alpinista
Active member
Well, I finally scored a bit of time off from work and decided some peakbagging was in order. With just four of the NE67 left, I decided to notch off the one peak that isn't in Baxter State Park: Mt. Ellen in VT.
It was a beautiful day and I decided to be leisurely about it, leaving my pad in Salem, Mass., at 8 a.m. to make the trek to VT. I had settled on doing the ski trails. Not only would it be far shorter but the real plus would be actual views from the ski area rather than the canopy of trees from the western approach.
I made decent time getting to Sugarbush, and that nagging feeling I had as I left home that I'd forgotten something proved true once I parked my car and had a look around: NO boots! I scouted around my Bug _ which does not really have very many knooks or crannies _ and saw two options for footwear: my golf shoes or a beautiful, classic pair of brown pumps with 3-inch heels. Yikes!
OK, I love my golf shoes but there's no way I was going to ruin those spikes! And Lord knows I have a tough enough time maneuvering around Boston's city streets in high heels let alone a hike.
(Besides, they were definitely the wrong shade of brown for my outfit on this day)
So, I opted to stay in my Keen sandles for the slog up. Thankfully, they proved more than up to the task since they have Vibram soles. Yeah, from time to time, dust and pebbles would lodge themselves underneath my feet, finding their way in through the several side openings. But they were easily shaken loose and dislodged along the way.
It was a picture perfect day in the high 60s/low-70s, and I had the ski trails virtually to my lonesome. I briefly saw a guy and his beautiful chocolate lab. I occasionally heard the ski trail crews working on the ski lifts and blaring their music. And I fleetingly saw a group of four hikers, including a Long Trail ranger, make their way down the ski trails. (BTW, the ranger did give my footwear a bit of a look but thankfully didn't say anything; I'm guessing he checked out the rest of my gear and figured I knew at least enough to stay out of trouble!)
It was a nice treat to be hiking solo, to have the time and solitude to stop, look and listen to all that was around me: the way clouds drifting by send shadows over the trails of green grass and dandelions; the sound of crickets off in the woods; the subtle sound of rippling water; and the occasional sounds of life in the valley: a motorcycle, a lawnmower.
The trail up is steep but easy _ basically a tote road that heads straight to the ridge and nearly to the summit of Mt. Ellen. It leads you right to a cluster of trees with a small arrow that points to the viewless summit about 30 feet in from one of the ski lifts. I got there in about two hours, had the summit to myself and lingered for only a few minutes before I decided to head down.
I made sure to not power down too fast _ lest I accidentally twist my ankle in the Keens. They'd done me well, but I didn't want to get overconfident!
For your viewing pleasure, here are some pix
In total, it took about two hours to reach the summit, and about 75 minutes to get back down.
This was #64 on the NE67 -- now just Baxter State Park left! Let's hope the weather cooperates next month when I hope to get up there...
It was a beautiful day and I decided to be leisurely about it, leaving my pad in Salem, Mass., at 8 a.m. to make the trek to VT. I had settled on doing the ski trails. Not only would it be far shorter but the real plus would be actual views from the ski area rather than the canopy of trees from the western approach.
I made decent time getting to Sugarbush, and that nagging feeling I had as I left home that I'd forgotten something proved true once I parked my car and had a look around: NO boots! I scouted around my Bug _ which does not really have very many knooks or crannies _ and saw two options for footwear: my golf shoes or a beautiful, classic pair of brown pumps with 3-inch heels. Yikes!
OK, I love my golf shoes but there's no way I was going to ruin those spikes! And Lord knows I have a tough enough time maneuvering around Boston's city streets in high heels let alone a hike.(Besides, they were definitely the wrong shade of brown for my outfit on this day)
So, I opted to stay in my Keen sandles for the slog up. Thankfully, they proved more than up to the task since they have Vibram soles. Yeah, from time to time, dust and pebbles would lodge themselves underneath my feet, finding their way in through the several side openings. But they were easily shaken loose and dislodged along the way.
It was a picture perfect day in the high 60s/low-70s, and I had the ski trails virtually to my lonesome. I briefly saw a guy and his beautiful chocolate lab. I occasionally heard the ski trail crews working on the ski lifts and blaring their music. And I fleetingly saw a group of four hikers, including a Long Trail ranger, make their way down the ski trails. (BTW, the ranger did give my footwear a bit of a look but thankfully didn't say anything; I'm guessing he checked out the rest of my gear and figured I knew at least enough to stay out of trouble!)
It was a nice treat to be hiking solo, to have the time and solitude to stop, look and listen to all that was around me: the way clouds drifting by send shadows over the trails of green grass and dandelions; the sound of crickets off in the woods; the subtle sound of rippling water; and the occasional sounds of life in the valley: a motorcycle, a lawnmower.
The trail up is steep but easy _ basically a tote road that heads straight to the ridge and nearly to the summit of Mt. Ellen. It leads you right to a cluster of trees with a small arrow that points to the viewless summit about 30 feet in from one of the ski lifts. I got there in about two hours, had the summit to myself and lingered for only a few minutes before I decided to head down.
I made sure to not power down too fast _ lest I accidentally twist my ankle in the Keens. They'd done me well, but I didn't want to get overconfident!
For your viewing pleasure, here are some pix
In total, it took about two hours to reach the summit, and about 75 minutes to get back down.
This was #64 on the NE67 -- now just Baxter State Park left! Let's hope the weather cooperates next month when I hope to get up there...
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