Stratton Mountain - The Third Leg

This overnight hike started a bit differently than the ones in the past. On my last hike I came across a beautiful campsite along a stream right on the Stratton-Arlington Road so, on Thursday the 29th, Kim and I camped out at this location (picture above). The black flies and Mosquitoes have come into season, but other than that, we had a great time. We broke camp about 9:00 am and I was on the trail (at 2,230 feet above sea level) by 9:30 am on Friday the 30th of May, 2008.

The trail is gradual at first but begins to climb steadily as I start up Stratton Mountain. Along the way I am treated to a Northern Version of "Dueling Banjos". This time it is two male woodpeckers who are having a contest to see who can last the longest and attract a mate. They take turns pecking out their song and the entire performance lasts for over 15 minutes. I'm still heading up the mountain when they give up so I declare myself the winner and the female woodpeckers can come to me.
After 3.8 miles I arrive at the firetower on the south peak (3.936 ft.). Stratton mountain is an important peak. Not only is it the tallest peak in southern Vermont, it was the birthplace of the Long Trail when, in 1922 James P. Taylor was here and dreamed up the idea for a trail traversing all of Vermont. Later on, Benton MacKaye was here and wondered why just Vermont, why not the whole Appalachian range? And thus this mountaintop was also the birthplace of the Appalachian Trail. The photo I take from the firetower is to the south and shows Somerset Reservoir and Mt. Snow. The firetower was built in 1927, I believe.
Following the climb to the top I descend the other side. The north side of mountains in Vermont get the prevailing Canadian wind and the trees reflect the destruction that these stiff winds can wreak upon the landscape. At 6.4 miles I have made it down and come to a bridge over a nice stream.
I choose this Brook for my first water refill and discover that it feels quite nice to soak my feet while I pump water. Not to worry, I figure out that it is probably wise to soak my feet downstream from the spot where I simultaneously pump the water.
Shortly thereafter I arrive at Stratton Pond (2,555 ft.), the largest body of water on the LT. The pond is quite pretty and this photo is only of about 1/3 of its body. Due to shoreline erosion hikers are not allowed to camp near the water but must camp in a raised area on the north side of the pond. This pond receives more overnight stays per year than any other area on the LT. But, I have miles to go before I can call it a night. This is only mile number 7.0. There are alternate trails that lead to the pond and I will come back some day and do them as part of the "side-trails of the LT" effort I hope to make. The Stratton Pond Shelter is 1/2 mile off of the LT and I consider hiking west to it but decide a one mile round-trip detour is too much and I can catch it when I come back to the Pond by a different route. By the way, I caught two young bucks backpacking in on the way up Stratton Mountain. I believe they tried to make a game out of keeping up with me and they did so while I was pumping water at the bridge. But by the time I reach the pond they are behind - never again to see my dust!
Now the trail flattens out for a while with a few short ups and downs. I pass two AT hikers heading south from Maine. They seem in good shape and happy.

