poison ivy
Well-known member
Saturday: 6 miles (5.1 LT miles & .9 for spur trails) to Skyline Lodge
It was pouring rain as I drove to Vermont and in the hopes it might abate a little, I took a little side trip to visit Texas Falls. The falls were very pretty and rushing fast from two days of rain through a beautiful water-sculpted gorge. Definitely worth the stop.
I arrived at the trailhead at 9 a.m. and decided to wait just a bit longer to see if the rain would stop before stepping out on the trail. After a half-hour, it started to downpour even harder so I laced up my boots, grabbed my pack cover and headed out onto the trail. It is always so difficult for me to get started on a rainy day, but after about five minutes of jumping in puddles and sloshing down the trail, I remember that I actually do like hiking in the rain. Especially because there are no bugs trying to fly in my eye!
The rain did have me rethinking my plan to hike 6.9 miles to Emily Proctor Shelter. Someone along the way told me not to stay in Emily Proctor if the weather was bad. So, I decided I would stop at Skyline Lodge instead -- since it has four walls it would keep me out of the wind as well as the rain. If it stopped raining by early evening, I would pack up and head on to Emily Proctor instead.
The first .4 of a mile flowed right by in an instant and I found myself at the junction with the Silent Cliff Trail, which heads out to a nice view .4 mile away. While I suspected there wouldn’t be any views, I wanted to add a little more mileage to the day and stretch my legs a bit, so I headed down the spur trail. It was a beauty with bluebead lilies everywhere in various stages of bloom. The view was just of a white cloud but nearby was a really neat cave formed by a huge glacial erratic so I was glad for the little diversion anyway.
By the time I arrived back at the Long Trail, I was completely soaked from head to toe -- it was too warm at that point for my rain jacket, so I just hiked in my short sleeve shirt and zip-off pants. It was an easy ascent up 3,040-foot Burnt Hill and I didn’t even notice going up 3,140-foot Kirby Peak either. I ate some grapes, though my stop was short because I was getting a bit of a chill -- rain jacket back on!
Just two more easy miles to Skyline Lodge, my home for the night. The trip up 3,323-foot Mt. Boyce had a couple of steep spots early on and then was a piece of cake. The raining kept pouring down and the puddles along the trail were ankle deep -- it got to the point where my boots were waterlogged so I just began splashing through them. I was surprised, however, being in the Breadloaf Wilderness that there wasn’t a single blowdown on this stretch of trail!
Battell Mountain, at 3,482-feet has some nice outlooks near its summit -- though I couldn’t see anything at all from them. I couldn’t believe I was already at the junction for Skyline Lodge at 12:45 a.m. -- I thought about heading on to Emily Proctor anyway, but decided that four walls won out over the extra miles.
Skyline Lodge is a nice little cabin situated in a pretty spot overlooking the lily-pad filled Skylight Pond. The thermometer outside the door read 50 degrees when I arrived -- colder than I expected! I dropped my gear in the doorway and quickly went out to filter all the water I’d need for my stay. Upon returning to the lodge, I changed into dry clothes, ate my lunch and got into my sleeping bag. I spent an hour shivering inside my bag until I finally started to warm up, so I’m especially glad I made the decision to stop. Shortly after even my fingers and toes felt warm, I was joined by three New Yorkers -- Sherpa, Tamarack and Mineral Spirits, which made for a fun evening of chatting.
SUNDAY: 12.2 miles from Skyline Lodge to Lincoln Gap:
Stopping two miles early yesterday meant I had to get on the trail fairly early today -- Mtn.Drew was planning to pick me up at Lincoln Gap at 4 p.m. and I didn’t want him to have to wait for my arrival. I was up at 6 a.m. to find that the wind had calmed a bit and the rain had slowed. Getting back into yesterday’s wet clothes was difficult as always. Slipping back through the brush, my legs pretty quickly got soaked and the wind was knocking water droplets off the trees so I knew I was not going to be wearing anything dry for very long anyway.
I was really excited to be heading up 3,835-foot Breadloaf, which is on the New England Hundred Highest list. I zipped down the spur trail and was surprised to find myself descending the entire way to a view point. The trail to the view had been relocated -- around what appeared to be the mountain’s highest point. I tagged the summit and noticed tons of trees with scrapes all along them -- maybe from porcupines eating the bark. Breadloaf was number 90 on the New England Hundred Highest list, just 10 more to go.
The nice, smooth trail stopped as I ascended up 3,745-foot Mt. Wilson, which had a maze of blowdowns to climb over. Since there were no signs I wasn’t 100 percent sure where the summit of Wilson was -- there were a couple bumps along the way before an overlook that might have been the top. I celebrated my 91st mountain on the NEHH list and the start of my Vermont-style Presidential traverse as the trail winds up and down four different peaks named for dead presidents.
It was raining again as I climbed over Mt. Roosevelt, which is supposed to have a stunning view of Killington from its side. I could see foggy treetops through the rain clouds but that was about it. I had a lot of trouble with temperature management -- I had to take my raincoat off when ascending hills because I would overheat but anytime I started descending I needed the extra layer because I would lose feeling in my hands. I was always glad to find another uphill section ahead to get me nice and warm again despite being soaked to the skin.
