Andrew
Active member
2/23
Have always wanted to visit the lake and Mts. Pisgah and Hor, but have never made it into this neat little valley. Read in Goodman's book about the tour on Mt Hor, but also noticed a spot on the forest map for the Bartlett Mountain Cross Country Ski Trail. Could find very little info about the area except at http://www.xcountryski-vermont.com/northconditions.html
Wanted to check out a low key groomed area due to the marginal conditions and was pleasantly surprised. Note that the parking for the South Shore Trail on Hor is unplowed, although a loader was widening out the shoulder by the lot about 2 cars wide yesterday. Just a bit south on 5A the parking lot for the ski trail is plowed out, as well as the road shoulder on the east side of 5A for the Mt Pisgah South End Trail.
Luckily there was a small map kiosk with a few fresh map handouts. The trail starts as an old CCC road that climbs out of the valley and continues to a height of land at about 2 miles. There are 2 smaller loops that total 2 and 1.2 miles, in addition to the main loop that is 1/2 on the CCC road that totals ~4.5 miles. After the height of land on the main trail a woodsy road/trail descends off the CCC road on a wicked fun rollicking descent. The terrain on this side of the hill was more varied as well as the flora, with more softwood glens and some small ponds and boggy areas as opposed to the open hardwood slopes on the NNE side, although the views of Mt Pisgah on the 'frontside' are simply breathtaking.
The trail is diligently groomed by a volunteer we encountered with a 4-wheeler set up with tracks. There was a trackset/scarafier rig, a culvert/roller, and a home made drag laying about at a trail junction that can tackle most conditions. The groomed corridor was mostly 5-6' wide, except the first (1.2 mi) loop was groomed out at least 10' wide. There was just enough post meltdown new snow mixed in to the worked snow surface to keep the snow pleasant and soft.
This place was great and I will definitely visit again. It was a great place to have low key groomed trails without the feeling of being at a commercial touring center. There are numerous backcountry options available and there were many tracks heading out on ungroomed other woods roads that appeared worth exploring. Neat to visit Ol Vermont.
Have always wanted to visit the lake and Mts. Pisgah and Hor, but have never made it into this neat little valley. Read in Goodman's book about the tour on Mt Hor, but also noticed a spot on the forest map for the Bartlett Mountain Cross Country Ski Trail. Could find very little info about the area except at http://www.xcountryski-vermont.com/northconditions.html
Wanted to check out a low key groomed area due to the marginal conditions and was pleasantly surprised. Note that the parking for the South Shore Trail on Hor is unplowed, although a loader was widening out the shoulder by the lot about 2 cars wide yesterday. Just a bit south on 5A the parking lot for the ski trail is plowed out, as well as the road shoulder on the east side of 5A for the Mt Pisgah South End Trail.
Luckily there was a small map kiosk with a few fresh map handouts. The trail starts as an old CCC road that climbs out of the valley and continues to a height of land at about 2 miles. There are 2 smaller loops that total 2 and 1.2 miles, in addition to the main loop that is 1/2 on the CCC road that totals ~4.5 miles. After the height of land on the main trail a woodsy road/trail descends off the CCC road on a wicked fun rollicking descent. The terrain on this side of the hill was more varied as well as the flora, with more softwood glens and some small ponds and boggy areas as opposed to the open hardwood slopes on the NNE side, although the views of Mt Pisgah on the 'frontside' are simply breathtaking.
The trail is diligently groomed by a volunteer we encountered with a 4-wheeler set up with tracks. There was a trackset/scarafier rig, a culvert/roller, and a home made drag laying about at a trail junction that can tackle most conditions. The groomed corridor was mostly 5-6' wide, except the first (1.2 mi) loop was groomed out at least 10' wide. There was just enough post meltdown new snow mixed in to the worked snow surface to keep the snow pleasant and soft.
This place was great and I will definitely visit again. It was a great place to have low key groomed trails without the feeling of being at a commercial touring center. There are numerous backcountry options available and there were many tracks heading out on ungroomed other woods roads that appeared worth exploring. Neat to visit Ol Vermont.