Before long I enter the Lye Brook Wilderness area and soon come to a bridge crossing the Winhall River (8.9 miles, 2,175 ft.). Another shelter, the William B. Douglas shelter is located about 1/2 mile off the LT on the Branch Pond Trail. This is another one that I will come back later and reach via a side-trail. I've now hiked 11.7 miles and am feeling well so I press on.
Soon I reach a LT first - the trail emerges onto Old Rootville Road and I follow this dirt road for about a mile. This makes me nervous as the road is not marked with as many white blazes as the trail and I am worried that I am going to miss my turn off. I'd hate to walk too far and find out I have to hike back to find the trail. One pickup truck passes me as I hike the road.
Just before I leave the road I come to a short side trail that leads to a rock outcropping named Prospect Rock (2.150 ft.)and a view of Manchester, VT and Mt. Equinox. Within 100 feet of this side trail the LT leaves Old Rootville road and begins a climb followed by a descent to a spur leading 0.1 mile west to Spruce Peak Shelter (built 1983, sleeps sixteen).
This is an enclosed log structure and I am glad I stopped here because a few hundred feet past the shelter is the nicest spring I have seen to date. It is surrounded by rocks and bubbles out like a mini Rock Springs or Wekiva Springs (you have to have grown up in central Florida to know of these spots). I pump the coldest and best tasting water so far and walk back up to the shelter. I sit at the shelter for about 20 minutes and eat an apple and a granola bar. Before breaking camp with Kim this morning, we cooked up some scrambled eggs and link (piggy) sausages and they have set with me the whole hike. Even now (about 5:00 pm) I'm not too hungry. I consider camping here for the night as I have come 14.7 miles, but the shelter is musty and the food has revived my spirit. Besides tomorrow is Beau's prom night and I have the camera. I must push on so that I have a short hike tomorrow.
A short half mile later I come to a rugged spur that leads up to Spruce Peak (2,040 ft., 15.1 miles) and I climb this to get a photo of the Taconic Range and valley below. There is no place here to camp so I push on. I drop to a brook (no spot to camp), cross power lines (I'm not sure it's wise to camp under power lines) and come to a woods road. I debate camping in the middle of the road but, with the Handy luck, I could just see a vehicle coming down the road in the middle of the night and running me right over - so I hike on. It is now 7:00 pm and the sun has set and the woods grow a bit darker. I climb to a ridge that the guidebook says has two vistas (surely there will be a place to camp near one of the vistas?) and I am disappointed in the views and the possible camping sites. It is pushing 8:00 pm and I'm evaluating wide spots in the middle of the trail itself to see if perhaps I can set my tent up in the middle of the trail. I cross a bridge over a stream (no spot to camp) and drop down to Vt. 30, a major east-west highway through Vermont. The parking lot across the road is paved, but I am able to hike down a side road and find a suitable spot to camp for the night (1,800 ft). It is 8:30 pm, I have come almost 18 miles today, and the black flies have had their way with me. But I feel pretty good as I set up the tent on some tall grass (more cushion under me) and crawl in for the night. There is a pond nearby and a home on the other side of the pond. The owner (name-unknown) and his bulldog, Max, come to welcome me. Sleep comes slowly as I am still not used to the hard ground. During the night it sprinkles for about 30 minutes and in the morning I pick off a bunch of leeches from the outside of the tent. I break camp early and am heading back to the trail, with a cinnamon-raison bagel in hand, by 5:30 am. I forget to take a picture of the campsite - sorry. I walk back 50 yards down the road and enter the trail north. With-in 25 yards of entering the trail I come to an iron truss spanning a small creek and just on the other side is a beautiful camping spot complete with firepit and bench. Oh, Well!

I have about 5.5 miles to go this morning so I figure it will be a breeze. I quickly find out that the 18 miles I went yesterday aren't out of my system and this won't be a fun hike this morning. I climb gradually until I reach Bromley Brook and cross it on a wooden bridge (2,080 ft.). I descend towards the ridgeline and soon come to a 0.1 mile spur to Bromley Shelter (built in 2003, sleeps 12, 1,500 ft.). There are two young girls and a guy here who started hiking the LT in New York and hope to get into Maine before they have to go back to Portland Oregon. One of the young girls is from Portland State University, so I give her a business card and ask her to deliver it to Tom Raffensperger who works in the PSU library and tell him we want him back at Vermont Tech. I hope she delivers it to him. The young lady whose back is to me in the picture shows me which direction to go to get to the water source for the shelter and says "It's so bad, I hate to send you there". It's a quarter mile away and she is right. It is practically a stagnant pool and has floating algae and insect larvae in it. but I'm out of water and the guidebook says this is the water source.
I hike up Bromley Mountain from the shelter. It is a fairly long and steep ascent with one vista to the east that I find rewarding and take a picture. The trail merges with a downhill ski slope that I have to climb up for one quarter of a mile before reaching the peak (3,260 ft.) One of several gondola's for the Bromley Mountain Ski Resort is in the picture.
Heading down the north side of the mountain I run in to the worst maintained part of trail since I started. Again, the north side of the mountains gets the most abuse from the wind and, in addition to a steep descent, I have to route myself off of the trail and around at least six pine trees that have fallen in various locations across the trail. I fall once, but except for injured pride, am not wounded. I think I am coming down the mountain but soon start to climb again as all I've done is drop down from the south summit of the mountain and now I climb up to the north summit (3,120 ft.).

As I work my way down the North face of Bromley, I pass a flower that I have seen many times along the way. It looks as though it grows on a tree and I pass it on for someone to name for me. Gay Gaston let me know what the flowers were in my last post so she wins the prize (a chance to name this post's flower).
When I started out this morning I calculated that I should arrive at Mad Tom Notch Road, where my car is parked (2,446 ft.), at about 9:00 am. I unlock the car at 9:02 am and I am glad to be there. For the last 30 minutes of the hike I have been wondering who Mad Tom was and whether or not I might become a "notch" on his rifle butt or something!
It was a great hike, but I don't think I'll do 18 miles on day one in the future if I can avoid it. I'm learning my limitations. Oh! Here's a snapshot of the reason I wanted to be home early on Saturday. I have hiked 23.5 miles, ascended 3,901 feet, and descended 3,685 feet. Once again, this has been the longest hike with the greatest ascents and descents so far. I'm tired but feel good to have made the trek as quickly as I have.