It was an easy trip up Mt. Cleveland and I stopped at Cooley Glen Shelter for a break. It was 11:45 a.m. and I was making really good time -- too good in fact. I realized that I would be arriving at Lincoln Gap too early to meet Mtn.Drew. I was a little worried about becoming hypothermic while waiting at the trailhead or getting my only dry clothes -- one pair of shorts and long-sleeved shirt buried deep in my pack -- wet while trying to stay warm. I wasn’t able to stay at the shelter for very long because I was getting cold, so I decided to slow my pace a little bit so I wouldn’t arrive at Lincoln Gap quite so early.
It was good that I was taking thinks more slowly as I hiked up Mt. Grant -- my final peak of the day. The trail was just a torrent of ankle-deep water rushing down the hill. That is, when I didn’t have to climb over about a zillion downed trees -- some at key points where the trail turned so it was a little difficult to find again. Sometimes during the ascent, the rain clouds overhead appeared to be lightening up so I thought I might get at least one view for the day, but it kept on raining right until the end.
Heading down Grant, I had some trouble on the wet rocks -- I might as well have been wearing rollerskates because I kept slipping down hills on the mossy rocks. In my worst spill, I somehow managed to land on my back with my head pointed downhill -- I had to wriggle out of my pack in order to right myself. Just after this fall, I saw the only other hikers to pass me all day -- two women with two dogs out enjoying a hike in the rain.
The final bit of trail took me over Sunset Ledges -- which I found kind of frustrating, especially since I didn’t have the treat of views along the way. I would pass something that looked like it would have a westerly view and think, okay one more mile to Lincoln Gap. Ten minutes later, I’d pass another ledge with a westerly view… and this happened three or four times so I gave up counting my remaining mile. I’ll have to re-hike this section some day to see all the views that I missed in this rain storm.
My final mile eventually arrived and I found myself at Lincoln Gap at 3 p.m. Fortunately, Mtn.Drew was already there waiting, so I felt a little bad about dragging my feet through the last four miles. Thanks again to Drew for being the best trail angel ever and giving me both cookies and a ride, despite the fact I smelled like a wet dog, even in my dry clothes.
Despite all the rain, it was an enjoyable hike through a pretty section of the LT. I’ll have to go back sometime and see all of the views I missed though!
Not much in the way of pictures... but here's the link to the few I took: Long Trail pictures
- Ivy
It was pouring rain as I drove to Vermont and in the hopes it might abate a little, I took a little side trip to visit Texas Falls. The falls were very pretty and rushing fast from two days of rain through a beautiful water-sculpted gorge. Definitely worth the stop.
I arrived at the trailhead at 9 a.m. and decided to wait just a bit longer to see if the rain would stop before stepping out on the trail. After a half-hour, it started to downpour even harder so I laced up my boots, grabbed my pack cover and headed out onto the trail. It is always so difficult for me to get started on a rainy day, but after about five minutes of jumping in puddles and sloshing down the trail, I remember that I actually do like hiking in the rain. Especially because there are no bugs trying to fly in my eye!
The rain did have me rethinking my plan to hike 6.9 miles to Emily Proctor Shelter. Someone along the way told me not to stay in Emily Proctor if the weather was bad. So, I decided I would stop at Skyline Lodge instead -- since it has four walls it would keep me out of the wind as well as the rain. If it stopped raining by early evening, I would pack up and head on to Emily Proctor instead.
The first .4 of a mile flowed right by in an instant and I found myself at the junction with the Silent Cliff Trail, which heads out to a nice view .4 mile away. While I suspected there wouldn’t be any views, I wanted to add a little more mileage to the day and stretch my legs a bit, so I headed down the spur trail. It was a beauty with bluebead lilies everywhere in various stages of bloom. The view was just of a white cloud but nearby was a really neat cave formed by a huge glacial erratic so I was glad for the little diversion anyway.
By the time I arrived back at the Long Trail, I was completely soaked from head to toe -- it was too warm at that point for my rain jacket, so I just hiked in my short sleeve shirt and zip-off pants. It was an easy ascent up 3,040-foot Burnt Hill and I didn’t even notice going up 3,140-foot Kirby Peak either. I ate some grapes, though my stop was short because I was getting a bit of a chill -- rain jacket back on!
Just two more easy miles to Skyline Lodge, my home for the night. The trip up 3,323-foot Mt. Boyce had a couple of steep spots early on and then was a piece of cake. The raining kept pouring down and the puddles along the trail were ankle deep -- it got to the point where my boots were waterlogged so I just began splashing through them. I was surprised, however, being in the Breadloaf Wilderness that there wasn’t a single blowdown on this stretch of trail!
