arghman
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I like Smugglers Notch, this is the first time I've been there but it's a much nicer road through the mountains than any of the ones in NH, I think because of the scale. The road narrows down (to probably 10-12' wide at one point) and precariously winds around large boulders. Not like Crawford Notch where you can just go zooming through.
I would have liked to hike Mt Mansfield but wasn't feeling up to that much el. gain / distance so hiked the east side of the notch instead, starting from the Smugglers Cave parking area. Where else in the northeast can you get to the trailhead and see 2 fishermen hiking down with poles & a half-dozen fish (trout?) hanging on a line? Sterling Pond is around 3000' elevation & is apparently stocked by the state with fish. Since this was the first day the trails were open, I guess that makes sense that they'd be there first.
it was a very misty day w/ little visibility (varying between 50-200' visibility at times), but nice & cool. The trail up to Sterling Pond (formerly the Long Trail) is somewhat steep but steady & not difficult. Very rich soil (usual for VT I guess, not for NH) leads to a lot of wildflowers, trout lilies & spring beauty & trilliums, with occasional dutchman's breeches. Right by the side of the road near the Cambridge/Stowe border were some Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), not in bloom yet; I'm not sure how common this plant is in VT (it's on the rare list in NH, not in VT though).
The upper sections (2500'+ ?) are more spruce-fir and the plant diversity drops, though trout lilies persisted through the whole hike, even at 3200'.
I went over to Sterling Pond, but there was no view so didn't stick around. Part of the trail up from Sterling Pond to the Long Trail (rerouted, used to be called the Elephant Head Trail) goes over what looks to be a maintained road between the pond & the nearby ski area trails. There are some interesting cliffs, not sure what's natural & what was cut; there are some holes drilled in the rock where it looks like at some point they split the bedrock to widen the road.
the Long Trail goes back through the woods and zigzags back and forth, eventually starting to make its way downwards. I skipped the sidetrail to the Elephant Head viewpoint; my guess is that I missed something interesting
for some reason I thought the side trail would involve a lot of climbing down & back up again, but when I looked at the map afterwards, that wasn't true.
Not much to see, there are some talus slides & stuff in a few spots (one with coltsfoot invading the scenery), and lots of sugar maples at lower elevations. I was a bit disappointed & am guessing maybe they rerouted the trail to avoid some of the more botanically interesting sections (or perhaps I missed something obvious). The trail leads down to VT Rt 108 at a picnic area and then you have to walk back up. A good workout, I think somewhere around 5.5 mi & 1600ft elevation gain for the day.
geologic action folding sedimentary rock into something else
one of my whatsits for the day. (with my luck this is probably something really common that I should know.)
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula). a common plant in the spruce-fir zone, though I only saw one patch on my hike. Very easy to overlook the flowers which are around 1/10" wide & in bloom now (the fruit is white & larger & more conspicuous). contrast w/ the other Gaultheria we have, wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) [the following picture is from August 2001 along Blue Brook in the Wild River Valley on the way back from Rim Junction, & of course it can be found all over NH in acidic soil; not from Smugglers Notch, where I don't remember seeing it.]
another picture for my "odd signs" collection:
the town of Stowe had another funny sign, something to the effect of "The citizens of Stowe would greatly appreciate it if drivers would refrain from using engine braking while in our town" which was in small enough print & had enough words that no one could possibly read all of it while in a moving vehicle. I didn't have time to photograph it though, I was rushing off to get to a plant nursery before they closed, to buy some crowberry plants (Cadys Falls Nursery in Morrisville, has lots of native plants you can't find most other places).
will have to come back next year for Mansfield & set aside more time to explore.
I would have liked to hike Mt Mansfield but wasn't feeling up to that much el. gain / distance so hiked the east side of the notch instead, starting from the Smugglers Cave parking area. Where else in the northeast can you get to the trailhead and see 2 fishermen hiking down with poles & a half-dozen fish (trout?) hanging on a line? Sterling Pond is around 3000' elevation & is apparently stocked by the state with fish. Since this was the first day the trails were open, I guess that makes sense that they'd be there first.
it was a very misty day w/ little visibility (varying between 50-200' visibility at times), but nice & cool. The trail up to Sterling Pond (formerly the Long Trail) is somewhat steep but steady & not difficult. Very rich soil (usual for VT I guess, not for NH) leads to a lot of wildflowers, trout lilies & spring beauty & trilliums, with occasional dutchman's breeches. Right by the side of the road near the Cambridge/Stowe border were some Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), not in bloom yet; I'm not sure how common this plant is in VT (it's on the rare list in NH, not in VT though).
The upper sections (2500'+ ?) are more spruce-fir and the plant diversity drops, though trout lilies persisted through the whole hike, even at 3200'.
I went over to Sterling Pond, but there was no view so didn't stick around. Part of the trail up from Sterling Pond to the Long Trail (rerouted, used to be called the Elephant Head Trail) goes over what looks to be a maintained road between the pond & the nearby ski area trails. There are some interesting cliffs, not sure what's natural & what was cut; there are some holes drilled in the rock where it looks like at some point they split the bedrock to widen the road.
the Long Trail goes back through the woods and zigzags back and forth, eventually starting to make its way downwards. I skipped the sidetrail to the Elephant Head viewpoint; my guess is that I missed something interesting
for some reason I thought the side trail would involve a lot of climbing down & back up again, but when I looked at the map afterwards, that wasn't true.Not much to see, there are some talus slides & stuff in a few spots (one with coltsfoot invading the scenery), and lots of sugar maples at lower elevations. I was a bit disappointed & am guessing maybe they rerouted the trail to avoid some of the more botanically interesting sections (or perhaps I missed something obvious). The trail leads down to VT Rt 108 at a picnic area and then you have to walk back up. A good workout, I think somewhere around 5.5 mi & 1600ft elevation gain for the day.
geologic action folding sedimentary rock into something else
one of my whatsits for the day. (with my luck this is probably something really common that I should know.)
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula). a common plant in the spruce-fir zone, though I only saw one patch on my hike. Very easy to overlook the flowers which are around 1/10" wide & in bloom now (the fruit is white & larger & more conspicuous). contrast w/ the other Gaultheria we have, wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) [the following picture is from August 2001 along Blue Brook in the Wild River Valley on the way back from Rim Junction, & of course it can be found all over NH in acidic soil; not from Smugglers Notch, where I don't remember seeing it.]
another picture for my "odd signs" collection:
the town of Stowe had another funny sign, something to the effect of "The citizens of Stowe would greatly appreciate it if drivers would refrain from using engine braking while in our town" which was in small enough print & had enough words that no one could possibly read all of it while in a moving vehicle. I didn't have time to photograph it though, I was rushing off to get to a plant nursery before they closed, to buy some crowberry plants (Cadys Falls Nursery in Morrisville, has lots of native plants you can't find most other places).
will have to come back next year for Mansfield & set aside more time to explore.
