West Baldpate Mountain



West Baldpate Mountain (9/4/2010)

This is the first time we visited the Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain. It's a preserve with a barbell-like network of trails: there's a western network of trails connected to an eastern network of trails via the straight white-blazed Ridge trail. Today we hiked in the western section, parking on Fiddlers Creek Road (nearest River Road/Route 29). We took the blue-blazed Summit Trail north to the Ridge Trail, making a left onto that trail and taking it west to the red-blazed NW Loop trail. We took that that trail to is end at the Ridge Trail where we made a left. Here we saw the remains of a farm with plenty of dilapidated structures, and a lovely little pond. We continued east along the Ridge until we decided to turn back, first visiting more remaining structures near where "Drive" (on the map) crosses the Summit trail.

Total distance hiked today was 6.3 miles in approximately 3 hours.

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Interesting surface of parking lot

Summit Trail

Rocky stretch




Meadow on the ridge

View to Pennsylvania

 

The Ridge trail

Phragmites

Pennsylvania

Survey marker
 



Delaware River

Delaware River

 


Huge tree on Ridge trail


On the NW Loop trail

 


No Outlet indeed!

NW Loop trail


Bumble bee
 


Black vultures on barn

Abandoned building

Abandoned house

Vultures on the roof
 


Black vultures

Abandoned barn


 


Farm pond


Well near pond

 



Well


Wrought iron gate
 


Trees on Ridge trail

Narrow trail in lower left


 


Power lines to abandoned farm

View towards PA

Our lunch spot on the ridge

Abandoned bath tub
 


Another abandoned house

Road to visitor's center

Barn

Ted Stiles plaque
 


Greenhouse


View towards PA

 


Private residence?


Visitor's Center

 


Pennsylvania in distance


Gorgeous tree trunks

 


Back on Summit trail

[Photo by Laura]


Giant mushrooms
 

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