bull: the virtuoso and the poet, with Charles Kaufmann.” Kaufmann is artistic director of the Longfellow Chorus. Evidently, the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull had much in common with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (who retired to his family farm in Hiram in 1807). They lived in the same time period, yet 3,210 miles apart. Come hear about it, and listen to "Bull’s surprisingly genial music" with Kaufmann on bassoon, and Geoffrey Wieting on piano.

Well used hiking boots allowed.

To get to the Hiram Historical Society, continue east on Route 113 from Brownfield to the bridge over Saco. Cross the bridge and take a sharp left, and look for the tall white building on the left. For more info on the talk, call 207-625-4762.