Battell Mountain, at 3,482-feet has some nice outlooks near its summit -- though I couldn’t see anything at all from them. I couldn’t believe I was already at the junction for Skyline Lodge at 12:45 a.m. -- I thought about heading on to Emily Proctor anyway, but decided that four walls won out over the extra miles.
Skyline Lodge is a nice little cabin situated in a pretty spot overlooking the lily-pad filled Skylight Pond. The thermometer outside the door read 50 degrees when I arrived -- colder than I expected! I dropped my gear in the doorway and quickly went out to filter all the water I’d need for my stay. Upon returning to the lodge, I changed into dry clothes, ate my lunch and got into my sleeping bag. I spent an hour shivering inside my bag until I finally started to warm up, so I’m especially glad I made the decision to stop. Shortly after even my fingers and toes felt warm, I was joined by three New Yorkers -- Sherpa, Tamarack and Mineral Spirits, which made for a fun evening of chatting.
SUNDAY: 12.2 miles from Skyline Lodge to Lincoln Gap:
Stopping two miles early yesterday meant I had to get on the trail fairly early today -- Mtn.Drew was planning to pick me up at Lincoln Gap at 4 p.m. and I didn’t want him to have to wait for my arrival. I was up at 6 a.m. to find that the wind had calmed a bit and the rain had slowed. Getting back into yesterday’s wet clothes was difficult as always. Slipping back through the brush, my legs pretty quickly got soaked and the wind was knocking water droplets off the trees so I knew I was not going to be wearing anything dry for very long anyway.
I was really excited to be heading up 3,835-foot Breadloaf, which is on the New England Hundred Highest list. I zipped down the spur trail and was surprised to find myself descending the entire way to a view point. The trail to the view had been relocated -- around what appeared to be the mountain’s highest point. I tagged the summit and noticed tons of trees with scrapes all along them -- maybe from porcupines eating the bark. Breadloaf was number 90 on the New England Hundred Highest list, just 10 more to go.
The nice, smooth trail stopped as I ascended up 3,745-foot Mt. Wilson, which had a maze of blowdowns to climb over. Since there were no signs I wasn’t 100 percent sure where the summit of Wilson was -- there were a couple bumps along the way before an overlook that might have been the top. I celebrated my 91st mountain on the NEHH list and the start of my Vermont-style Presidential traverse as the trail winds up and down four different peaks named for dead presidents.
It was raining again as I climbed over Mt. Roosevelt, which is supposed to have a stunning view of Killington from its side. I could see foggy treetops through the rain clouds but that was about it. I had a lot of trouble with temperature management -- I had to take my raincoat off when ascending hills because I would overheat but anytime I started descending I needed the extra layer because I would lose feeling in my hands. I was always glad to find another uphill section ahead to get me nice and warm again despite being soaked to the skin.
It was an easy trip up Mt. Cleveland and I stopped at Cooley Glen Shelter for a break. It was 11:45 a.m. and I was making really good time -- too good in fact. I realized that I would be arriving at Lincoln Gap too early to meet Mtn.Drew. I was a little worried about becoming hypothermic while waiting at the trailhead or getting my only dry clothes -- one pair of shorts and long-sleeved shirt buried deep in my pack -- wet while trying to stay warm. I wasn’t able to stay at the shelter for very long because I was getting cold, so I decided to slow my pace a little bit so I wouldn’t arrive at Lincoln Gap quite so early.
It was good that I was taking thinks more slowly as I hiked up Mt. Grant -- my final peak of the day. The trail was just a torrent of ankle-deep water rushing down the hill. That is, when I didn’t have to climb over about a zillion downed trees -- some at key points where the trail turned so it was a little difficult to find again. Sometimes during the ascent, the rain clouds overhead appeared to be lightening up so I thought I might get at least one view for the day, but it kept on raining right until the end.
Heading down Grant, I had some trouble on the wet rocks -- I might as well have been wearing rollerskates because I kept slipping down hills on the mossy rocks. In my worst spill, I somehow managed to land on my back with my head pointed downhill -- I had to wriggle out of my pack in order to right myself. Just after this fall, I saw the only other hikers to pass me all day -- two women with two dogs out enjoying a hike in the rain.
The final bit of trail took me over Sunset Ledges -- which I found kind of frustrating, especially since I didn’t have the treat of views along the way. I would pass something that looked like it would have a westerly view and think, okay one more mile to Lincoln Gap. Ten minutes later, I’d pass another ledge with a westerly view… and this happened three or four times so I gave up counting my remaining mile. I’ll have to re-hike this section some day to see all the views that I missed in this rain storm.
My final mile eventually arrived and I found myself at Lincoln Gap at 3 p.m. Fortunately, Mtn.Drew was already there waiting, so I felt a little bad about dragging my feet through the last four miles. Thanks again to Drew for being the best trail angel ever and giving me both cookies and a ride, despite the fact I smelled like a wet dog, even in my dry clothes.
Despite all the rain, it was an enjoyable hike through a pretty section of the LT. I’ll have to go back sometime and see all of the views I missed though!
Not much in the way of pictures... but here's the link to the few I took: Long Trail pictures
- Ivy
