BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 26, 2012: Mount Wilson & Bread Loaf Mountain
Trails: Emily Proctor Trail, Long Trail, Bread Loaf Spur
Summits: Mt. Wilson, Bread Loaf Mountain
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sometimes it’s helpful if you know where you’re going, and sometimes it’s more of an adventure if you don’t. These mountains were new territory to both Sue and me.
I spent a little extra time planning the day including the route to the trailhead. As it turns out, a little more time may have been time well spent. With a set of written directions that I had prepared in advance we left I-89 at exit 4 and headed into central Vermont. Every turn in the directions was perfect; the distances were all accurate and we easily made our way to and through Lincoln Gap on the way to South Lincoln. Heading south to the trailhead we were passing through a collection of gravel roads along the right bank of New Haven River. I’ve got the odometer clicking along and had no reason to believe anything was wrong; everything up to this point was correct. The target distance was 4.5 miles, which was the distance from our turn off from Lincoln Gap Road. We passed 4.5 miles (the road was getting worse), 5.5 miles, 6.5 miles (the road was getting better), and reached 7.5 miles at a perfect place to turn around. The road was expected to end at the 4.5 mile mark. I admitted to myself I could have made a mistake in my directions but then decided the directions were probably good and I must have missed a turn. We reversed direction and found the missed turn for the trailhead. After returning home I pulled up a topographic map of the area and could see the missed turn to the trailhead. Oops – sorry Sue, but it was a nice day for a drive in the country.
The small trailhead lot was packed with vehicles but we were able to find a place to park out of the way along the side of the road. Soon we were hiking. The Emily Proctor Trail is nice. There are limited blazes especially once the trail enters the Bread Loaf Wilderness Area but the trail corridor is generally very obvious. After the initial steep climb away from the trailhead lot we made our way along the lower part of the trail enjoying very mild terrain. At approximately ~1.3 mile we came to a place where the trail seemed to either go straight or off to the right; there were tracked out paths in both directions. Sue went straight and I went right. After a while it seemed clear I didn’t have the trail and headed back. Sue also decided she didn’t have the trail and returned. Sue looked left and saw the trail crossed the stream on our left. New territory, new adventures.
We made the crossing and continued to enjoy mild terrain as we worked our way through the valley leading to the ascent to Emily Proctor Shelter. Eventually, the trail got steeper, but never steep. We enjoyed a moderate climb all of the way up to the shelter. We reached the shelter (visit #1) and took a short break before continuing on to Mount Wilson. Our planned route for the day had us hiking an out-and-back from the shelter to Wilson, and then an out-and-back to Bread Loaf, and then return to the trailhead the way we hiked in. While at the shelter a couple passed through that were section hiking the Long Trail and their target for the day was Emily Proctor Trail to Cooley Glen Trail; it looks like a nice loop.
From the shelter to Wilson is an easy .9 miles on the Long Trail (north). We came to one area where there appeared to be a herd path leading to a high point that we initially thought might be the summit. We made the turn and followed it. After a short walk we reached the area of the high point and decided we had not hiked anything close to .9 from the shelter and continued north. Eventually, we passed over another bump and then reached the actual summit, and took the time to follow the path beyond the summit to the viewpoint to enjoy the views to the east and southeast. Back on the summit we got our usual summit pictures and made the u-turn for the shelter (visit #2).
Back to the shelter the southbound Long Trail is somewhat hidden behind thick growth but a blaze was visible from the shelter. We passed by the water source and headed to Bread Loaf Mountain. This out-and-back is similar to the trip to Galehead Mountain from the Galehead Hut; it’s a short and easy climb. The guide book indicated there was a place where the trail almost doubled-back on itself and at that location we would find a summit spur, blazed in blue. We hiked south and came to a place where the trail almost doubled-back on itself and there was the unmarked summit spur. We made the turn and followed the spur to the treed summit, complete with small cairn and got our summit pictures. The spur continued past the summit to a viewpoint that provided views to the west over Lake Champlain. We visited the viewpoint but the hazy conditions limited the views. We u-turned and headed back to the shelter (visit #3) and our exit hike.
The hike back to the shelter and then down Emily Proctor Trail to the trailhead went without any surprises. On the way we passed another pair of hikers on their ascent and soon reached the trailhead area. The place was still packed with more vehicles than when we started out, and more arriving. We packed and took off.
Our initial plan was for a double hit & run hiking Pico after finishing this hike. Starting roughly an hour and a half later than planned combined with some optimistic estimating left us running later than expected. By the time we reached the Pico area it was a little late to start the hike, even though it’s a short one. In hindsight, if I had spent a little more time with the maps and books I may have noticed hiking via Skylight Pond Trail was nearly the same but the drive time was significantly less. Our timing problems had nothing to do with the hike. We completed the hike as planned and in the expected amount of time. The difference in drive time alone would have probably gotten us to Pico in time; less time to the starting trailhead in the morning and less time between trailheads. Plus, there may have been no lost time to a missed turn. We’ll plan to combine it with one of the others that remain on the list.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Emily Proctor Trail, Long Trail, Bread Loaf Spur
Summits: Mt. Wilson, Bread Loaf Mountain
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sometimes it’s helpful if you know where you’re going, and sometimes it’s more of an adventure if you don’t. These mountains were new territory to both Sue and me.
