Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Hike

On Friday, November 29th, Tom and I met up at the trailhead near the end of Willard Pond Road in Antrim.  We both arrived just before 9:30AM and it was already a beautiful day with sunny skies.  We got ready and headed down the road for a little until we met up with the Hatch Mill Pond Trail.  We headed down the trail and quickly reached a stream crossing.  Only part of this was bridged and as I tried to rock hop, I ended up slipping on the ice-covered rocks and into the fridid water.  After an assessment of the situation and trying to get back off, we modified our trip alittle and returned to Willard Pond instead of heading up the trail to Goodhue Hill.

We stopped to take in the view of the pond from the boat launch and then backtracked a little for the Tudor Trail.  This was a level route along the western shore of the pond.  We reached a trail junction, where a spur trail led out to the beautiful Pine Point.  Here there were views southward along the pond as well as views of Bald Mountain.  It was about 10:20AM and after a bit we hiked back to the Tudor Trail junction, where the trail turned away from the pond and began to climb the mountain.  The trail was modest, but persistent in its climb.  We reached the first of a few open ledges by 11:20AM.  The views over the pond and to the east were wonderful.  We hadn't run across anyone along the trails to this point, but here we met up with a couple of guys, who were doing this peak after hiking Prospect Mountain in the morning.  We chatted for a bit before continuing along the open ledges as we climbed further towards the summit.  We reached another set of open ledges with views towards Mt. Monadnock by a little before noon.  We decided it was a great place to have an early lunch, especially since there was little wind and it had warmed slightly.

After lunch we started to run into a number of other hikers as we continued to climb to the summit, which we reached by 12:30PM.  The summit was in the woods, marked by a cairn...hardly worthy of its "bald" name.  We descended off the peak heading southward and when we reached another spur trail we decided to take this in lieu of the Goodhue Hill trail that we skipped earlier.  I had never been on this trail, but it supposedly led out to a view.  This trail followed an old tote road for a short distance before heading back into the woods.  It was quickly apparent that this trail was not well-utilized.  The trail was blazed occasionally, but there was not always an obvious trail.  In any case, we reached the end of the trail, which terminated at a logged out section of trees.  There were good views east and south though.  There appeared to be an open area up higher, so we ended up bushwhacking abit to reach that area.  There were great views from here, but there was no trail up there and it seemed like the trail did end at the logged out area.  We bushwhacked back and returned along the spur trail.  By 1:50PM we were back on the Tamposi Trail and continued descending off of the mountain.  The rest of the descent was good as it passed a number of eratics, and we reached our cars again by about 2:30PM.

We called it an early day after a wonderful hike.  It was just the ticket for the day after Thanksgiving and I really appreciated Tom's companionship.  It was great to catch up and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation during the day.  Thanks, Tom!

The dePierrefeu-Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary is often overlooked for the more popular hiking spots in the Monadnock Region, but it provides a peaceful place to hike with beautiful views and an abundance of wildlife.  This is the largest Audubon property in NH and offers a remarkable diversity of features, including Hatch Mill Pond, the 100-acre Willard Pond, Bald Mountain and Goodhue Hill, both summits offering views into the surrounding Monadnock area.  This hike will encircle the Hatch Mill Pond with a side trip up to Goodhue Hill and then continue along the western shore of Willard Pond out to Pine Point before finishing up by ascending Bald Mountain (and its sister peaks). 

NOTE:  Dogs are NOT permitted on this hike as it is a restricted wildlife sanctuary. 

Total Distance and Elevation Gain:  6.5-7.0 miles with approximately 1450 feet in accumulative elevation gain. 

Total Time:  6 hours depending on breaks and group's speed. 

Rain or harsh weather may postpone to another date or cancel, as appropriate. 

What to Bring:  Typical fall hiking gear should be appropriate:  convertible hiking pants, good sturdy hiking boots with thick socks, a windbreaker/raingear and extra layers (e.g. fleece)...or winter jacket/parka depending on forecasted conditions.  Also bring along lunch, snacks and plenty of water (at least 2-L).  Optionally, pack sunscreen and anything else that you may require for a day hike. 

Afterwards:  If there is sufficient interest, we will have drinks and/or dinner in the area...there is a pizza place in Antrim.