Willoughby
Member
I've been up near Lake Willoughby (with family), and found time to hike some of the mountains in the area. Pictures are at http://www.kaufmanfamily.net/pictures/f/willoughby06
Mt Pisgah (2,751’, 8/10)
Pisgah is the eastern side of the Lake Willoughby Gap, which can be spotted from miles away (including, for the returning hiker, from I93 just after crossing into Vermont). Trail options are from the North, the South, and the East, of which the South Trail offers the best views along the way. One of the South Trails’ outlooks - Pulpit Rock - hangs off the side of the mountain 100s of feet above the lake, with stunning views up the lake and towards the Northwest.
My brother and I climbed the South Trail, alternating steady inclines with stretches of nearly level trail. Much of the trail runs along the edge of Pisgah’s ridge, w ith only a screen of trees between it and a nearly sheer dropoff. The trail is largely well-maintained, with extensive trailwork (and remediation) on the lower stretches and a couple of large blowdowns on the upper stretch that don’t seriously impede traffic. The beaver pond has cleared out in the 10+ years since I last climbed this route, with almost no dead trees standing on the left (northern) side of the trail and far fewer on the right. The outlooks and even the rocky area below the summit have become somewhat overgrown - it would take a braver soul than I to inch out Pulpit Rock far enough to recapture the former views up-lake.
Although the South Trail is well-maintained there are no signs for the outlooks, the junction with the North Trail, or even for the summit! We went as far as the first outlook along the North Trail, which was signed, to ensure that we had actually summited. The views from below the summit were very good for a hazy day - we could see White Mountains and Green Mountains in the distance, with Burke Mountain and its ski runs in the foreground.
4 mi, 1,500’, 1:15 up and 0:45 down.
Mt Hor (2,648’, 8/13)
Hor is the western side of the Willoughby gap, I hiked it alone one morning before the rest of the crew was up. The Hawkes trail (good condition) runs up to Hor’s ridgeline, where the trail goes for a mile between different outlooks. The trail towards the summit and summit outlook are getting overgrown, which is too bad because the views from the summit outlook are some of the best I had. The summit is unmarked as usual, but I took my best guess and a couple pictures.
The east outlook stares directly at Pisgah’s rock cliffs; unforutnately they were in the shadow of the rising sun. This view would be best in the afternoon. The north outlook has nice views up Willoughby and along the eastern shore.
3.4 mi, 700’, 0:35 up to summit lookout, 0:30 down from North lookout
Mt Wheeler (2,371’, 8/14)
Wheeler’s dramatic shark-fin profile is visible up and down the east side of Willoughby. Although it is not particularly tall, it boasts exposed-rock-face climbing and sheer dropoffs to rival some White Mountain 4Kers.
My wife, my son and I climbed up the Red Trail, which maximizes rock scrambling, and all members of the party made it up with the occassional boost and pause to check footing. The most dramatic part of the climb is after the Red Trail has merged back into the White, a long ridge of rock that tilts outwards off the mountain. This was negotiated with care; then the trail reenters the woods on its way over the unmarked summit and out to Eagle Cliff. Eagle Cliff looks east across Willoughby, and South towards Franconia - a map is stored with the trail log, pointing out the local and further high points. It was morning, so Pisgah’s cliffs were in shade again, but several hawks were playing in the winds off Wheeler and we watched them as we took pictures and ate our snack.
On the return, 2 of the party took an alternate route around the tilting rock ridge, then we took the White Trail all the way down to the parking area. We drove (cautiously) out Wheeler Mountain Road to the north; it is passable with a station wagon, but in worse condition this year than the past two years. If you’re looking for this road from the north, watch out for the “Wheeler Mountain Road” street sign that is at right-angles to the road itself. We followed the sign one year and found ourselves deep down a decaying, impassable road.
2.6 mi, 690’
Mt. Haystack (2,712’, 8/16)
Haystack was a first hike for my two nieces, along with my wife and son again. We took the South Trail, which follows an old road (easy walking) for most of the way, and the steeper bits are well away from any exposed dropoffs. The summit area is completely enclosed but it has a large cairn - the only one around the Lake as far as I know - so there’s a sense of accomplishment in reaching it. And three look outs along the trail provide nice views.
