NE Hundred Highest: Mendon peak (VT)

Sunday, March 12th, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Mendon Peak
Miles: ~10 miles (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained:~1830'
MapMyRun recording (partial)

For this hike, I arrived at the trailhead on Wheelerville Rd in Mendon, VT around 1:15pm and was on trail by 1:30pm. I'd thought this was going to be an easier hike than it was. I'd seen estimates of ~7.5 miles for a there and back hike; my mileage ended up being ~10 miles and I didn't add much for the path that I chose.

To start, I followed the x-country ski/snowmobile path. The parking lot for the trailhead was full, but I didn't run into snowmobiles until the very end of my hike. The first half mile on this path was very quick moving. Everything was solidly packed down. Then the snowmobile path turned to the right and I continued straight, where there were only cross country ski tracks.

I passed by a cabin and not long after, came to an intersection in the trail. I was trying to follow a GPS track of someone who had done this previously, so I strapped on my snowshoes and took the left hand path going uphill, where no one had packed down the snow. This left me breaking trail for around a mile in snow up to my knees. Eventually, the unbroken path went back down and rejoined the ski track. I swore to never leave a beaten path again; I broke that vow about a mile later when I needed to head uphill towards Mendon rather than continue on the ski track coming from Killington.

I passed by two backcountry skiers just as I crossed the creek for the umpteenth time and started to climb out of the valley. They assumed I was heading to Killington and told me there was no way I'd make it back before sundown on snowshoes. I headed uphill on a 45% grade, and broke away from the ski track as I came within a mile of Mendon peak.

I bushwhacked my way uphill, through knee- to hip- deep snow, with no discernible path of least resistance. The trees were incredibly dense, particularly towards the peak. As I tried to follow the GPS track to get to the peak, I had no option other than pushing my way through groves of evergreens, getting soaking wet and covered in snow. I fell into some hidden dead tree wells in snow up to my armpits and had to backstroke and flail my way out. At this point, I was getting very worried about making it back to my car by dark, my phone's dropping battery (my GPS), and was very wet and cold. The degree of tree density at the top of the mountain coupled with hip deep snow everywhere made it impossible to find the tree with the canister on it, and I was totally fine with that. Based on my GPS estimates, I was within 500 feet of the canister and I think that's close enough! It wasn't from lack of trying, that's for sure.

At the peak, I put on my dry layers in my pack and started to head back. I decided to follow my footprints, as it wasn't worth finding a slightly shorter path when I'd have to pack down fresh snow. I ate a number of snacks and hoofed it for my car. I was very glad to get back on the ski track, and decided to follow it the entire way back. It was relatively flat and easy going, and for anyone trying this hike in the future, I'd advise you to follow the creek most of the way up to the base of the peak.

I arrived back at my car around 6:30pm, right after jumping into a snow drift to avoid a group of snowmobiles tearing through. I was very glad to be back at my car; my asthma was acting up and I desperately needed somewhere warm to breath and take my inhaler. I stopped to get hot tea and snacks, and blasted the heat as high as it went for my entire 2.5 hour drive home.

NE Hundred Highest: Dorset Mountain (VT)

Saturday, February 24th, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Dorset Mountain
Miles: 6.7 (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2350'
MapMyRun recording

It was a bit more than a 2 hour drive from my house, so I dragged myself out of bed early and hit the road. I arrived at the trailhead on Tower Rd in Dorset, VT around 9am, got my gear together (which included a GPS track from GaiaGPS), and headed up the herd path. 

I followed the single track that I think is supposed to be the remains of Tower Rd. There was another car at the trailhead and a set of footprints to follow, so I used that to help guide me. 

It was a beautiful day, in the mid 40s, with blue skies.

While I followed the single track for most of the hike up, I did lose it near this turn in the creek and ended up bushwhacking a bit. I can confirm from my return hike that the single track continues straight, following the dry creek bed.

After I was done with the bushwhacking, I emerged onto a clearing with the single track, near the old remains of a cabin.

From here, the track climbed and climbed, probably hitting ~35%-40% grade at a number of places. The pictures don't quite do it justice, but it was steep!

Part way up, there was some nice running water. Since it was above freezing, everything was melting.

As I continued up the mountain, every so often I'd see these silver diamonds nailed to trees. They weren't enough to guide me, but they did tell me I was on the right track. 

After climbing for what felt like forever, I made it to the first trail intersection, a T with the trail that goes to the peak and a trail that goes... somewhere else lol.

The trail I came up

Trail to the left, going somewhere

Trail to the right, going towards the peak

I took the trail to the right. Around here, snow accumulation became substantial (~12-16 inches), unlike it had at lower elevation. It was mostly packed down, between previous hikers and melt/refreeze, so I only broke through a few times. I followed the track onward; when there was a slip in the path, I took the right hand, uphill path. This lead me to the side trail for the south peak (and a fire tower). At the intersection, I met the person whose footprints I'd seen. He wasn't sure where to go, so following my GPS track, we walked to the peak of Dorset together. Once there, we signed the summit log, and I turned around and hoofed it back to my car, arriving by 12:10pm.

NE Hundred Highest: Equinox (VT)

Sunday, January 14, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Equinox Mountain
Miles: 5.4 (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2680'
MapMyRun recording

For this hike, I arrived at the trailhead on West Union St around 11:45am. It was in the low 20s, so water bottles freezing was a problem. I got ready and headed up the Red Gate Trail, continuing straight/slightly to the right once I intersected with the Blue Summit Trail. 

