Old stonewalls are common on the Mount Pisgah trails. Ron Chase photos

My first introduction to Mount Pisgah in Winthrop was about 35 years ago. A friend, Gary Cole, invited me on a cross-country ski trip over the summit.

There were no conventional cross-country ski trails on the mountain. Rather, Gary, who was very familiar with the small central Maine peak, cobbled together a combination of old farm roads, herd paths, informal snowmobile trails and some bushwhacking. The trek was a very stimulating endeavor and, along with friends, we repeated it several times during the ensuing years.

One of the memories I have of those early ski trips was passing under the then-operating Mount Pisgah Fire Tower and bushwhacking down the sparsely wooded northern slope of the mountain after. I don’t recall the existence of any hiking trails during that period but I do remember trudging up the Tower Road when skiing wasn’t an option.

In 1991, the Maine Forest Service discontinued use of the fire tower. I’m not sure precisely when the current hiking trails were introduced, but about 25 years ago, my friends and I began hiking them on a fairly regular basis.

The trail system is maintained by the Kennebec Land Trust and is part of its 1,100-acre Mount Pisgah Conservation Area. The network winds through a forested area that was once open pasture cleared and cultivated by early 19th-century farmers. Stonewalls, used to confine their livestock and establish boundaries, continue to decorate the mountainous terrain and provide a scenic adjunct to the Mount Pisgah hiking experience.

Icy rock formations were encountered nearing the summit of Mount Pisgah.

Recently, my wife, Nancy, and I decided on a December Mount Pisgah hike. Unfortunately, Gary and Suzanne Cole were unavailable, so we had to find our way without them.

Our decision followed a succession of snow, rain and ice storms, so we were unsure what to expect for hiking conditions. When we arrived at the trailhead on Mount Pisgah Road in Winthrop on a cool, breezy, partly sunny day, the spacious parking area was glare ice. Fortunately, we had packed micro-spikes and wore them throughout the trek.

Tower and Blueberry trails begin at the trailhead. The old Tower Road is also an option. We decided to ascend Tower Trail and, if conditions were acceptable, return on Blueberry Trail.

After cautiously negotiating across the icy parking lot, we turned left onto Tower Trail and hiked easily on a hard-packed snow and patchy ice surface in a sparse predominantly hardwood forest. A modest uphill gradient continued for an extended period before passing a junction for the Ledges Trail on the left.

Shortly after Ledges Trail, the path steepened and we encountered a series of upsloping rock formations. The granite inclines were a baffling combination of ice and bare rock. We carefully ascended them avoiding the treacherous icy areas whenever possible and emerged onto the summit adjacent to the fire tower.

The 60-foot fire tower is open to the public and offers views of the surrounding area. We opted to forego climbing the icy stairway to the top.

Blueberry Trail descends south from the summit. Consulting the conservation area map, we decided to return on Tower Trail and follow Ledges Trail on a sweeping arc that connects with Blueberry Trail farther southeast, adding 1.4 miles to our outing.

A hiker reaches the old fire tower on the summit of Mount Pisgah.

After dropping down Tower Trail, we trekked north on Ledges Trail along the west side of a wooded ridge to a sign marking the northern terminus of the path where the landscape declines precipitously. From there, the trail angles abruptly south proceeding over uneven rugged terrain to the junction with Blueberry Trail just a short distance from the summit.

We followed Blueberry Trail first south and then west over rolling forested hills and at one point traversed the remains of an old farm road we skied three decades ago. Two solo hikers were met in this area where there are a few stonewall crossings. Soon after, we descended steadily to the trailhead, completing about a 3.5-mile trek.

Although we had some difficulty with icy trails, the conditions were manageable. However, without micro-spikes, the hike would have been quite challenging.

My book, “Maine Al Fresco: The Fifty Finest Outdoor Adventures in Maine,” narrates nine more mountain hikes in Maine, including icy winter ascents of Mount Katahdin and Traveler Mountain, and a stormy expedition in Baxter State Park during a blizzard.

Ron Chase resides in Topsham. His latest book, “Maine Al Fresco: The Fifty Finest Outdoor Adventures in Maine” is available at northcountrypress.com/maine-al-fresco or in bookstores and through online retailers. His previous books are “The Great Mars Hill Bank Robbery” and “Mountains for Mortals — New England.” Visit his website at ronchaseoutdoors.com or he can be reached at ronchaseoutdoors@comcast.net.