The whole party climbed well. The lead crew summited in under an hour, and the shortest legs (with an adult) were only ~15 minutes behind. We had the mountain to ourselves, and the kids were calling between the two groups on the way up. We enjoyed the summit and the outlooks, then headed back down. The lead crew was not so far out front on the way down.
My son and I climbed Haystack last year, and a few years ago I had carried him up in a backpack. It’s fun to have a series of pictures of him by that cairn.
2.2 mi, 525’
Bald Mountain (3,315’, 8/17)
Oriignally I was going to climb Burke Mountain, but Bald Mountain is the highest peak right around the Lake with a firetower and without Burke’s ski area and parking lot. So, back to Bald Mt and leave Burke for another year. This was another solo hike before the crew was up. I went up the Long Pond Bald Mountain trail, which is pleasantly varied for a relatively short trail: it starts out on an old road that gains access to a woods path for some distance. I spooked a pair of grouse along the old road, thundering off into the woods. When the trail turns steeper, it ascends through a boulder-strewn moss-encrusted forest, which eventually thins out and gets shorter as the trail narrows just before the summit. The trail is well-constructed but surprisingly muddy (there had not been much rain) - this was a bonus because it nicely showed the moose tracks along the woods path.
The summit is a cleared area in the trees, with the abandoned firewarden’s cabin and of course the firetower. I only went partway up the firetower, but it had great views in all directions. I particularly liked the fog in the valleys, with small mountains poking up through it.
Inside the cabin there’s a trail log with evidence of pretty good traffic on the mountain (although I had it to myself), including a 5+-year-old and the son of one of the original firewardens.
4.2 mi, 1,450’, 1:15 up 0:50 down
A word about maps: the Map Adventures “Northern Vermont Hiking Trails” second edition has several errors in the Willoughby region, although it is the best single map covering this area. The GMC Day Hiker’s Guide to Vermont (I have the 4th edition) is much more reliable. Lake Willoughby and the Westmore area fall into a corner of the USGS maps, parts of the area are in the Burke, Memphremamgog, Island Pond, and Lyndonville quadrangles - not that you really need USGS maps to navigate.
Mt Pisgah (2,751’, 8/10)
Pisgah is the eastern side of the Lake Willoughby Gap, which can be spotted from miles away (including, for the returning hiker, from I93 just after crossing into Vermont). Trail options are from the North, the South, and the East, of which the South Trail offers the best views along the way. One of the South Trails’ outlooks - Pulpit Rock - hangs off the side of the mountain 100s of feet above the lake, with stunning views up the lake and towards the Northwest.
My brother and I climbed the South Trail, alternating steady inclines with stretches of nearly level trail. Much of the trail runs along the edge of Pisgah’s ridge, w ith only a screen of trees between it and a nearly sheer dropoff. The trail is largely well-maintained, with extensive trailwork (and remediation) on the lower stretches and a couple of large blowdowns on the upper stretch that don’t seriously impede traffic. The beaver pond has cleared out in the 10+ years since I last climbed this route, with almost no dead trees standing on the left (northern) side of the trail and far fewer on the right. The outlooks and even the rocky area below the summit have become somewhat overgrown - it would take a braver soul than I to inch out Pulpit Rock far enough to recapture the former views up-lake.
Although the South Trail is well-maintained there are no signs for the outlooks, the junction with the North Trail, or even for the summit! We went as far as the first outlook along the North Trail, which was signed, to ensure that we had actually summited. The views from below the summit were very good for a hazy day - we could see White Mountains and Green Mountains in the distance, with Burke Mountain and its ski runs in the foreground.
4 mi, 1,500’, 1:15 up and 0:45 down.
Mt Hor (2,648’, 8/13)
Hor is the western side of the Willoughby gap, I hiked it alone one morning before the rest of the crew was up. The Hawkes trail (good condition) runs up to Hor’s ridgeline, where the trail goes for a mile between different outlooks. The trail towards the summit and summit outlook are getting overgrown, which is too bad because the views from the summit outlook are some of the best I had. The summit is unmarked as usual, but I took my best guess and a couple pictures.
