Double Hit-and-Run to Close Out Vermont - June 8, 2014

Hike 1: Dorset Peak (3770', NEHH - #89)
Route: Logging Roads and Herd Paths
Mileage: 7 miles
Elevation Gain: 2420 feet
Book Time: 4hr 45min (actual 3hr 45min)

Hike 2: Mount Equinox (3850', NEHH - #90)
Route: Blue Summit Trail
Mileage: 6.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2800 feet
Book Time: 4hr 30min (actual 4hr 40min)

This was a pair of hike with the AMC Boston Chapter led by some hiking friends Pam and Bill. The goal was to hike 2 individual hikes, both New England 100-Highest Peaks in Southern Vermont. Both hikes are only a short distance away from each other and in theory are very attainable in one day. Plus, we were camping at the Emerald Lake State Park, which is on the side of Dorset Peak, though a 20 minute drive from the trailhead (don't ever be in a hurry to get somewhere in Vermont! The scenery is always great though!)

Dorset Peak was first, being the Northernmost peak of this duo. The standard approach is from Dorset Hollow to the South via a series of old logging roads and snowmobile trails and there is actually a solid description of the route in the Green Mountain Club's Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont. Parking is tight at the trailhead, which is basically where the road becomes impassible (high clearance vehicles may be able to go 1/10-mile further to a grassy clearing). From there, we continued up the road alongside a brook until the road became washed out and we crossed the brook and continued up the road on that bank. Soon the road begins climbing in earnest, passing a rather run-down cabin along the way. Reaching a saddle on the ridge, we turned right uphill (the road continues ahead down to the other side of the mountain), and took another right shortly thereafter to continue uphill.

Mossy Falls along the lower road

After a little while, we reached the ridgeline and continued straight ahead until reaching the infamous "Doorknob Junction" (see the pictures). Turning left here (there are a few rough signs on the ridge, follow the ones for the North Peak) we soon reached the peak and the summit canister. On the way down, we took the short loop over the South Peak (also indicated by signs) where there are the remains of an old tower. As we had another hike to do, and the black flies were also horrendous on the ridge, we booked it out of there and were back to the cars in short order. This was a pretty easy hike, there are a few steepish stretches, but nothing we weren't used to, and the footing was pretty good and so we made good time on this one. Off to Equinox!

Is that a doorknob on a tree? Yup!

Doorknob Junction

Main summit of Dorset Peak

The footpath to Dorset

Old pitchers on the Dorset summit

South Peak of Dorset. Old fire tower and a barbeque.

Equinox was our second hike of the day, and was supposed to have good views. However, those views come at a price. It is a steep trail, gaining 2800 feet in about 3 miles, but that doesn't tell the whole tale as the beginning and the end are fairly flat. This sucker was steep, and of course it was our second hike of the day, plus it was hot and humid. All of that combined to make this a fairly difficult hike, but I suspect if we were doing this first thing in the morning it would have been easier.

We lost one member of our hiking party before this hike (the person didn't "need" this peak, and had to drive all the way back to Maine), but the remaining 8 of us struck out on the Blue Summit Trail in the early afternoon (this is the only trail to the top, though there is an Auto Road to the summit too). Pam's 10-pound poodle had hiked to Dorset with us in the morning, but she seemed to be limping at the start of this one. Trey offered to carry her in his pack for a while, though luckily for him after an hour or so she started walking again without a limp and seemed content to walk the rest of the way up and then down on her own.

Poor Sophie - she thought we were finished when we got back in the cars after the first hike!

Easy stretch of the Blue Summit Trail down low - flat and wide before the steeps and rocks

This is a fairly straight-forward hike, though steep and not surprisingly rocky, and eventually we did make the summit (after many, many breaks), which has good views to the North and the South, though the summit area is sullied by a sizable visitor's center building and a large parking lot. The views were also pretty hazy on this day, all of which combined to make this a bit of a disappointment. I'm not sure why, perhaps I need to revisit it and give it another shot. We hung out at the top for a while before eventually heading down (the black flies were out and about up here too though not nearly as bad as on Dorset in the morning). Then it was time for the long drive home, but I had another state completed on the New England 100-Highest! There was great company on both of these hikes, it's great to hike with friends both old and new on days like this. Off to Maine to finish the NEHH, hopefully sometime in August!

