Date(s) Hiked: June 19, 2005
Trails(s) Hiked: Red Trail to the summit with spurs.
Total Distance: About 3 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate with interesting rock scrambles.
Conditions: Some rock slabs still wet and slippery, otherwise, fine. Bugs not an issue.
Special Required Equipment: Good shoes/boats with good tread and traction.
Trip Report: We ventured up to my favorite mountain, Wheeler Mountain, in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom on Sunday. Our initial plan was to ascend the peak on Saturday, but rain and bad weather delayed our trip (and pretty much the weather has cancelled almost every other hiking event this season for me :roll: :angry: ).
The road to the trailhead was in good shape. The parking area was pretty full, but the crowds weren't too bad. In fact, many were descending as we headed up.
The lower rock climbs on the Red Trail were pretty slick still, so we took our time. When we got to the first lookout area above the rock face, we were able to see from Burke all the way to Jay. The Greens were coming out of the clouds.
From here, we took the upper half in stride. The summit lookout was filled with folks, so we opted to go to a newer lookout further to the NE which has been created thanks to some recent logging. We sat here for a while before heading back to the main lookout, which was now clear, and then heading back to the base.
A great hike as always for little effort, though I was winded at some points...got to get back into shape for Vermont! :wink: Be careful on the rocks when wet and stick to the main trails since much of the route runs on open rock and one can get confused.
Thanks to all my friends who came with Ms. Trailboss and I. :beer: We'll hook up soon, riverc0il...hope your flight was good. :wink:
Trails(s) Hiked: Red Trail to the summit with spurs.
Total Distance: About 3 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate with interesting rock scrambles.
Conditions: Some rock slabs still wet and slippery, otherwise, fine. Bugs not an issue.
Special Required Equipment: Good shoes/boats with good tread and traction.
Trip Report: We ventured up to my favorite mountain, Wheeler Mountain, in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom on Sunday. Our initial plan was to ascend the peak on Saturday, but rain and bad weather delayed our trip (and pretty much the weather has cancelled almost every other hiking event this season for me :roll: :angry: ).
The road to the trailhead was in good shape. The parking area was pretty full, but the crowds weren't too bad. In fact, many were descending as we headed up.
The lower rock climbs on the Red Trail were pretty slick still, so we took our time. When we got to the first lookout area above the rock face, we were able to see from Burke all the way to Jay. The Greens were coming out of the clouds.
From here, we took the upper half in stride. The summit lookout was filled with folks, so we opted to go to a newer lookout further to the NE which has been created thanks to some recent logging. We sat here for a while before heading back to the main lookout, which was now clear, and then heading back to the base.
A great hike as always for little effort, though I was winded at some points...got to get back into shape for Vermont! :wink: Be careful on the rocks when wet and stick to the main trails since much of the route runs on open rock and one can get confused.
Thanks to all my friends who came with Ms. Trailboss and I. :beer: We'll hook up soon, riverc0il...hope your flight was good. :wink:
