Round Mountain (Albany Township, south of Bethel) via Round Mtn Trail: 29-Oct-2013

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1HappyHiker

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Bethlehem, NH
This was my first time to hike Round Mountain. It was a delightful surprise! For whatever reason, the Maine Mountain Guide (10th edition) doesn't include this hike. However, it is described on the Maine Trail Finder website (click HERE).

The trail is very well maintained. Although it is unblazed, it is exceptionally well-marked with cairns all along the route.

The trail has many steep spots, but there are several switchbacks to provide relief. The steepness moderates somewhat as you come closer to the Rock Castle Loop portion of the trail. However, this loop contains some of the steepest sections of the entire route. Doing the loop clockwise involves a steep ascent. And, of course, if you do the loop counterclockwise, then it involves a steep descent. So, it's your choice as to which direction to follow! My personal choice is to ascend steeply, and so I chose the clockwise option. But regardless of how you do the loop, you will enjoy several fine viewpoints looking westward toward high peaks in NH, and northward toward the Mahoosucs.

The Maine Trail Finder website lists this hike as 1.8 miles round-trip. However, this description seems to have been written prior to the relatively recent addition of the Rock Castle Loop. My guess is that the round-trip mileage with the loop might be slightly over 2 miles. And just as a side note, I commend those who constructed the Rock Castle Loop. It's quite obvious that a lot of work went into it!

Photos are at my BLOG.
 
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