rocksnrolls
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Wow, what a beautiful day it was - clear blues skies until near the end, bright sun, and very little wind - couldn't have asked for a better one! 
I hit Rt 2 around 4:50 and headed out west to meet up with Dugan at her place in Central Mass to begin our carpool. I was glad to be able to say 'hi' to the sadly side-lined Dugan 4-Legs (and two of the three resident felines) before we hit the road. I hope his injury heals quickly. I know how incomplete Dugan 2-Legs feels without him at her side.
After piling my gear into her car, we hit Rt 2 again to head out to the intersection of Rt 91 to pick up Jade and Carmen (hiker dog extraordinaire). A short time after hitting the road we spied what we believe was a fisher crossing the highway - an exciting and auspicious beginning to our day for sure!
After a pit stop at the impressive Vermont visitor center and a wonderful deli/bakery (sorry, forgot the name...), and a delightful drive on Rts 9 and 100, we made it to the empty trailhead on Arlington - Stratton Rd by about 9am. As we geared up I could see Carmen was itching to hit the trail! Despite the NOAA map showing no snow in the area, we could see that there was at least a half foot of hardpacked snow on the trail and everything was coated with a liberal sprinkling of sparkly fresh snow. So we donned our snowshoes and got underway.
The climb up to the summit was glorious! The trail was well packed down with only the occassional posthole. The numerous small streams never presented a problem to cross. This would be a great hike for a novice snowshoer (like myself). It was a constant uphill climb, gentle for the first mile or so, with the rest of the way being a moderate grade, never really what you would call steep.
We had fun trying to identify the many animal tracks we saw. Seemed like hares were the most common and easiest to identify. We might have seen some fox and some coyote, but they were harder to identify due to the recent light dusting covering them up. Surprisingly, we didn't seem to see any deer or moose tracks on the way up. We were stumped in our efforts to identify a kind of tree we saw a lot of on the upper slopes. The strangely mottled bark was what first drew our attention. Knowing the history of this mountain, Dugan surmised they were probably apple or some other kind of fruit tree that had been untended for so long that they no longer resembled what we were familiar with those trees looking like. Down low the trees had been mostly bare of snow, but as we approached the summit the evergreen trees held more and more snow, giving Jade and Dugan a few cold showers. Lucky for me I was bringing up the rear at this point and was able to avoid getting doused myself.
When we reached the summit, Dugan and I climbed up the fire tower to enjoy the splendid views. The enclosed upper room was a real treat, keeping the cold wind off us. I really loved how they had placed labels on some of the windows to help you identify the nearby mountains and ponds. With the assistance of her new compass, Dugan spied what we were pretty sure was Moosilauke, and off to it's right, we could see a white line on the distant horizon which may have been the Presidantials. We couldn't believe how clear the sky was considering the forcasts had called for partly to mostly cloudy! Jade had stayed down from the tower so Carmen wouldn't follow her up (Carmen had followed Dugan and me partway up but seemed rather scared of the narrow stairs), so we headed back down to join them and enjoy our lunches.
After resting and chatting for awhile we decided to continue on the AT/LT toward Stratton Pond to make a loop of it. Apparently not too many of the people who had hiked up to Stratton recently had coninued on this way, so we got to do some trail breaking heading down. Seemed to me there was about half a foot of fresh snow over the hardpacked snow from previous hikers.
The trail down to the pond was about the same as the trail heading to the summit. Nice moderate to easy slope, numerous small streams to cross, though some seemed bigger than the ones we had seen heading up. After passing a couple beaver ponds at the low point of the trail, we stopped for a little first aid: Dugan needed to apply moleskin to her heels and I needed to bandage up a split on the pad of one of my thumbs. After our stop we soon reached Stratton Pond, which looked gorgeous covered in snow. I'd love to come back here in the summer and do the loop around the pond (and maybe spend a night or two). I can see why this is such a popular camping spot ? it's got a nice secluded feel to it.
From there we got onto the combined Stratton Pond Tr and Catamount XC Ski Tr to head back to the road. Carmen seemed anxious to get back to the car. Her paws were a little raw from the snow (she loves to take the lead) and I think she was a bit chilled from all the snow she had been eating (earning her the nickname of 'snowball face'). But she was a real trooper and hardly complained a bit. I was impressed by how she periodically left the lead and went back to check on the rest of the group. She's got a lot of team spirit, that dog!
About a mile or so from the road, we turned left to follow the Catamount where it left the SP and followed an old dirt road. . Shortly after taking the turn, we finally saw our first (and only) moose tracks of the day ? I guess the moose had been scared off by the numerous bunnies! This turned out to be maybe the most difficult part of the day, oddly enough. The snow surface was very uneven, causing your feet to tilt left and right, adding stress to our tired ankle. There were some odd, widely spaced channels in the snow. Too wide apart to be snowmobile skis (which are barred from the trail anyways) or XC tracks. I thought maybe someone had pulled a sled along there, but we couldn't really decide what they might be.
We encountered quite a few wet sections along this section and got our snowshoes wet a few times from breaking through the ice into the streams. At least we were almost back to the car so it wasn?t a problem. When we got back to the car we met a trio of XC skiers who were finishing off their day, too. Except for a couple of snowmobilers who passed by while we were gearing up, these were the only people we saw all day. They had a beautiful mutt of their own, so Carmen got to enjoy a bit of a sniff fest before everyone packed up and headed home.
All-in-all a near perfect day. I had a few malfunctions with the heal strap on my MSRs and I was surprised by the total lack of wildlife viewing (beside the fisher). I don't even recall seeing any birds. At least we had the company of a fine hiking dog! Thanks to the three gals for letting me tag along! I hope we can do it again soon.