There are a bunch of large marble slabs stood up on the summit of Equinox - this one was about 8' high!

Views North from Equinox

What we are looking at to the North (Killington is mislabeled however)

View South from Equinox

Stratton Mountain (the tower was just barely visible on the left peak)

A Quick Afternoon Hike up Stratton Mountain (VT) - June 7, 2014

Route: Long Trail
Peaks: Stratton Mountain (3940', NEHH)
Mileage: 7.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 1750'
Book Time: 4hr 40 min (actual 3 hours)

Entering this year, I had only 3 peaks on the New England 100-Highest List left in Vermont, all conveniently located within a short distance of each other in Southern Vermont. Knowing all 3 were relatively short hikes (all under 8 miles), I figured on spending a weekend to visit them all. Some other friends needed the same 3 peaks, but ultimately an AMC hiking weekend was set up without hitting Stratton. So, while the group went to Mendon Peak (on the ridge with Killington Peak), I decided to sleep in on Saturday, and hit Stratton on the way to the campground. The next day we were scheduled to hike the remaining 2 peaks I needed in Vermont.

There's only one direct way to hike Stratton Mountain, which is to use the Long Trail (also the Appalachian Trail in this part of the state) from Kelly Stand Road in Stratton, a hike which is 3.8 miles and a mere 1750 feet of elevation gain on a gradual ascent to an old fire tower. While a Northern knob of Stratton Mountain is home to a ski area, the main summit of Stratton is wooded and marred only by a 55-foot tall tower that allows terrific 360-degree views over the trees and a small cabin that houses the summit caretakers.

Starting yet another hike in the late morning (11:20 in this case) means tougher parking, though if folks could someday learn to park without leaving ALMOST but not quite enough room for another car next to them, another 6-8 cars could have easily fit in the lot. This seems to be a common issue these days, but there was plenty of roadside parking on the other side of the street on the grassy shoulder, so not a problem today.

I set off just barely ahead of a large group, and I walked quickly at the beginning to get a little semblance of solitude. I wasn't expecting to be alone on the trail, but being stuck admist a group of 15-20 people that you don't know wasn't something I wanted either. However, such groups tend to move slower than one person, and I was soon on my own in the woods on a beautiful afternoon. I passed a few afternoon climbers, and several more were on their way down on this beautiful afternoon. This trail has got to be the easiest trail to a high peak in New England. The trail had terrific footing the whole way, and there was not a single even brief steep section, I never really noticed the climb it was so gradual compared to what I normally hike. In less than 1.5 hours, I was at the top in fact!

Pink Lady's Slipper

There were maybe a dozen people milling around the top, but there are numerous nooks in the woods around the tower and cabin, and there was still plenty of room for more. The summit caretakers were also there, talking with some people. Me, I immediately headed to the top of the fire tower, as there wasn't much views-wise to be seen from the ground. I had heard great things about the Stratton summit views, and I was eager to see them. I was not disappointed. The views ranged far in all directions, with Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, Killington to the North, and even Mount Monadnock to the East visible. The enclosed top of the tower had some identification labels taped to the glass to give you an idea of what you were looking at, awesome!

Stratton Mountain Ski Area a little ways down the ridge to the North

Killington Peak (center) with Mendon on the left (Pico is directly behind Mendon)

Southward Pano from Stratton Mountain

Snow Mountain ski area just to the South

Mount Greylock, the Massachusetts State Highpoint, in the distance to the South (just right of center)

Westward Pano from Stratton Mountain

Mount Equinox to the West, on tomorrow's agenda

Dorset Peak (the right-hand mountain ridge), another New England 100 Highest peak

I took a 20-30 minute break at the summit (beer at the campsite was calling!), but eventually tore myself away and headed down. The descent took roughly the same time as the ascent, and was just as pleasant a walk through the Spring-time woods. I really enjoyed this hike, short as it may have been. Never needing to worry about the footing except on a couple damp bog bridges and a couple small muddy areas down low meant lots of time spent looking around and just listening to the birds. A highly recommended trek for a sunny day!

