Tom Rankin
Well-known member
This wasn't the greatest weekend to hike in Vermont, as it rained every day, but we tried to make the best of it.
Friday we did Belvidere. We drove past the old mine and down the dirt road to the end and parked in a small lot. It was raining, and the deer flies were swarming the car!
We put on rain gear and headed out anyway, swatting and moving up the trail. There are a ton of stream crossings on this route, but only one was challenging. Looking back, we would not have gotten any wetter if we had fallen in! In spite of rain gear, we were pretty much soaking wet when we got to the top, either from rain, leaves, mud or sweat. It didn't really rain the whole hike, but we never dried out. For all the water, the trail is pretty well maintained and in good shape, especially down low.
The hike starts out easy and gets fairly steep towards the top. The old fire tower is still there, but there is nothing left at the top of the tower, the cab is pretty much ruined. At least one of the Geo markers has been ripped off as well. There were no views, but we did get the breeze to cool us off a little.
We met some scouts on the way down who were section hiking. They were wet, but in pretty good spirits.
We saw some moose prints, but no owners.
Saturday, we went to Bald. It rained in the morning but stopped before we started the hike. Everything was wet of course, but we managed to stay a lot drier this day than Friday. The hike starts out past a gate and up a dirt road, then bears right at a junction. Then it makes a horseshoe shape continuing around to the right until you are heading the opposite direction you started out. But here you turn left into the woods, the road ends and you are on a true trail now. There were some muddy sections but nothing too terrible.
There was a place where it looked like a bear had dug up an ant hill for a few tasty morsels. Mmmm, tasty! Again, we saw moose evidence of various kinds. Both hikes had a lot of birds flitting about or calling from the trees to keep us company.
The walk up to Bald was slightly easier than Belvidere, and not as long. When we got to the top, there was an old dilapidated cabin, and a tower that had been partly restored from 2001-2003, according to a small plaque. The roof had either not been finished or part of it ripped off in the last few years. Again, another marker had been removed from this summit! The views were limited but we could see brief glimpses of other mountains and lakes near by. We hung around hoping for the clouds to lift, but they were taking their sweet time, so we headed back. We met no one on this hike.
Saturday afternoon, we drove over to a stone tower that stands on the North side of Burlington, which was dedicated to the memory of Ethan Allen. Not really a fire tower, but a nice little stroll and decent views of the surrounding area thru the haze.
The Vermont Brewers Festival was great, nuff said here, more later on VNBs!
Sunday it was raining again, so we opted out of hiking again and hung out with Pamola and Whichway. This was a good choice, as there were torrential downpours as we drove to Norwich!
We finished off the weekend with a pint or 2 at Northampton Brewery in MA. When we got home, our rain gauge registered just .1 inches for 4 days!
Thanks to Kerry for being a great hostess!
Friday we did Belvidere. We drove past the old mine and down the dirt road to the end and parked in a small lot. It was raining, and the deer flies were swarming the car!
We put on rain gear and headed out anyway, swatting and moving up the trail. There are a ton of stream crossings on this route, but only one was challenging. Looking back, we would not have gotten any wetter if we had fallen in!
In spite of rain gear, we were pretty much soaking wet when we got to the top, either from rain, leaves, mud or sweat. It didn't really rain the whole hike, but we never dried out. For all the water, the trail is pretty well maintained and in good shape, especially down low.The hike starts out easy and gets fairly steep towards the top. The old fire tower is still there, but there is nothing left at the top of the tower, the cab is pretty much ruined. At least one of the Geo markers has been ripped off as well. There were no views, but we did get the breeze to cool us off a little.
We met some scouts on the way down who were section hiking. They were wet, but in pretty good spirits.
We saw some moose prints, but no owners.
Saturday, we went to Bald. It rained in the morning but stopped before we started the hike. Everything was wet of course, but we managed to stay a lot drier this day than Friday. The hike starts out past a gate and up a dirt road, then bears right at a junction. Then it makes a horseshoe shape continuing around to the right until you are heading the opposite direction you started out. But here you turn left into the woods, the road ends and you are on a true trail now. There were some muddy sections but nothing too terrible.
There was a place where it looked like a bear had dug up an ant hill for a few tasty morsels. Mmmm, tasty!
Again, we saw moose evidence of various kinds. Both hikes had a lot of birds flitting about or calling from the trees to keep us company. The walk up to Bald was slightly easier than Belvidere, and not as long. When we got to the top, there was an old dilapidated cabin, and a tower that had been partly restored from 2001-2003, according to a small plaque. The roof had either not been finished or part of it ripped off in the last few years. Again, another marker had been removed from this summit! The views were limited but we could see brief glimpses of other mountains and lakes near by. We hung around hoping for the clouds to lift, but they were taking their sweet time, so we headed back. We met no one on this hike.
Saturday afternoon, we drove over to a stone tower that stands on the North side of Burlington, which was dedicated to the memory of Ethan Allen. Not really a fire tower, but a nice little stroll and decent views of the surrounding area thru the haze.
The Vermont Brewers Festival was great, nuff said here, more later on VNBs!
Sunday it was raining again, so we opted out of hiking again and hung out with Pamola and Whichway. This was a good choice, as there were torrential downpours as we drove to Norwich!
We finished off the weekend with a pint or 2 at Northampton Brewery in MA. When we got home, our rain gauge registered just .1 inches for 4 days!
Thanks to Kerry for being a great hostess!
