Tunk Mountain and Hidden Ponds
The nice thing about ponds and lakes next to mountains is that they offer views across the water of the mountains without the effort of climbing the mountain.
I set off hoping to hike Tunk Mountain. The first hurdle I encountered was that the parking lot had not been plowed and there wasn't sufficient space to park on the road. Fortunately, I found a space to park around 1/4 mile down the road at West Spring River Lake Road.
The trail to Tunk Mountain was well marked and had hard packed snow so I didn't need to resort to snowshoes (I did wear microspikes as it was icy in parts). Around a mile in, right after Mud Pond, the ridge trail starts its vertical ascent and is fairly steep. The trail at that point was extremely icy and although I had spikes and poles, I made the decision to stop at that point and re-assess my options.
I elected instead to take the Hidden Ponds Trail, which offered nice views of Little Long Pond and Tunk Mountain. The total hike was 3.3 miles (including 1/2 mile of on-road hiking to get to where I parked).
Overall I had a great trip despite the lack of parking and the change in plans. The weather was nice (32 degrees and partly sunny) and I was happy to be outside.
Tunk Mountain and the Hidden Ponds Trail are part of the Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land.
Here is the trail map from today's hike.
I set off hoping to hike Tunk Mountain. The first hurdle I encountered was that the parking lot had not been plowed and there wasn't sufficient space to park on the road. Fortunately, I found a space to park around 1/4 mile down the road at West Spring River Lake Road.
The trail to Tunk Mountain was well marked and had hard packed snow so I didn't need to resort to snowshoes (I did wear microspikes as it was icy in parts). Around a mile in, right after Mud Pond, the ridge trail starts its vertical ascent and is fairly steep. The trail at that point was extremely icy and although I had spikes and poles, I made the decision to stop at that point and re-assess my options.
I elected instead to take the Hidden Ponds Trail, which offered nice views of Little Long Pond and Tunk Mountain. The total hike was 3.3 miles (including 1/2 mile of on-road hiking to get to where I parked).
Overall I had a great trip despite the lack of parking and the change in plans. The weather was nice (32 degrees and partly sunny) and I was happy to be outside.
Tunk Mountain and the Hidden Ponds Trail are part of the Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land.
Here is the trail map from today's hike.
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| View of Tunk Mountain from the Ridge Trail across Mud Pond |
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| View of Little Long Pond from the Hidden Ponds Trail |
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