Burnt Rock Mountain

[askus3]

I have a copy of the book "Trails and Summits of the Green Mountains" by Walter Collins O'Kane, copyright 1926. In it there are several paragraphs about the exhilarating descent/ascent on the south side of Burnt Rock Mountain. I was wondering if this same route is still utilized today or has it been rerouted using ladders and other aids to get off the summit dome to the south? The current and even 1971 LT guidebook doesn't make any special mention of this descent other than that it is an "up-and-down scramble over bare rocks and cobbles". Further south along this descent you pass The Olden Paris Rock Gallery, Slash Rock and Taylor Gulf. Are these landmarks still on the current trail route? Also, the book mentioned that there is only one ladder between the Winooski and Middlebury Gap and that is descending northbound into Ladder Ravine on the LT. Is this still the case? Yes the ladder is still mentioned going into Ladder Ravine, but how many times has this original ladder with handrail been replaced? Anyone have any photos of these landmarks or the original ladder? How many feet in length is this ladder?

Note: I already posted this thread over on Whiteblaze. I found out there is now an aluminum ladder going into Ladder Ravine. There also are a couple of ladders on the south side of Stark Mt. But nobody responded to the question about the route down Burnt Rock Mt. southbound other than that nobody heard of the names of old landmarks I mentioned.

 

[wardsgirl]

I, too, have not heard of those 'place names' you mention. There was a long (24'?) aluminum ladder in ladder ravine when I came through last summer. There was no handrail. It was just a regular Home Depot-type ladder, as I recall. I was northbound, but I remember the Burnt Rock Mountain stretch as one of the worst parts of the LT. I'm sure it didn't help that it was pouring rain. From my LT journal:

"I was surprised how quickly I hiked to Hedgehog Brook Trail and figured the rest of the day would be similar. However, here at Hedgehog Brook Trail, began perhaps one of the worst days of hiking I have ever experienced. The trail up Burnt Rock Mountain consisted of long stretches of slick ledge. The light rain only exacerbated the slipperiness of the “treadway.” I repeatedly planted a foot, only to be slammed to the ground before I could make a second foot plant. It wasn’t my boots. It wasn’t me. It was the trail. The Long Trail in this area seems to seek the most difficult route, the path of most resistance. There were areas where hikers had shortcut the trail, but I took the actual white-blazed path, and would be slammed to the ground again and again. At one point I was driven into the ground with such force that my diamond “ten year anniversary” ring flew off my finger. I tried to climb up the steep trail, using my hands. My foot slipped and I skidded down the rock, shredding my clothes and ripping the skin off my right arm and leg. A bone was sticking strangely out of my right wrist. I actually shouted out, “I can’t do this!” It was horrible. This was the only time in twenty-five years of backpacking all over the world that I have felt this exasperated with a trail.
The treadway’s slipperiness caused me to lose all confidence in my footing. This loss of confidence would plague me for the rest of my Long Trail hike and probably, for years to come as I hike other trails. I could no longer thoughtlessly hike a single step without having to devote my full concentration to the step I was taking. The Long Trail had made me, for the first time, ever, dislike hiking."


In a word- It was nasty!

 

[darren]

I remember scrambling on rocks, but I do not remember there being a ladder on Burnt Rock itself. Not familiar with the other place names.

- darren

 

[askus3]

Burnt Rock Mountain descent

Here is the excerpt from the book -it sounds like it will be quite a thrilling descent! :

" It is interesting to know that the task of finding a possible approach from the south to the summit of Burnt Rock Mountain was for a time an unsolved problem to the trail builders. Professor Will S. Monroe, who is largely responsible for building this section of the Long Trail, was assured by one who visited the mountain that no practicable route could be found for a trail to ascend the summit from this direction. It was possible to get down by a process of sliding over precipitous ledges and dropping from the summit of cliffs by the use of ropes. But to find a route feasible for a real trail, passable in both directions, was another matter.

"Finally, Olden Paris, a son of Dr. L. J. Paris, who was one of the pioneers in developing a new interest in the Green Mountains, discovered a twisting and spectacular way to descend the summit dome on the south. A cleft near the top of the mountain which ended in a vertical drop down a high cliff was found to give access to another smaller cleft, leading out of the larger one. This in turn led to a bench along the face of a cliff, which was discovered around a corner to a point from which the base of the cliff on the south could be reached. The rocky gallery found at that time is named in honor of its discoverer. (There is a photo in the book of the Olden Paris Gallery on Burnt Rock Mountain). As you descend from the summit you will make use of the route that he marked out. You continue to drop steeply through rocky defiles, winding crevices in the midst of ledges and rocks. You then pass a deep cleft called “Taylor Gulf”, in honor of James P. Taylor, founder of the Green Mountain Club. You then drop sharply twisting as it goes to an open ledge.

"Once in the woods, you come to a once lumbered area. In the midst of this is “Slash Rock”. This rock was given this name when the trail was in the process of building. The trail workers found the task of opening a clear passage through this region arduous because of the debris left from lumbering. One hot day in midsummer, as they worked their way through, they came upon this rock and found it a pleasant place for a rest. It was made a landmark as there is a good view to the south from here. "

 

[wardsgirl]

That sounds about right, but in reverse. Lots of hand usage, lots of clefts, benches, and crevices. Descending that route sounds a lot better than climbing up it. To me, it seemed almost insurmountable in the rain with a full pack. If you like that part of the LT, you'll love the "Forehead" on Mansfield, especially in the rain! - and no chickening out and taking the bypass for you!

 

[askus3]

Ladder Ravine - 1926

Here is the excerpt from the book about Ladder Ravine:

"...known as “Ladder Ravine”, so called because at this one point the trail builders found it necessary to provide some means of access to the ravine other than that which nature had furnished. There is no other place in the fifty miles of trail from the Winooski Valley to Middlebury Gap where a ladder has been installed. Here, in spite of long search, no reasonably short way around could be found. Finally, a spruce tree was felled in such manner that its trunk served as a sloping walk, while another tree yielded a handrail."