sal
New member
Wow, last weekend was fantastic to be outside! Headed to Vt for my first hike in that state. Got a late start - left MA at 6am (and still had to honor the promise of a stop at a sugar house for breakfast!). While waiting for our pancakes (blackberry with real maple syrup - YUM!!!), I looked over the VT atlas and decided to try the Lincoln gap road trail head, and hike up and over Abraham to Ellen and back. But the road was closed, so we continued north on rt 100, then looped back around Mad River Glen and Mt Ellen on rt 17 to get to the Battell trail head (what a hoot rt 17 is!). Finally got on the trail at 11:15. The Battell trail was in good shape, fairly dry at the start, then turning to a ribbon of white through the woods. Soon the trail and woods were all snow. There is still quite a bit of snow, but is was "old" and well packed. A post-holing moose had gone through some time back, giving line of sight to 20 - 30 inch deep snow in some places! On the ledges near the top, the ice had softened and was easily climbed, we bare booted the whole trip. The views on the summit of Abraham were so expansive - to the east we saw the white mountains, to the west, into NY! The range of the view was incredible, and the sky was clear with just a little haze - spectacular! Only a couple others sitting near the top, so we had the summit to ourselves - soaking up the views and the sun! The wind cooled us quickly and we layered up. After an hour or so, a few more people were making their way to the summit, so we reluctantly headed down. Stopped at the shelter to remove layers and look around. The warm temps had softened the snow quite a bit in the afternoon. Got back to the car at 4pm, and headed for Franconia Notch for the night (and dinner!), and skiied Bretton Woods on Sunday! After a weekend like this, I can't help but think I how lucky I am!
sal
sal
