poison ivy
Well-known member
Sherpa Shaggy & I arrived in the Mt. Equinox area a little after 8:30 on Saturday -- a little late because some of the roads were still a bit messy. We cruised around the Equinox Hotel parking area and Burr & Burton Academy looking for our fellow team members, but didn’t see anyone we recognized (or plates other than Vermont ones.) Since the Day Hiker’s Guide says not to park in the Burr & Burton Academy lot, we pulled into nearby street-side parking and got ready to go. As we were finishing up, Abster came over to knock on the window… luckily she had recognized us.
Abster brought along three very enthusiastic hiking puppies -- Tuscany, Jelsi and Ryder -- who were rearing to go as we stood at the trailhead messing with snowshoes. It’s lucky that we had Abster along, as she had hiked Equinox before and I’m not sure how long it would have taken us to figure out where the trailhead was since everything was covered with a few inches of snow.
We headed in past the soccer fields and rope course, finally finding out way to the red gate and heading up the hill. I almost immediately regretted leaving my Swiss Bob sled in the car when two boys passed us heading up the trail, dragging their own sleds behind them. They were having a grand time sliding down to the trail from little bumps and hills in the woods.
The trail was unbroken -- until the pups came along that is -- though Abster did way more than her share of the work because Dave & I would often fall behind. (It was Shaggy’s first hike since early October.) The trail initially follows a woods road, which was wide open and made for pretty easy walking. However, it gets steeper and steeper every few minutes & the trail climbs 2,730 feet over its 2.7 miles.
We passed a small cabin and found for sale signs throughout the woods -- make an offer and eight acres can be yours. We wondered if it was landlocked. We continued hiking, hearing what sounded like a couple of woodpeckers working on the trees (could hear this but couldn’t see them to verify) and watching the sky as it turned from gray and cloudy to shades of blue. It was such a joy to be on an actual trail, without miles of blowdowns and bent over trees to negotiate around.
At the half-way mark, the trail splits, with one end going to Upper Spring and the Burr & Burton Trail heading uphill more steeply through the woods. We encountered our first challenging blowdown just past the split -- a double log job that gave Shaggy some trouble because of his large snowshoes. As the trail gained elevation, Shaggy began to struggle a bit and so we fell behind Abster and the dogs. He had forgotten his poles, so I eventually gave him mine, which seemed to help a bit. So, did the occasional glimpse through the leafless trees of the views that were awaiting us on the summit.
We met Abster & the dogs again about a tenth of a mile below the summit. She was coming down -- one of the dogs had a bloody paw and she had three other dogs waiting at home, so she headed down pretty quickly. Thanks again, Abster for all your trail breaking. Near to the summit, were a few more challenging blowdowns -- well, I thought they were challenging. After crawling under one on my belly, Shaggy just circled around it. We were excited to see the Skyline Inn at the summit and rushed over to the porch to take in the beautiful views of the Taconics and southern Vermont. The sun had come out and the gray peaks looked fantastic under the gray sky.
As we were taking pictures, sal arrived. She had underestimated the amount of driving time it would take to get to the trailhead and started the hike at 10 a.m. about an hour after us. She said it was easy going since she was able to follow our tracks. We snacked and stayed on the summit for about a half-hour before turning to head back down. I had originally thought of heading over to Lookout Rock and Mr. Barbo, but Shaggy had enough hiking for the day, so we just followed our tracks back down. The descent was pretty fun and easy (though I really wished we had the sled.) We made it back to the trailhead at 4 p.m., making for a seven hour hike.
Equinox, at 3850 ft. was my 86th peak on the New England Hundred Highest list and my last peak on that list until the spring.
Pictures from the hike can be found here.
- Ivy
Abster brought along three very enthusiastic hiking puppies -- Tuscany, Jelsi and Ryder -- who were rearing to go as we stood at the trailhead messing with snowshoes. It’s lucky that we had Abster along, as she had hiked Equinox before and I’m not sure how long it would have taken us to figure out where the trailhead was since everything was covered with a few inches of snow.
We headed in past the soccer fields and rope course, finally finding out way to the red gate and heading up the hill. I almost immediately regretted leaving my Swiss Bob sled in the car when two boys passed us heading up the trail, dragging their own sleds behind them. They were having a grand time sliding down to the trail from little bumps and hills in the woods.
The trail was unbroken -- until the pups came along that is -- though Abster did way more than her share of the work because Dave & I would often fall behind. (It was Shaggy’s first hike since early October.) The trail initially follows a woods road, which was wide open and made for pretty easy walking. However, it gets steeper and steeper every few minutes & the trail climbs 2,730 feet over its 2.7 miles.
We passed a small cabin and found for sale signs throughout the woods -- make an offer and eight acres can be yours. We wondered if it was landlocked. We continued hiking, hearing what sounded like a couple of woodpeckers working on the trees (could hear this but couldn’t see them to verify) and watching the sky as it turned from gray and cloudy to shades of blue. It was such a joy to be on an actual trail, without miles of blowdowns and bent over trees to negotiate around.
At the half-way mark, the trail splits, with one end going to Upper Spring and the Burr & Burton Trail heading uphill more steeply through the woods. We encountered our first challenging blowdown just past the split -- a double log job that gave Shaggy some trouble because of his large snowshoes. As the trail gained elevation, Shaggy began to struggle a bit and so we fell behind Abster and the dogs. He had forgotten his poles, so I eventually gave him mine, which seemed to help a bit. So, did the occasional glimpse through the leafless trees of the views that were awaiting us on the summit.
We met Abster & the dogs again about a tenth of a mile below the summit. She was coming down -- one of the dogs had a bloody paw and she had three other dogs waiting at home, so she headed down pretty quickly. Thanks again, Abster for all your trail breaking. Near to the summit, were a few more challenging blowdowns -- well, I thought they were challenging. After crawling under one on my belly, Shaggy just circled around it. We were excited to see the Skyline Inn at the summit and rushed over to the porch to take in the beautiful views of the Taconics and southern Vermont. The sun had come out and the gray peaks looked fantastic under the gray sky.
As we were taking pictures, sal arrived. She had underestimated the amount of driving time it would take to get to the trailhead and started the hike at 10 a.m. about an hour after us. She said it was easy going since she was able to follow our tracks. We snacked and stayed on the summit for about a half-hour before turning to head back down. I had originally thought of heading over to Lookout Rock and Mr. Barbo, but Shaggy had enough hiking for the day, so we just followed our tracks back down. The descent was pretty fun and easy (though I really wished we had the sled.) We made it back to the trailhead at 4 p.m., making for a seven hour hike.
Equinox, at 3850 ft. was my 86th peak on the New England Hundred Highest list and my last peak on that list until the spring.
Pictures from the hike can be found here.
- Ivy
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