Welcome to my Blog

This is the first time I have ever blogged so mistakes will likely be the order of the day! This past winter I committed myself to hiking the Vermont Long Trail (LT) in a series of day and overnight hikes over the course of hopefully no more than two summers. I have decided to create a blog to document my adventures and to provide a chance for any photos I take to be viewed by anyone interested in hiking in general or the LT specifically. I am a novice hiker whose prior experience basically consists of earning the hiking merit badge as a 12 year old. My father and I took five 10-mile hikes and one 20-mile hike as a part of earning the badge in 1974. Since that time I have hiked occasionally but never seriously. I was a long distance runner for many years and am in better than typical shape though in recent years my focus has been on weight lifting more than on endurance activity. I expect the trek to be challenging but manageable.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

07-13-2009 Bald Mountain Trail Day Hike



On Monday,July 13, 2009 I took the day off to hike the final side trail hike I have in the southern part of the state. It has been difficult getting away to hike this summer because I am spending lots of time playing golf with my sons that are home from college and because there has been sooo much rain this year and trails are muddy and rocks/roots are really wet.


I arrive at the trailhead (700 ft above sea level) about 11:00 am. After about a 200yard walk the trail ends at the point where major road construction intersects the old trail. I work my way around the perimiter of the construction following a series of blue blazed asteriks (*) figuring these are meant to mark the re-routed trail (the trail is a blue-blazed trail). Turns out I am wrong. After about 1/4 of a mile I cross the road construction and begin to work my way up a telephone line gap that I hope the trail will intersect with. after a total of about 30 minutes I am ready to give up looking when a rider on an ATV comes roaring up. I flag him down and tell him my delimna. He says he thinks there are blue blazes up a side road just a few hundred yards from where I am at. I follow his advice and, sure enough, find my way back to the intended route. Who says ATVs shouldn't be allowed in Vermont?

I follow a couple of unnamed brooks for a while and then begin a steady climb up Bald Mountain. I cross a few wet rock slides but do not lose my balance. It is sunny today but it rained the last few days. At 2.6 miles on the trail (more like 3.6 given my bad start) I reach White Rocks. This is a series of broken rocks that I must carefully pick my way over to avoid twisting an ankle. It looks like someone came up here and mined white rocks and left many 3-15 pounders lying about. I work my way through 3-4 fields of these stones.

I re-enter the woods and continue another mile to the junction with the Long Trail (2,750 ft) having climbed a full 2000 feet on this hike. On the way back down I take a short side trail just below the white rocks to a view of the Bennington Valley. Also on the way down I am able to follow the correct trail and come out where I should have gone in at. The trick is to walk through a tunnel placed by the road construction crews instead of trying to work around the construction. Future hikers take note. I am back to the care by 3:00 pm having taken four hours to cover about 8 miles.
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