At the beginning of this section, microspikes were quite welcome, as the trail was covered in 3-4 inches of ice. I left my microspikes on for the duration of the hike.

After hiking on the Blue Summit Trail for a few miles, I arrived at the peak of the mountain. I took pictures of the views north and south, added some layers, and then started hiking back down.

Part way down, I passed by a big group of people out for a hike, probably a local hiking club. Over the day, I saw maybe 3-4 groups of people hiking up the mountain; it was a nice day but it was still a fairly quiet hike.

The trail was very packed down; the hike could be done safely without microspikes, though they made it easier.

Appalachian Trail section hike - 2nd section of VT

Hike occurred on November 8th & 9th, 2013

Vermont Appalachian Trail section hike

By "Timex"

Friday, November 8th: 

VT-9, Woodford, VT to Story Spring Shelter

19.0 total miles for the day - rough map completed after the fact

Mountains climbed: Porcupine Lookout (2815 ft), Little Pond Mountain (3100 ft), Glastenbury Lookout (2920 ft), Glastenbury Mountain (3748 ft) 

Summary: I parked my car by the Bennington Town Offices after obtaining a parking permit from the town manager's office. I then was able to hitch a ride three miles up VT-9 to the trail head. I started the hike from the USFS parking lot on VT-9 (Molly Stark Trail) at 8:00am. It was lightly snowing when I started my hike. As I climbed, it began snowing in earnest. The view from the first lookout showed just how much ice and snow had accumulated on the trees. I passed a day hiker around here.  

Porcupine Lookout 

Campfire at Porcupine Lookout

Little Pond Lookout

View from lookout near Glastonbury Mountain

By the time I reached Goddard Shelter halfway through my day's hike, the snow had accumulated 2-3 inches and visibility was very poor. Right after I left the shelter, I almost ran into the rear end of a huge moose. It trotted up the trail, leaving gigantic footprints in the snow. I hiked through the snow for quite a while and reached Story Spring Shelter at 4:50pm. I quickly make dinner and bedded down for the night; including the windchill factor, it got down to approximately 15 degrees that night. I slept from 6:30pm until 6:15am.

View from Story Spring Shelter

Saturday, November 9th: 

Story Spring Shelter to VT-11/30

21.1 total miles for the day - rough map completed after the fact

Mountains climbed: Stratton Mountain (3936 ft)

Summary: I got up around 6:15am, stuck my feet into icy, frozen boots, and hit the trail by 7am. It took about an hour of hiking before I could feel my feet again. I realized quickly that I'd made a mistake in not putting my water filter inside my sleeping bag; it was frozen and wouldn't filter water. It took about two hours of being in direct contact with my skin before it began to function again. After climbing for two hours, I reached the top of Stratton. At the top of Stratton Mountain, there was a fire tower (and a TON of wind). 

 

While you can climb the tower, the top platform was not open. The view from the stairs was pretty impressive though. 

From Stratton, you can see Killington Peak, Mt Ascutney, Mt Monadnock, Mt Snow, Glastenbury Mt, and the Taconics.

View of Somerset Reservoir and Mt Snow from Stratton

View of Killington Peak

View of Stratton Pond and Mt Ascutney, one of the most popular overnight spots on the AT

On the way down the mountain, I encountered two day hikers; I also pass by two section hikers on the logging road. From Stratton onward, it was mostly downhill. I was able to make very good time and passed by Spruce Peak Shelter's side trail around 2:45pm and arrived at VT-11/30 at 4pm. 

I was able to hitch a ride after about 15 minutes. I was very lucky to be picked up by an older gentleman who was heading to Bennington anyway (~30 miles). He stopped at McDonald's, bought me a coffee, and refused to take any money I offered him. I arrived at my car by 5pm and headed home! Given the weather report I saw today, it was a good choice to shorten my hike. It looked like that section of Vermont will be getting more snow and rain today and tomorrow. 

Total miles=40.1 miles in 2 days

Appalachian Trail section hike - first section of VT

Hike occurred on October 13th, 2013

Vermont Appalachian Trail section hike

By "Timex"

Sunday, October 13th:

VT-9, Woodford, VT to Greylock Community Club, North Adams, MA
18.4 total miles for the day - rough map completed after the fact.

Mountains climbed: Harmon Hill (2,325 ft), Consultation Peak (2,840 ft), Eph's Lookout (2,254 ft).

Summary: I started the hike from the USFS parking lot on VT-9 (Molly Stark Trail) at 10:15am. I climbed Harmon Hill and got a picture of the view.

After a few more miles, I arrived at Congdon Shelter. 

While a bit old, the shelter was quite nice and looked like it would comfortably sleep 8. The privy was new and very nice. Between Congdon and Warner shelters, I went by a very nice beaver pond. 

View of Scrub Hill

I also went underneath some power lines which provided an excellent view (sans wires). 

I arrived at the Seth Warner shelter at 4:15pm. I set up my bed roll in the shelter and made dinner. 

As I was eating, I turned on my phone to see if I could get signal. I found a message from my Monday morning ride, indicating they were unable to provide me with a ride. This change of plans meant that I had to pack up and continue hiking into North Adams, as no one I knew was available on Monday. I set out at 6pm to hike the ~7 miles. 

I eventually passed by the VT/MA border, which is where the Long Trail begins.

After following along Sherman Brook for over a mile, I finally crossed it and walked into town. 

From there, it was a few minutes walk to get to Greylock Community Club. I arrived at 9pm and met up with my ride. Since it was the weekend of the Greylock Ramble, there was quite a lot of festivities.