Date(s) Hiked: Oct 27, 2006
Trails(s) Hiked: Skylight Pond Trail, Long Trail
Total Distance: 10.6 miles
Difficulty: moderate to easy
Conditions: very wet: melting snow off trees, snow on ground, muddy in spots
Special Required Equipment: waterproof shell, good spirits
Trip Report:
The weekend weather forecast was for snow, sleet, rain, and 70mph winds. The forecast for Friday, however, called for clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s. What a wonderful coincidence, then, that Una_Dogger and I had the day off and could go hiking on the Long Trail, picking up a pair of the New England Hundred Highest in the process.
We were a little slow getting out the door in the morning, and therefore she and I and her dog Terra didn't take our first steps on the Skylight Pond Trail, on FS59 off Rte 125, until 11:30am. Such slackers! This is a wonderful trail though, easy to follow and very mellow, and we had no concerns about coming back out in the dark. However, a different problem would soon assert itself. As we rose in elevation we quickly passed the snow line from the previous week. The trees were covered with layers of white, which in the warm air and bright sun, were melting quite enthusiastically. Looking at my pack and gear you would have thought it was raining out. Every so often a chunk of snow would bounce off my head. Every tree we brushed against would dump a cloud of white on us. For the second weekend in a row, I was getting soaked on a sunny day.
It was worth every drop, though. The Skylight Trail winds through beautiful woods, and where snow remained on the trees it coated every limb and twig. After leaving behind the two people walking their dog at the trailhead we would not encounter another human being for the entire hike. We met the Long Trail atop the ridge 2.5 miles later at 1:15pm and arrived at Skylight Lodge after the 0.1 mile spur about five minutes later.
The lodge is a small cabin in a gem of a location. The view out over the pond was idyllic. We took about a half hour here for snacks and peaceful enjoyment of the location before starting towards Breadloaf. The trail descends past the pond and into a somewhat darker area where the steep southern face of Breadloaf is visible. Just as the trail starts to climb up here, a side trail brought us to views across the ridge back all the way to the ski slopes of Killington. While we were there, I heard a sound I didn't recognize. Una_dogger didn't hear it, however, so when I asked her what I'd heard she identified it as the ravens which we'd also been hearing circle overhead. After a few pictures we made our way back to the Long Trail and trudged up the steep ascent.
Once we topped out it was a beautiful walk out along the broad shoulder that is Breadloaf towards the summit near its northwestern end. We saw rabbits and a few small bear tracks in the snow. The Long Trail makes a hairpin turn as we continued on a spur trail. We briefly celebrated #85 as we passed over the high point, then followed the spur to the end, an open viewpoint overlooking the Champlain Valley and the Adirondacks. We could have stayed here a long time soaking in the view, the sun, and the warmth (because with no trees overhead it was a dry spot), but it was 2:50 and we still had to get out to Wilson and back, so after a few pictures we continued northbound.
From here the Long Trail has a long sidehill descent back southeastward to the main ridgeline, and this north-facing slope had snow almost a foot deep. There was one set of footprints, presumably belonging to the hiker who had spent the preceding nights at Skylight Lodge according to the register. The footing was good, with only one exposed rock face coated with ice that had to be circumnavigated. It did not take us long to get to Emily Proctor shelter, an open lean-to that served as another snack opportunity. From here it was just a series of ups and downs along the ridge as we tried to guess which was the actual Wilson summit. Finally, at the northeastern limit of the ridge, we hit the high point and #86 at a short side trail to an incredible view to what we soon realized were Moosilauke, the Kinsmans, Cannon, and all of Franconia Ridge. Unfortunately I had buried the camera in my pack back on Breadloaf because it was getting too wet from the melting snow, so I didn't get any pictures of this view. Sorry.
