buckyball1
New member
I left home at 2AM this morning as it's a long way up to that corner of the world from Orrington. The drive was dark and uneventful until a large cow moose strolled out in front of the car outside Norton about 6 AM--no contact. If you haven't hiked much in Northern VT/NH and in Maine in the last few years, you'd be amazed how the moose have proliferated. It's now rare when i don't see one or more rather than when i do.
Gore--The trailhead for Gore is easy to find. It's south of Norton on Rt 114 at the north end of Norton Pond between Lake Station and DeVost Roads--park on west side of road, the trail is on the east with a small wooded sign (the "trailhead pic" on Papa Bear's site was taken a bit up the trail and is not visible from the road). You can use either PB's trail description or the VT Guide. The trail is mellow(moderate slope, nothing tough) and well blazed (the former problem area above the brook crossing is now sporting blazes).
I had guessed the weather was going to start clearing out by the time i planned to summit-- totally wrong and hiked in soup with intermittent mist all day. Even so, Gore was a pleasant slog, in the woods, no views. The trail receives only moderate use and the brush almost covers it in spots. I was soaked quickly and for the duration of the hike. The trail itself is also very wet and the bog bridges are super slippery, better to walk in the mud.There are a number of blowdowns and care is needed finding the trail when crossing the first lumber road (go a bit to the right on the road to reenter the woods-overgrown cairn). Take care about 3/4 of the way to the summit as the brush hides a bunch of round slippery rocks -i took my worst dive of the year on a "no-problem" flat stretch.
The old tower is long gone, but there's a small cabin with registers in the cupboard. There are a wealth of registers-two spiral pads and several 3000K pads--an original placed by Dennis C in 1988 and a later one last signed by Nate earlier this year.
East--the mountain is reached by a 4 mile walk up an old "paved" road that runs to the former radar station on the top of East. These last 4 miles of the "Radar Road" are behind a locked gate off a dirt road that runs from south of East Haven on Rt 114 to Gallup Mills on the Granby Rd (also know as the Victory Rd).
I chatted with a highway crew near Island Pond (still an interesting area with lots of hand lettered signs proclaiming various "truths") and the consensus was the Radar Road is almost always closed at the Rt114 end and always open at the Gallup Mills end. To find Gallup Mills--look for some metal sculpture (a rooster pulling a cart and a moose with a flower) in a field on Rt 114 north of East Burke; the Victory Road is right across from it. Take the Victory Road for 7.8 miles (most is dirt, but changes back to pavement in Gallup Mills) and then turn left onto the "Radar Road (signed) -toward the Victory Town Clerk's house. Follow the Radar Road about 4.4 miles through an open gate to a locked one and park. Walk past the locked gate, turn right and head up the hill on the paved road past the second older locked gate (pic on PBs site)
Think of the road as a half length Mt Washington auto road only more narrow and not as steep or curvey.( The bottom half of the road is breaking up pretty badly, but the top half is in better shape than many rural roads (appears the area around the bottom half has been logged accounting for the broken road). A bit before 1/2 way up you'll pass a cluster of abandoned building and fuel tanks with power lines running toward the summit.(perhaps a generator facility for the stuff on top?) I wore running shoes instead of my normal leather boots, but after 1/2 mile found the road too steep for running (I'm no Artex
), but i did run back down most of the way and I'm sure my legs will be screaming by morning.
The top of East was a bit creepy. It was foggy/misty and of course i came upon all the old radar installation structures. There are a lot of buildings, many pretty large, several circular and all built with steel frame and cheap corrugated metal skins. All the building are in various stages of decay, completely stripped and festooned with dire warning signs. It's eerie to hear these old Cold War structures sing and moan as the wind blows through their half rotted skins.
As i returned to the car, i ran across another cow moose, this time in front of me on the Radar Road. Then it was back to Maine on Rt 2. The northern Whites were socked in and it was raining at Valley Way. Gorham was dry, but empty, just like it seems to have been the last 3 summers (gas prices? no real reason to go there?). The motels have continued to advertise their mid-week prices even on the weekends again this year and businesses come and go.
As i neared home i realized my driving skills were pretty dismal--ever get to the point where the cruise, wiper and light stalks become pretty much indistinguishable? Tired, but fun day
jim
Gore--The trailhead for Gore is easy to find. It's south of Norton on Rt 114 at the north end of Norton Pond between Lake Station and DeVost Roads--park on west side of road, the trail is on the east with a small wooded sign (the "trailhead pic" on Papa Bear's site was taken a bit up the trail and is not visible from the road). You can use either PB's trail description or the VT Guide. The trail is mellow(moderate slope, nothing tough) and well blazed (the former problem area above the brook crossing is now sporting blazes).
I had guessed the weather was going to start clearing out by the time i planned to summit-- totally wrong and hiked in soup with intermittent mist all day. Even so, Gore was a pleasant slog, in the woods, no views. The trail receives only moderate use and the brush almost covers it in spots. I was soaked quickly and for the duration of the hike. The trail itself is also very wet and the bog bridges are super slippery, better to walk in the mud.There are a number of blowdowns and care is needed finding the trail when crossing the first lumber road (go a bit to the right on the road to reenter the woods-overgrown cairn). Take care about 3/4 of the way to the summit as the brush hides a bunch of round slippery rocks -i took my worst dive of the year on a "no-problem" flat stretch.
The old tower is long gone, but there's a small cabin with registers in the cupboard. There are a wealth of registers-two spiral pads and several 3000K pads--an original placed by Dennis C in 1988 and a later one last signed by Nate earlier this year.
East--the mountain is reached by a 4 mile walk up an old "paved" road that runs to the former radar station on the top of East. These last 4 miles of the "Radar Road" are behind a locked gate off a dirt road that runs from south of East Haven on Rt 114 to Gallup Mills on the Granby Rd (also know as the Victory Rd).
I chatted with a highway crew near Island Pond (still an interesting area with lots of hand lettered signs proclaiming various "truths") and the consensus was the Radar Road is almost always closed at the Rt114 end and always open at the Gallup Mills end. To find Gallup Mills--look for some metal sculpture (a rooster pulling a cart and a moose with a flower) in a field on Rt 114 north of East Burke; the Victory Road is right across from it. Take the Victory Road for 7.8 miles (most is dirt, but changes back to pavement in Gallup Mills) and then turn left onto the "Radar Road (signed) -toward the Victory Town Clerk's house. Follow the Radar Road about 4.4 miles through an open gate to a locked one and park. Walk past the locked gate, turn right and head up the hill on the paved road past the second older locked gate (pic on PBs site)
Think of the road as a half length Mt Washington auto road only more narrow and not as steep or curvey.( The bottom half of the road is breaking up pretty badly, but the top half is in better shape than many rural roads (appears the area around the bottom half has been logged accounting for the broken road). A bit before 1/2 way up you'll pass a cluster of abandoned building and fuel tanks with power lines running toward the summit.(perhaps a generator facility for the stuff on top?) I wore running shoes instead of my normal leather boots, but after 1/2 mile found the road too steep for running (I'm no Artex
), but i did run back down most of the way and I'm sure my legs will be screaming by morning.The top of East was a bit creepy. It was foggy/misty and of course i came upon all the old radar installation structures. There are a lot of buildings, many pretty large, several circular and all built with steel frame and cheap corrugated metal skins. All the building are in various stages of decay, completely stripped and festooned with dire warning signs. It's eerie to hear these old Cold War structures sing and moan as the wind blows through their half rotted skins.
As i returned to the car, i ran across another cow moose, this time in front of me on the Radar Road. Then it was back to Maine on Rt 2. The northern Whites were socked in and it was raining at Valley Way. Gorham was dry, but empty, just like it seems to have been the last 3 summers (gas prices? no real reason to go there?). The motels have continued to advertise their mid-week prices even on the weekends again this year and businesses come and go.
As i neared home i realized my driving skills were pretty dismal--ever get to the point where the cruise, wiper and light stalks become pretty much indistinguishable? Tired, but fun day
jim
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