Some Stratton Mountain history

The Stratton Mountain tower

Summit survey marker

Camel's Hump - Feb. 9, 2014

After a relaxing night in Stowe after hiking Mansfield the day before, I was all set to take on Camel's Hump. This time I knew there were not going to be any tricky scrambles, and with the forecast having changed from 50% chance of snow to partly cloudy skies until mid-afternoon, I was really excited to finally get some views off of Camel's Hump. My prior trip this past summer was under cloudy skies with only a few peeks from the summit, but what peeks I did get told me this would be a terrific peak on a clear day. My plan was a simple out-and-back on the Monroe Trail, which leaves from the East side of Camel's Hump. In winter the final 3/10-mile of the road is not plowed, but there is a winter lot off a side street 1/10-mile or so from the end of the plowed section.

I put the snowshoes on again right off the bat at the snowbank at the end of the road and started up the road. This part of the road climbs decently, and so I got warmed up really fast, and the legs were reminding me just how hard I worked them on Mansfield the day before in the deep snow. Here at least the snow was already packed out really well from various skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers, and in reality I would have been fine without them on this hike. It did appear that I was the first hiker up the trail on this day, and I definitely was the first to sign in at the trailhead register.

The Monroe Trail is a pretty moderate trail, never getting overly steep, and the footing, even in summer, is good, so I was anticipating a nice easy snowshoe hike. The weather, however, was not quite as advertised. It was mostly cloudy, and there were even some stray snowflakes falling early. But, as I climbed, there emerged more and more blue sky. About 2/3 of the way up the trail it swings to the left under a large cliff face, before slabbing back up to the top of it. Here I saw a lot of blue sky, and I think my pace quickened, as I could sense the views awaiting me.

Approaching the cliff

A view of the cliff from the trail

Up, up, up into the blue skies

In short order, and with no hiccups, I arrived at the so-called "hut clearing" that is a major trail junction 3/10-mile below the summit, and the last sheltered spot on this approach. Here, the Monroe Trail and Burrows Trail (which comes up from the West) end, and the Long Trail intersects along the ridge and leads up to the summit. I took only a brief breather here to throw on my shell, wanting to get up top to the clearing skies.

Winter Wonderland high on the Monroe Trail

The Burrows Trail ahead to the left leads down to the West side of the mountain

More of the hut clearing

This thermometer read 0 degrees, but my pack thermometer and the weather forecasts said +10F. With the sun here and there, it felt a lot warmer!

As I broke treeline, I kept stopping to look around. Yes, there were still lots of clouds, but there was plenty of blue too, and the views were great! I could barely see to Lake Champlain to the West, whereas the Adirondacks beyond it would be easily visible on a clear day as well as the White Mountains to the East, but the views I did have were great, and well worth the trip.

First views from below the summit

Mount Mansfield hiding in the clouds

Summit!

Sugarbush Ski Area to the South - on the side of Mount Ellen, another 4000-Footer

Summit pano to the East

Summit pano to the West

Looking back at the summit from just below

There was only a light wind up top, and so I was able to actually hang out at the top for a little while, which I haven't gotten to do yet this winter. Still, I did eventually leave, and headed down to the clearing for a snack break. Here I saw the first people of the day, a couple on their way up the way I had just come. During my descent I would run into a total of 19 people and 7 dogs. None of them were wearing (or even carrying) snowshoes (as I mentioned, it wasn't an issue this day), so they had a lighter ascent than me. A couple of the last people I saw were actually skinning up on skis, and judging by all the ski tracks I saw during the climb up to the cliff, this appeared to be a very popular thing to do the day before as well.

The skies actually cleared up a bit more for a while during my descent, until they finally began to cloud up a bit around the time I reached the car. It might have been even nicer up there 30 minutes or so after I was there in fact, but that's OK. With a fast day on the trail, I actually got home just after dark, which was a nice treat too. I can't wait to do some more of these New England peaks in winter!

Open glades, and even bluer skies during my descent

Summary:
Route: Monroe Trail out-and-back
Peaks: Camel's Hump (4083', NE4K)
Mileage: 7.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 2950'
Book Time: 5hr 25min (actual 4hr 30min)