We didn't have time to stay, anyway. It would be 4:45 by the time we got back to Emily Proctor shelter, and from there still over two hours to the car. The climb back over Breadloaf was uneventful, but coming down the steep south slope towards Skylight Pond Una_dogger noted that Terra was behaving very strangely. Instead of running back and forth on the trail, sniffing for chipmunks and rabbits and generally having fun, she was staying close to us, very quiet, and constantly looking to our lefts. Something was in the woods, and if it had this effect on the dog it was probably something we really didn't want to encounter. It was probably a bear. Yup, look at that small track in the snow. It was a bear.
At this point I thought back to when we'd come through here the first time, how I'd heard a sound I didn't recognize. I asked Una_dogger what a bear sounded like, and she explained it. Yup again. The sound I'd heard, which she had not, was in fact a bear. I was probably within 10 feet of it the first time, and now we were walking past it again. Suddenly the dark hollow that is the trail between Breadloaf and Skylight Pond was not a good place to be. The silence and fading light brought out some instinctive feelings of discomfort, andit was all we could do to go as quickly and loudly as we could back to the junction and several hundred feet down the Skylight Pond Trail before Terra's renewed exuberance set our minds at ease.
At this point it was headlamp time and what a night for it. The moon was somewhat obscured by the intermittent cloud cover, but the open woods still sparkled with what remained from the afternoon's snowmelt. We made excellent time around 7:30 had the cozy lights of the car in sight. Wait a minute. Lights of the car? Oh, no. The rear hatch hadn't completely engaged and the interior lights had been on for 8 hours. Thank goodness for a strong battery, as the car started right up and we were soon headed towards warm, dry clothes.
My 85th and 86th of the New England Hundred Highest took 8 hours to hike approximately 10.6 miles and 2550' of elevation gain, a great trip with wonderful company.
Trails(s) Hiked: Skylight Pond Trail, Long Trail
Total Distance: 10.6 miles
Difficulty: moderate to easy
Conditions: very wet: melting snow off trees, snow on ground, muddy in spots
Special Required Equipment: waterproof shell, good spirits
Trip Report:
The weekend weather forecast was for snow, sleet, rain, and 70mph winds. The forecast for Friday, however, called for clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s. What a wonderful coincidence, then, that Una_Dogger and I had the day off and could go hiking on the Long Trail, picking up a pair of the New England Hundred Highest in the process.
Once we topped out it was a beautiful walk out along the broad shoulder that is Breadloaf towards the summit near its northwestern end. We saw rabbits and a few small bear tracks in the snow. The Long Trail makes a hairpin turn as we continued on a spur trail. We briefly celebrated #85 as we passed over the high point, then followed the spur to the end, an open viewpoint overlooking the Champlain Valley and the Adirondacks. We could have stayed here a long time soaking in the view, the sun, and the warmth (because with no trees overhead it was a dry spot), but it was 2:50 and we still had to get out to Wilson and back, so after a few pictures we continued northbound.
We didn't have time to stay, anyway. It would be 4:45 by the time we got back to Emily Proctor shelter, and from there still over two hours to the car. The climb back over Breadloaf was uneventful, but coming down the steep south slope towards Skylight Pond Una_dogger noted that Terra was behaving very strangely. Instead of running back and forth on the trail, sniffing for chipmunks and rabbits and generally having fun, she was staying close to us, very quiet, and constantly looking to our lefts. Something was in the woods, and if it had this effect on the dog it was probably something we really didn't want to encounter. It was probably a bear. Yup, look at that small track in the snow. It was a bear.
At this point I thought back to when we'd come through here the first time, how I'd heard a sound I didn't recognize. I asked Una_dogger what a bear sounded like, and she explained it. Yup again. The sound I'd heard, which she had not, was in fact a bear. I was probably within 10 feet of it the first time, and now we were walking past it again. Suddenly the dark hollow that is the trail between Breadloaf and Skylight Pond was not a good place to be. The silence and fading light brought out some instinctive feelings of discomfort, andit was all we could do to go as quickly and loudly as we could back to the junction and several hundred feet down the Skylight Pond Trail before Terra's renewed exuberance set our minds at ease.
My 85th and 86th of the New England Hundred Highest took 8 hours to hike approximately 10.6 miles and 2550' of elevation gain, a great trip with wonderful company.
