Barren Mountain, Elliotsville

Barren Mountain is the first big peak (2,670 feet) along the fabled 100-mile wilderness section of the Appalachian Trail, the last and final stretch of the long trail. So be prepared to meet many interesting through-hikers along the way. They can be a chatty bunch.

Day hikers can pick up the trail on either side of Barren Mountain, but the access from the Monson is easier to reach. From the Monson side, you’ll find the trailhead at the end of a long dirt road. From the trailhead, you’ll walk about 0.7 miles up an unmarked but easy-to-follow footpath to the Appalachian Mountain trail, which is marked with white blazes. The first 1.8 miles of the AT to the views at Barren Slide (accessed by a 250-foot footpath off the main route) is a fairly steady and moderately steep climb. Walk another 0.2 miles from the slides to an open ledge for the best views of the hike. You can see the summit’s fire tower from here. From this point, the summit is another relatively easy 1.8 miles, with the final quarter mile being the steepest push. The summit has a rickety fire tower, which you can climb if you’re brave and cautious, for excellent views. The views from the ground are decent but not gasp-inducing.

I highly recommend continuing along the AT for another 0.9 miles along fairly flat terrain to a 0.2-mile side trail to Cloud Pond. You can swim in the deliciously remote pond, which seems hidden from the world (there are, however, no mountain views from here). There is a lean-to a little bit set off from the pond’s edge.

Alternatively, you can hike up Third Mountain Trail from the east side, from a trailhead close to the AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodge on the Gorman Chairback Camp Road. From Greenville to this trailhead is mostly along logging roads and will be a long drive, at least 45 minutes. But once you arrive, the hike to the summit is steady and not too steep — it’s just long and goes up and down a bit. The first section of trail, the 1.5 miles up Third Mountain Trail to the AT, starts out with a gentle climb and gets steeper for the last half mile. At the junction, you’ll take a right and hike 7 miles along the ridge. You’ll soon arrive at some ledges with good views of Fourth Mountain, but the trail does not summit this mountain. Just below Fourth Mountain’s summit you’ll come across an old plane wreck. A through-hiker said he thought it crashed in 1976. I read online that no one was hurt in the crash! The trail can be quite muddy at times, and also crosses, via bog bridges, the beautiful and small Fourth Mountain bog with endangered plants. At 6 miles, you’ll reach the cut-off to Cloud Pond, and it’s another mile to the summit.

Directions: Turn onto Elliotsville Plantation Road from Route 15 in Monson 7.7 miles to a bridge over Big Wilson Stream. Turn left here, and pass the trailhead to Borestone Mountain. At this point the road turns to gravel. After another 2.2 miles, bear left and cross a small bridge. In just about half a mile, take a left onto a much rougher side road. Follow this about .6 miles to its very end, where there is a small area for several cars.