The east outlook stares directly at Pisgah’s rock cliffs; unforutnately they were in the shadow of the rising sun. This view would be best in the afternoon. The north outlook has nice views up Willoughby and along the eastern shore.
3.4 mi, 700’, 0:35 up to summit lookout, 0:30 down from North lookout
Mt Wheeler (2,371’, 8/14)
Wheeler’s dramatic shark-fin profile is visible up and down the east side of Willoughby. Although it is not particularly tall, it boasts exposed-rock-face climbing and sheer dropoffs to rival some White Mountain 4Kers.
My wife, my son and I climbed up the Red Trail, which maximizes rock scrambling, and all members of the party made it up with the occassional boost and pause to check footing. The most dramatic part of the climb is after the Red Trail has merged back into the White, a long ridge of rock that tilts outwards off the mountain. This was negotiated with care; then the trail reenters the woods on its way over the unmarked summit and out to Eagle Cliff. Eagle Cliff looks east across Willoughby, and South towards Franconia - a map is stored with the trail log, pointing out the local and further high points. It was morning, so Pisgah’s cliffs were in shade again, but several hawks were playing in the winds off Wheeler and we watched them as we took pictures and ate our snack.
On the return, 2 of the party took an alternate route around the tilting rock ridge, then we took the White Trail all the way down to the parking area. We drove (cautiously) out Wheeler Mountain Road to the north; it is passable with a station wagon, but in worse condition this year than the past two years. If you’re looking for this road from the north, watch out for the “Wheeler Mountain Road” street sign that is at right-angles to the road itself. We followed the sign one year and found ourselves deep down a decaying, impassable road.
2.6 mi, 690’
Mt. Haystack (2,712’, 8/16)
Haystack was a first hike for my two nieces, along with my wife and son again. We took the South Trail, which follows an old road (easy walking) for most of the way, and the steeper bits are well away from any exposed dropoffs. The summit area is completely enclosed but it has a large cairn - the only one around the Lake as far as I know - so there’s a sense of accomplishment in reaching it. And three look outs along the trail provide nice views.
The whole party climbed well. The lead crew summited in under an hour, and the shortest legs (with an adult) were only ~15 minutes behind. We had the mountain to ourselves, and the kids were calling between the two groups on the way up. We enjoyed the summit and the outlooks, then headed back down. The lead crew was not so far out front on the way down.
My son and I climbed Haystack last year, and a few years ago I had carried him up in a backpack. It’s fun to have a series of pictures of him by that cairn.
2.2 mi, 525’
Bald Mountain (3,315’, 8/17)
Oriignally I was going to climb Burke Mountain, but Bald Mountain is the highest peak right around the Lake with a firetower and without Burke’s ski area and parking lot. So, back to Bald Mt and leave Burke for another year. This was another solo hike before the crew was up. I went up the Long Pond Bald Mountain trail, which is pleasantly varied for a relatively short trail: it starts out on an old road that gains access to a woods path for some distance. I spooked a pair of grouse along the old road, thundering off into the woods. When the trail turns steeper, it ascends through a boulder-strewn moss-encrusted forest, which eventually thins out and gets shorter as the trail narrows just before the summit. The trail is well-constructed but surprisingly muddy (there had not been much rain) - this was a bonus because it nicely showed the moose tracks along the woods path.
The summit is a cleared area in the trees, with the abandoned firewarden’s cabin and of course the firetower. I only went partway up the firetower, but it had great views in all directions. I particularly liked the fog in the valleys, with small mountains poking up through it.
Inside the cabin there’s a trail log with evidence of pretty good traffic on the mountain (although I had it to myself), including a 5+-year-old and the son of one of the original firewardens.
4.2 mi, 1,450’, 1:15 up 0:50 down
A word about maps: the Map Adventures “Northern Vermont Hiking Trails” second edition has several errors in the Willoughby region, although it is the best single map covering this area. The GMC Day Hiker’s Guide to Vermont (I have the 4th edition) is much more reliable. Lake Willoughby and the Westmore area fall into a corner of the USGS maps, parts of the area are in the Burke, Memphremamgog, Island Pond, and Lyndonville quadrangles - not that you really need USGS maps to navigate.
