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.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Stage 16 - LT Day Hike Over Whiteface Mountain


On Monday, September 21, 2009 I was able to slip out for another hike on the Long Trail. I arrived at the Trail head of Beaver Meadow Trail (1,550 ft. above sea level) at 9:20 am and started out on what promises to be a beautiful day (sunny, temps in upper 60s, low 70s). I am backtracking up this trail to complete the Chilcoot Trail and hike along the LT. The first 1.8 miles covers ground I hiked on my last outing. It is a pleasant walk with a gentle ascent and few roots and walks. I hike this portion in regular running shoes as I know it is a soft and friendly route. At 1.8 miles I turn left and continue on the Beaver Meadow Trail Loop for another 0.5 miles until I arrive at Beaver Meadow Lodge (built 1947, sleeps 15, 2,214 ft). The lodge is musty, but has a wood stove so that it can be used in winter. Here I change into my hiking boots for the rest of the hike.

From the lodge I continue on the Beaver Meadow Trail Loop for another 0.3 miles to complete the loop and come out at the Whiteface Trail trail head. I then turn around and return to the lodge. In back of the lodge I find the Chilcoot trail that leads up to the LT. This is a short, but steep 0.5 mile hike up to Chilcoot Pass (2,950 ft). Thus, I climb 735 feet in a short 0.5 miles.

I arrive at the LT winded but in good spirits. I turn north to retrace 1.5 miles of LT that I covered on my last hike in this area. Along the way I pass Hagerman Overlook (3,190 ft) again and take a nice picture of Mt. Mansfield.

In short order I arrive at Whiteface Shelter (built 1958, sleeps five, 3,156 ft). This is the spot where I turned off of the LT and hiked out to my car two hikes ago. I pause long enough to take another photo of the shelter, another shot of the view from the shelter, and drink some Gatorade.

It is 12:15 pm as I leave the shelter for what promises to be my last climb of the day, up 0.5 miles to the peak of Whiteface Mountain. At the peak (3,714 ft) There is a short spur that leads to a couple of nice views of the valley below.The shot to the left looks north toward Canada while the shot to the right once again frames Mansfield to the south. I pause again to take the photos and catch my breath. I have hiked 5.4 miles, most of it in ascent. Now comes the fun part.

It is a 3.1 mile drop from the peak of Whiteface to the Bear Hollow Shelter. As I hike down I am prepared for a steep descent as the trail drops from 3,714 ft to 1,380 ft. over this distance. I am pleasantly surprised to find only one or two really steep areas. Over most of the descent I am able to make excellent time. Along the way I pass several interesting rock formations but only pause to take a picture of one whose face I pass under on the way down.

I reach Bear Hollow Shelter (built 1991, sleeps 12, 1,380 ft.) one hour and 45 minutes after leaving Whiteface Shelter. The guidebook says it should take 2 hours and 15 minutes to make the hike - So There! The shelter is interestingly positioned on a small bluff that overlooks the LT that passes underneath the bluff. I pause to get another drink and eat a package of Cashews for lunch. Kim is deathly allergic to Cashews so this is a treat I do not get to have at home.


I have made excellent time and only have a short 2.6 mile hike left to get to the car. The trail level out at about 500 feet above sea level and I cross several small brooks before emerging on a worn logging road. After a short stint along this road I come to a field where I take a picture of an interesting flower (name anyone?) If you enlarge it you can see a bee doing his days work.


After about 1 mile from the shelter the logging road intersects with a gravel road that presents me with a left or right decision. I finally consult the guide book (if all else fails, read the directions) and proceed to the right. Only then do I see the white blaze that tells me I'm doing the right thing.


In short order I arrive at the Iron Gate blocking the road and my car parked just beyond. It is 3:20 pm so I have covered 11.1 miles in 6 hours even - not a bad pace. On the way home I drive past Cady's Falls and stop to take pictures. One is at the top of the entry for this hike, the other is to the left.

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