I spent a little extra time planning the day including the route to the trailhead. As it turns out, a little more time may have been time well spent. With a set of written directions that I had prepared in advance we left I-89 at exit 4 and headed into central Vermont. Every turn in the directions was perfect; the distances were all accurate and we easily made our way to and through Lincoln Gap on the way to South Lincoln. Heading south to the trailhead we were passing through a collection of gravel roads along the right bank of New Haven River. I’ve got the odometer clicking along and had no reason to believe anything was wrong; everything up to this point was correct. The target distance was 4.5 miles, which was the distance from our turn off from Lincoln Gap Road. We passed 4.5 miles (the road was getting worse), 5.5 miles, 6.5 miles (the road was getting better), and reached 7.5 miles at a perfect place to turn around. The road was expected to end at the 4.5 mile mark. I admitted to myself I could have made a mistake in my directions but then decided the directions were probably good and I must have missed a turn. We reversed direction and found the missed turn for the trailhead. After returning home I pulled up a topographic map of the area and could see the missed turn to the trailhead. Oops – sorry Sue, but it was a nice day for a drive in the country.
The small trailhead lot was packed with vehicles but we were able to find a place to park out of the way along the side of the road. Soon we were hiking. The Emily Proctor Trail is nice. There are limited blazes especially once the trail enters the Bread Loaf Wilderness Area but the trail corridor is generally very obvious. After the initial steep climb away from the trailhead lot we made our way along the lower part of the trail enjoying very mild terrain. At approximately ~1.3 mile we came to a place where the trail seemed to either go straight or off to the right; there were tracked out paths in both directions. Sue went straight and I went right. After a while it seemed clear I didn’t have the trail and headed back. Sue also decided she didn’t have the trail and returned. Sue looked left and saw the trail crossed the stream on our left. New territory, new adventures.
We made the crossing and continued to enjoy mild terrain as we worked our way through the valley leading to the ascent to Emily Proctor Shelter. Eventually, the trail got steeper, but never steep. We enjoyed a moderate climb all of the way up to the shelter. We reached the shelter (visit #1) and took a short break before continuing on to Mount Wilson. Our planned route for the day had us hiking an out-and-back from the shelter to Wilson, and then an out-and-back to Bread Loaf, and then return to the trailhead the way we hiked in. While at the shelter a couple passed through that were section hiking the Long Trail and their target for the day was Emily Proctor Trail to Cooley Glen Trail; it looks like a nice loop.
From the shelter to Wilson is an easy .9 miles on the Long Trail (north). We came to one area where there appeared to be a herd path leading to a high point that we initially thought might be the summit. We made the turn and followed it. After a short walk we reached the area of the high point and decided we had not hiked anything close to .9 from the shelter and continued north. Eventually, we passed over another bump and then reached the actual summit, and took the time to follow the path beyond the summit to the viewpoint to enjoy the views to the east and southeast. Back on the summit we got our usual summit pictures and made the u-turn for the shelter (visit #2).
Back to the shelter the southbound Long Trail is somewhat hidden behind thick growth but a blaze was visible from the shelter. We passed by the water source and headed to Bread Loaf Mountain. This out-and-back is similar to the trip to Galehead Mountain from the Galehead Hut; it’s a short and easy climb. The guide book indicated there was a place where the trail almost doubled-back on itself and at that location we would find a summit spur, blazed in blue. We hiked south and came to a place where the trail almost doubled-back on itself and there was the unmarked summit spur. We made the turn and followed the spur to the treed summit, complete with small cairn and got our summit pictures. The spur continued past the summit to a viewpoint that provided views to the west over Lake Champlain. We visited the viewpoint but the hazy conditions limited the views. We u-turned and headed back to the shelter (visit #3) and our exit hike.
The hike back to the shelter and then down Emily Proctor Trail to the trailhead went without any surprises. On the way we passed another pair of hikers on their ascent and soon reached the trailhead area. The place was still packed with more vehicles than when we started out, and more arriving. We packed and took off.
Our initial plan was for a double hit & run hiking Pico after finishing this hike. Starting roughly an hour and a half later than planned combined with some optimistic estimating left us running later than expected. By the time we reached the Pico area it was a little late to start the hike, even though it’s a short one. In hindsight, if I had spent a little more time with the maps and books I may have noticed hiking via Skylight Pond Trail was nearly the same but the drive time was significantly less. Our timing problems had nothing to do with the hike. We completed the hike as planned and in the expected amount of time. The difference in drive time alone would have probably gotten us to Pico in time; less time to the starting trailhead in the morning and less time between trailheads. Plus, there may have been no lost time to a missed turn. We’ll plan to combine it with one of the others that remain on the list.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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