Lovetohike
New member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2003
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Had a great hike up Mt. Equinox (Manchester, VT) on Saturday (2/28). As many people probably know, this is a surprisingly hardy hike: the peak is just under 4K and the one trail up it (Burr-Burton) climbs just about 3,000 vertical feet in 3 miles. The main feature of the trail is its almost uniform, unrelenting steepness after the first ½ mile. There’s nothing particularly technical about the trail, but it is pleasant, and in winter, the views of the valley to the east through the bare trees is very nice. Unfortunately, at the top there are some relay towers and a vacant (?) lodge/hotel structure. Also a big parking lot for an auto road. The way the trail is laid out though, you have no contact with this road during the hike up, kind of like the situation on Mt. Ascutney where the trails go up one side of the Mt. and the road another. The view from the top are pretty spectacular in all directions, on a clear day you can see lots of Mts. in VT, Mass, New York and NH. While the true summit is a bit over civilized for me, there a great spot .4 miles to the north along a short wooded summit ridge, Lookout Rock, with a wooden bench and super view to the east.
On Saturday, I started out with temps in the low 20s but they climbed steadily as the day went on. There was a good couple feet of snow in the woods and the trail was pretty well packed for the first 2 miles. At that point I started postholing pretty seriously and was very glad to have a small pair of running showshoes with me. They also made going down the steep trail a breeze. I’m always struck by how much longer it takes to go up in the winter versus going down, the latter often half the former. As I climbed this trail I was also impressed by how darn hot you can get in the winter: even though the temps were in the mid 30s at the highest I kept peeling off those layers until I was actually shirtless for about ½ hour!
All in all, a great day in the mountains, and, for me, over two hours less driving time (round trip) than the Whites.
On Saturday, I started out with temps in the low 20s but they climbed steadily as the day went on. There was a good couple feet of snow in the woods and the trail was pretty well packed for the first 2 miles. At that point I started postholing pretty seriously and was very glad to have a small pair of running showshoes with me. They also made going down the steep trail a breeze. I’m always struck by how much longer it takes to go up in the winter versus going down, the latter often half the former. As I climbed this trail I was also impressed by how darn hot you can get in the winter: even though the temps were in the mid 30s at the highest I kept peeling off those layers until I was actually shirtless for about ½ hour!
All in all, a great day in the mountains, and, for me, over two hours less driving time (round trip) than the Whites.
