d&d
Member
Bread loaf mountain, and mt. Wilson, hiked on 9 16 15
Great day for a hike in the beautiful Vermont forest. 54 degrees in the a.m., and 81 degrees in late afternoon. No clouds, no wind, no bugs. For trail head, we came from middlebury on south 7, to 125 east. Go about 6.6 miles on 125 and take left on steam mill rd., aka forest road 59. this is the back loop portion of forest road 59. there is a earlier sign for 59, but it was easier coming at the 6.6 mile mark. Trail head and parking is about 3.5 miles on right. We headed up skylight pond trail for 2.5 miles where it intersects with the long trail. This is a real nice section of trail, no blow downs, nice water bars and drainage. There was 1 bridge and 6 brook crossings but during september, half of them were pretty much dried up. Wet ones were no problem. Very gentle elevation gain on this stretch. We took a nice break at this crossroads, then headed north on the long trail to breadloaf. the ascent to breadloaf got a bit steeper, but the trail was still in great condition. After coming to sharp u turn on the l.t., we took the short spur to breadloaf and found the mini cairn, then took another small spur trail to a view point about 200 ft from summit. After some pics and a break, headed back on l.t. north to Emily proctor shelter. This section of trail was the slowest. Slippery wet ledge on trail and some poor footing. Nothing technical, just slower. Another break at the shelter, then we headed north on the l.t. again to mt Wilson. Ascent up was a bit steep, but some great rock steps really made it nice. There is a false peak to mt Wilson, so if you think you are there, keep going as the trail dips down again and ascends another hump where you will find a small cairn on right side. We poked around the peak and the false peak for some views, but settled for mossy area in the woods for a 2 course lunch and a beverage. We retraced our steps down, but also took the side trail at the trail junction and checked out the skylight pond and shelter. All day we only seen 6 people, 2 who were through hiking the l.t.. total distance, 9.3 miles. Vertical gain 3050 ft.. total time including breaks, pics, and a peaceful long lunch was 8 hours. This was not a record breaking time, but we had the whole day to enjoy.
d&d 48/48, 67/67, 87/100
for pics https://goo.gl/photos/Vcn6VruvBVVMS6gK6
Great day for a hike in the beautiful Vermont forest. 54 degrees in the a.m., and 81 degrees in late afternoon. No clouds, no wind, no bugs. For trail head, we came from middlebury on south 7, to 125 east. Go about 6.6 miles on 125 and take left on steam mill rd., aka forest road 59. this is the back loop portion of forest road 59. there is a earlier sign for 59, but it was easier coming at the 6.6 mile mark. Trail head and parking is about 3.5 miles on right. We headed up skylight pond trail for 2.5 miles where it intersects with the long trail. This is a real nice section of trail, no blow downs, nice water bars and drainage. There was 1 bridge and 6 brook crossings but during september, half of them were pretty much dried up. Wet ones were no problem. Very gentle elevation gain on this stretch. We took a nice break at this crossroads, then headed north on the long trail to breadloaf. the ascent to breadloaf got a bit steeper, but the trail was still in great condition. After coming to sharp u turn on the l.t., we took the short spur to breadloaf and found the mini cairn, then took another small spur trail to a view point about 200 ft from summit. After some pics and a break, headed back on l.t. north to Emily proctor shelter. This section of trail was the slowest. Slippery wet ledge on trail and some poor footing. Nothing technical, just slower. Another break at the shelter, then we headed north on the l.t. again to mt Wilson. Ascent up was a bit steep, but some great rock steps really made it nice. There is a false peak to mt Wilson, so if you think you are there, keep going as the trail dips down again and ascends another hump where you will find a small cairn on right side. We poked around the peak and the false peak for some views, but settled for mossy area in the woods for a 2 course lunch and a beverage. We retraced our steps down, but also took the side trail at the trail junction and checked out the skylight pond and shelter. All day we only seen 6 people, 2 who were through hiking the l.t.. total distance, 9.3 miles. Vertical gain 3050 ft.. total time including breaks, pics, and a peaceful long lunch was 8 hours. This was not a record breaking time, but we had the whole day to enjoy.
d&d 48/48, 67/67, 87/100
for pics https://goo.gl/photos/Vcn6VruvBVVMS6gK6
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