One of the truly enjoyable aspects of hiking is the early morning driving through beautiful terrain with light traffic. Onestep and I certainly appreciated the beginning of our weekend as we guided Off-road Taurus and Super Saab around the tight curves and high passes of Rt 112 through the Pemi and Kinsman Notch.
Both of us had been hiking predominantly in ME and NH, and we were excited about visiting the state that gave the world Ben+Jerry's ice cream and the legendary PigPen.
Leaving Rt 73 we drove up Corporation road into the bowl formed by Corporation (3142'), Round (3342') and E Round (3230'). The morning rain had soaked the trees, ferns and hobblebush (or "horrible bush" as Onestep renamed it). Combined with the unusually cool mid-August temperatures these conditions led to "losing core" [temperature] during summit stops and on downhill sections. It seemed odd to be hiking at this time of year with an extra fleece layer plus hat and gloves. E Round and Round provided some minor navigation challenges as we tried to avoid a few cliffy sections and negotiate intervening bumps/cols with minimal elevation loss. From Round to Corporation and back to the cars, however, we experienced the easy-travelling open woods for which Vermont whacking is noted.
The remainder of the afternoon we spotted a car for the next day's Brandon Gap to Telephone Gap hike and set up camp in beautiful Chittenden State Park. After 10+ hrs of beauty rest (not nearly enough according to most observers), we started the next morning on the LT at Brandon Gap. At 7:30 the temperature was a balmy 46 degrees, but, no problems, by 11:00, according to the fixed thermometer in Bloodroot Gap it had warmed to 48! Actually, this was a great hiking temperature, but it certainly was out of character for August!
We started up Goshen (3292') from the Sunrise shelter, where we inadvertently awakened a young woman solo backpacking. ( Is it sexist to be concerned about young women solo hiking while I defend my right to do the same??) After a brief band of horrible bush and brambles, the woods opened. Just north of the summit an open area provided nice views to the north of the Horrid cliffs, Gillespie, Cape Lookoff, Worth, Monestery and Philadelphia peaks. As have many whackers before us, we decided to walk the long ridge to Farr (3522') rather than return to the LT. What a delightful route!
We did return to the LT before the short, steep open whack up Bloodroot (3485'). Just west of the summit, from a rocky outcropping, there are great views of Killington, Pico and Mendon. The warm sun here felt great! Another stretch of LT brought us to the base of Carmel (3365'). We whacked up through very steep open woods and Albeed [jogged] down the beautiful trail to the SW.
Unnamed Peak Telephone Gap (3022'), has the distinction of being one of the very few VT 3000fters not to be on the VT 100 Highest List! Nevertheless, it is a very worthy summit; perhaps the steepest ascent of the day, it gave us nice views of Chittenden Reservoir and glimpses of North Pond. Once back to the LT, we whacked downhill to the Green Rd (a snowmobile trail described in the LT Guide) which led to FS Rd 99 and the New Boston trailhead where Off -road Taurus was patiently waiting.
A great weekend in Vermont!!! All cannisters in terrific shape - our only repair was to rehang the Carmel jar; wonderful terrain for map and compass work; some surprisingly steep terrain (VT isn't just rolling hills), great views of new territory, but, alas, no sightings of Ben, Jerry or Pigpen!
Both of us had been hiking predominantly in ME and NH, and we were excited about visiting the state that gave the world Ben+Jerry's ice cream and the legendary PigPen.
Leaving Rt 73 we drove up Corporation road into the bowl formed by Corporation (3142'), Round (3342') and E Round (3230'). The morning rain had soaked the trees, ferns and hobblebush (or "horrible bush" as Onestep renamed it). Combined with the unusually cool mid-August temperatures these conditions led to "losing core" [temperature] during summit stops and on downhill sections. It seemed odd to be hiking at this time of year with an extra fleece layer plus hat and gloves. E Round and Round provided some minor navigation challenges as we tried to avoid a few cliffy sections and negotiate intervening bumps/cols with minimal elevation loss. From Round to Corporation and back to the cars, however, we experienced the easy-travelling open woods for which Vermont whacking is noted.
The remainder of the afternoon we spotted a car for the next day's Brandon Gap to Telephone Gap hike and set up camp in beautiful Chittenden State Park. After 10+ hrs of beauty rest (not nearly enough according to most observers), we started the next morning on the LT at Brandon Gap. At 7:30 the temperature was a balmy 46 degrees, but, no problems, by 11:00, according to the fixed thermometer in Bloodroot Gap it had warmed to 48! Actually, this was a great hiking temperature, but it certainly was out of character for August!
We started up Goshen (3292') from the Sunrise shelter, where we inadvertently awakened a young woman solo backpacking. ( Is it sexist to be concerned about young women solo hiking while I defend my right to do the same??) After a brief band of horrible bush and brambles, the woods opened. Just north of the summit an open area provided nice views to the north of the Horrid cliffs, Gillespie, Cape Lookoff, Worth, Monestery and Philadelphia peaks. As have many whackers before us, we decided to walk the long ridge to Farr (3522') rather than return to the LT. What a delightful route!
We did return to the LT before the short, steep open whack up Bloodroot (3485'). Just west of the summit, from a rocky outcropping, there are great views of Killington, Pico and Mendon. The warm sun here felt great! Another stretch of LT brought us to the base of Carmel (3365'). We whacked up through very steep open woods and Albeed [jogged] down the beautiful trail to the SW.
Unnamed Peak Telephone Gap (3022'), has the distinction of being one of the very few VT 3000fters not to be on the VT 100 Highest List! Nevertheless, it is a very worthy summit; perhaps the steepest ascent of the day, it gave us nice views of Chittenden Reservoir and glimpses of North Pond. Once back to the LT, we whacked downhill to the Green Rd (a snowmobile trail described in the LT Guide) which led to FS Rd 99 and the New Boston trailhead where Off -road Taurus was patiently waiting.
A great weekend in Vermont!!! All cannisters in terrific shape - our only repair was to rehang the Carmel jar; wonderful terrain for map and compass work; some surprisingly steep terrain (VT isn't just rolling hills), great views of new territory, but, alas, no sightings of Ben, Jerry or Pigpen!
Last edited:
