Wanting a loop hike close to home I decided to check out Gordon Pond, Cascades, and Mt Wolf. I hid my trusty Cannondale M/B in Kinsman Notch and drove to the Trailhead beside Govoni's closed Restaurant on Rt 112 in Woodstock. The USFS trail head sign is huge and inviting. However as soon as you start up the driveway/trail you encounter No Trespassing signs on all sides. Ignoring the signs as recommended by the 26th Ed WMG I walked up the center of the driveway expecting to be yelled at. No problem. The Gordon Pond trail is a mix of old logging RR, logging roads, and power lines. Looks like this is a popular M/B trail due to the many tire tracks. The trail would be a nice route for B/C trail runners. I may be tempted to go in there on XC skis midweek, this coming winter except that it appears to be a busy snowsled route too. Gordon Pond sits at around 2600 feet, and the start was around 600 feet so there is a nice long woods walk up to the pond along some wonderful old logging roads. Once at the pond, gaining the Kinsman ridge trail was about only a fifteen minute walk. At the intersection of AT/Kinsman Ridge trail and Gordon Pond trail I had only done five miles so I thought I would go north to Mt Wolf and look for the register before heading south back to Kinsman notch. Got to Mt Wolf's summit and couldn't find a canister so I ate lunch and headed south to Kinsman Notch. As I was down hiking into Kinsman, I met my first other person of the day five hours into the hike. I recovered my bike at two PM, and had a wild ride downhill all the way back to my car.
It's amazing how empty the trails can be on weekends if you pick the right destinations. Another nice hillwalk!
It's amazing how empty the trails can be on weekends if you pick the right destinations. Another nice hillwalk!