I hit Rt 2 around 4:50 and headed out west to meet up with Dugan at her place in Central Mass to begin our carpool. I was glad to be able to say 'hi' to the sadly side-lined Dugan 4-Legs (and two of the three resident felines) before we hit the road. I hope his injury heals quickly. I know how incomplete Dugan 2-Legs feels without him at her side.
After piling my gear into her car, we hit Rt 2 again to head out to the intersection of Rt 91 to pick up Jade and Carmen (hiker dog extraordinaire). A short time after hitting the road we spied what we believe was a fisher crossing the highway - an exciting and auspicious beginning to our day for sure!
After a pit stop at the impressive Vermont visitor center and a wonderful deli/bakery (sorry, forgot the name...), and a delightful drive on Rts 9 and 100, we made it to the empty trailhead on Arlington - Stratton Rd by about 9am. As we geared up I could see Carmen was itching to hit the trail! Despite the NOAA map showing no snow in the area, we could see that there was at least a half foot of hardpacked snow on the trail and everything was coated with a liberal sprinkling of sparkly fresh snow. So we donned our snowshoes and got underway.
The climb up to the summit was glorious! The trail was well packed down with only the occassional posthole. The numerous small streams never presented a problem to cross. This would be a great hike for a novice snowshoer (like myself). It was a constant uphill climb, gentle for the first mile or so, with the rest of the way being a moderate grade, never really what you would call steep.
We had fun trying to identify the many animal tracks we saw. Seemed like hares were the most common and easiest to identify. We might have seen some fox and some coyote, but they were harder to identify due to the recent light dusting covering them up. Surprisingly, we didn't seem to see any deer or moose tracks on the way up. We were stumped in our efforts to identify a kind of tree we saw a lot of on the upper slopes. The strangely mottled bark was what first drew our attention. Knowing the history of this mountain, Dugan surmised they were probably apple or some other kind of fruit tree that had been untended for so long that they no longer resembled what we were familiar with those trees looking like. Down low the trees had been mostly bare of snow, but as we approached the summit the evergreen trees held more and more snow, giving Jade and Dugan a few cold showers. Lucky for me I was bringing up the rear at this point and was able to avoid getting doused myself.
When we reached the summit, Dugan and I climbed up the fire tower to enjoy the splendid views. The enclosed upper room was a real treat, keeping the cold wind off us. I really loved how they had placed labels on some of the windows to help you identify the nearby mountains and ponds. With the assistance of her new compass, Dugan spied what we were pretty sure was Moosilauke, and off to it's right, we could see a white line on the distant horizon which may have been the Presidantials. We couldn't believe how clear the sky was considering the forcasts had called for partly to mostly cloudy! Jade had stayed down from the tower so Carmen wouldn't follow her up (Carmen had followed Dugan and me partway up but seemed rather scared of the narrow stairs), so we headed back down to join them and enjoy our lunches.
After resting and chatting for awhile we decided to continue on the AT/LT toward Stratton Pond to make a loop of it. Apparently not too many of the people who had hiked up to Stratton recently had coninued on this way, so we got to do some trail breaking heading down. Seemed to me there was about half a foot of fresh snow over the hardpacked snow from previous hikers.
The trail down to the pond was about the same as the trail heading to the summit. Nice moderate to easy slope, numerous small streams to cross, though some seemed bigger than the ones we had seen heading up. After passing a couple beaver ponds at the low point of the trail, we stopped for a little first aid: Dugan needed to apply moleskin to her heels and I needed to bandage up a split on the pad of one of my thumbs. After our stop we soon reached Stratton Pond, which looked gorgeous covered in snow. I'd love to come back here in the summer and do the loop around the pond (and maybe spend a night or two). I can see why this is such a popular camping spot ? it's got a nice secluded feel to it.
From there we got onto the combined Stratton Pond Tr and Catamount XC Ski Tr to head back to the road. Carmen seemed anxious to get back to the car. Her paws were a little raw from the snow (she loves to take the lead) and I think she was a bit chilled from all the snow she had been eating (earning her the nickname of 'snowball face'). But she was a real trooper and hardly complained a bit. I was impressed by how she periodically left the lead and went back to check on the rest of the group. She's got a lot of team spirit, that dog!
About a mile or so from the road, we turned left to follow the Catamount where it left the SP and followed an old dirt road. . Shortly after taking the turn, we finally saw our first (and only) moose tracks of the day ? I guess the moose had been scared off by the numerous bunnies! This turned out to be maybe the most difficult part of the day, oddly enough. The snow surface was very uneven, causing your feet to tilt left and right, adding stress to our tired ankle. There were some odd, widely spaced channels in the snow. Too wide apart to be snowmobile skis (which are barred from the trail anyways) or XC tracks. I thought maybe someone had pulled a sled along there, but we couldn't really decide what they might be.
We encountered quite a few wet sections along this section and got our snowshoes wet a few times from breaking through the ice into the streams. At least we were almost back to the car so it wasn?t a problem. When we got back to the car we met a trio of XC skiers who were finishing off their day, too. Except for a couple of snowmobilers who passed by while we were gearing up, these were the only people we saw all day. They had a beautiful mutt of their own, so Carmen got to enjoy a bit of a sniff fest before everyone packed up and headed home.
All-in-all a near perfect day. I had a few malfunctions with the heal strap on my MSRs and I was surprised by the total lack of wildlife viewing (beside the fisher). I don't even recall seeing any birds. At least we had the company of a fine hiking dog! Thanks to the three gals for letting me tag along! I hope we can do it again soon.
