Hiking

I've been on a few more hikes since I last posted. I first went over to White Rocks. I remember White Rocks and the Ice Beds being a great thing to do as a kid. I went back and frankly the trail was poorly marked and maintained. I decided I didn't need to get lost that day and decided to hike out. I've been lost in the woods a few times, which can be fun, but I had two dogs one with a bum shoulder. I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera for this hike, so there are no pictures of the overlook we did make it to.

The next hike I went on went much smoother. My mom and I had decided that we wanted to hike Pico Peak just north of Rutland. But because I had to work I got back too late to really give this hike the time that it deserved. By the time we got back to the house it would have been pushing 6pm, if the hike had taken longer than anticipated we would have been hiking out in the dark, not something that I enjoy. Instead we went over to Little Rock Pond. I had already been before, but the last time I went it was threatening rain the whole time, this time it was beautiful weather. We hiked a little further out around the pond to get to a rock overlooking the pond, great place for lunch.

Little Rock Pond is a favorite spot along the AT andLong Trail. I believe this is because it's easy to get to, well maintained and also peaceful. You can also take a round trip 4 mile hike to the pond, 5 mile hike to the rock, or 7 mile hike around the pond. We got home in good time and still felt accomplished.

Yesterday I got my hands on a new map of the Long Trail showing all the little day hikes I could do! I looked at the weather report and decided that I should go for a hike. I then picked Bromley Mountain as my destination. The trail looked easy enough to find, the AT/ Long Trail cut across Route 11 where there was apparently parking and that was where the trail started up Bromley. Figured this couldn't be too hard. I get to the area around 9:30, after going back and forth on route 11 looking for the trail I got frustrated and gave up. There were no clear signs, I went down numerous dirt roads, no trail head postings. Normally there is a big brown sign posting a topo map, trail conditions, and a sign in log. There was nothing. Not even a small sign to show where the AT/ Long Trail ran across the road. Seriously, if anyone know exactly where this is (note I was south of Bromley not north) please let me know. I headed back feeling a little defeated. My poor dog was in the back of my car with his hiking harness on, waiting patiently to go for a stroll in the woods and here I was ready to give up, I hadn't gotten him into his harness for nothing. I began to think of a few places we could go as a back. Little Rock Pond came up, we could have gone into it the back way as we saw where one of the roads intersected with Route 11. I've done that twice this summer though. I then thought about Haystack in Pawlet or Mount Tom in Woodstock. These seemed a little far. Thought about Clarendon Gorge, once again it was a little far from my present location. I considered Okemo because it's so close. This seemed a little long of a hike to start at 11:00. I then remembered as a kid I had gone to the Coolidge State Park in Plymouth. We had taken a field trip there and I had hiked some trial. I couldn't remember how long it was or why we where there but I did remember walking through the woods. I figured it was worth a shot.

I got out there and drove in a little ways to find a round trip 3 mile hike to a vista and back. Perfect.

The trail went along the side of a hill the whole time one side was open enough to see the scenery beyond it and to realize how high you really were. The trail was well marked and maintained, was nice to be off the AT/ Long Trail, the trail clearly had less traffic. The AT/Long Trail hikes I've been on have been wider, this trail was much slimmer. Lesson in Leave-No-Trace (LNT) hiking: the more people that hike a trail the wider it normally gets. When there is an obstacle in the trail (like a puddle or log) people tend to go around it. If enough people do this the trail is effectively re-routed or widened. So if you're on a trail and see a puddle in the middle or a log it is better to walk through it/ over it if possible to preserve the areas surrounding the trail, after all everyone is there because they enjoy spending time in nature. I got back to the car and ended up back at my house at 1:30. It was a short round trip 2 miles, but it was good to get out and hike.

Next time I try Bromley I'm thinking I should start from just north of Bromley and hike south to the peak rather than try to find the trail head again.

Other hikes on the to-do list:

Pico Peak

Baker Peak

Haystack Mountain

Mount Tom

Book I just finished and highly recommend if you like Edward Abbey/ Aldo Leopold: On The Wild Edge by David Petersen