KingM
New member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2004
- Messages
- 977
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- Location
- Warren, VT (Sugarbush, MRG)
- Website
- www.goldenlionriversideinn.com
Date Hiked: June 1
Trails Hiked: Clark Brook Trail to Long Trail, South to Middlebury Gap
Total Distance: 12 miles (11.5 according to the map plus detours of about .5 miles)
Difficulty: moderate
Conditions: cool, overcast, some mud
Trip Report:
My wife dropped my son Ethan (age 12 1/2) and I off on State Forest Road 55, east of Granville, where we picked up the Clark Brook Trail. The first half of the trail was fairly level and very beautiful alongside the very pleasant Clark Brook. After crossing a pair of bridges, the trail began to climb aggressively until it reached the ridge and the long trail after a total of three miles.
We headed south along the Long Trail at about midday. The weather was cool, threatening rain, but never actually going beyond a few drops here and there. Even though it had rained about a half inch the previous day, the trail was in good condition. We climbed Mt. Wilson (3745 feet), then reached the Emily Proctor lodge after 1.7 miles from our connection to the Long Trail, where we ate our lunch and left a note in the Emily Proctor log book (signed KingM).
We continued to climb for the next .6 miles until we reached Bread Loaf Mountain (elevation 3835) then continued on to Skyline Lodge about 1.2 miles later. Of the entire stretch between Brandon Gap and Lincoln Peak, Skyline is where I would most like to spend a night. It is an enclosed cabin that overlooks a lovely pond and is very nice.
The rest of the trip was about 90% downhill with short climbs to Battell Mountain, Mt. Boyce, and Kirby Peak. Going downhill from Battell Mountain, we ran into the first of two people we would see on the trail all day. He was seven days into a trek north to the Canadian border and seemed to me to be out of shape and overweight. He said he was overmatched by the trail, had only made it a couple of miles that day and intended to spend the entire rest of day and the following day recuperating at Skyline Lodge.
The guy also said he'd seen a bear and her cub (about forty minutes) down the trail. I found the place I think he was talking about and there was a fair amount of bear scat, but unfortunately, we didn't see any bears.
There was a final shelter at Boyce, just before Kirby Peak, where we saw the other hiker that day. He was nine days into a similar hike and intended to spend the night at Boyce. I would have encouraged him to spend the night at Skyline instead, but that was two miles up a fair steep pitch and it was getting later in the day.
We reached Middlebury Gap at about 5:30, a little more than seven hours after we'd set out. There was good cell coverage, so I called my wife to pick us up and she showed up about 30 minutes later.
It was a nice hike, always fun to spend time alone with my son, who is very pleasant and mature when he's not around his younger brother and sister (ugh). My knees are still sore from ski season and I could feel them by the time we were on our final descent.
All in all, I would say this was an easier segment than the 10 miles from Brandon Gap to Middlebury Gap that we did last year. Some good climbs and descents, but also some flat stretches to provide a welcome break.
edit: I forgot to mention that there was one stretch with a fair amount of snow still. The log at one of the shelters made it sound like the trail had been difficult to traverse just a week ago, due to snow.
Trails Hiked: Clark Brook Trail to Long Trail, South to Middlebury Gap
Total Distance: 12 miles (11.5 according to the map plus detours of about .5 miles)
Difficulty: moderate
Conditions: cool, overcast, some mud
Trip Report:
My wife dropped my son Ethan (age 12 1/2) and I off on State Forest Road 55, east of Granville, where we picked up the Clark Brook Trail. The first half of the trail was fairly level and very beautiful alongside the very pleasant Clark Brook. After crossing a pair of bridges, the trail began to climb aggressively until it reached the ridge and the long trail after a total of three miles.
We headed south along the Long Trail at about midday. The weather was cool, threatening rain, but never actually going beyond a few drops here and there. Even though it had rained about a half inch the previous day, the trail was in good condition. We climbed Mt. Wilson (3745 feet), then reached the Emily Proctor lodge after 1.7 miles from our connection to the Long Trail, where we ate our lunch and left a note in the Emily Proctor log book (signed KingM).
We continued to climb for the next .6 miles until we reached Bread Loaf Mountain (elevation 3835) then continued on to Skyline Lodge about 1.2 miles later. Of the entire stretch between Brandon Gap and Lincoln Peak, Skyline is where I would most like to spend a night. It is an enclosed cabin that overlooks a lovely pond and is very nice.
The rest of the trip was about 90% downhill with short climbs to Battell Mountain, Mt. Boyce, and Kirby Peak. Going downhill from Battell Mountain, we ran into the first of two people we would see on the trail all day. He was seven days into a trek north to the Canadian border and seemed to me to be out of shape and overweight. He said he was overmatched by the trail, had only made it a couple of miles that day and intended to spend the entire rest of day and the following day recuperating at Skyline Lodge.
The guy also said he'd seen a bear and her cub (about forty minutes) down the trail. I found the place I think he was talking about and there was a fair amount of bear scat, but unfortunately, we didn't see any bears.
There was a final shelter at Boyce, just before Kirby Peak, where we saw the other hiker that day. He was nine days into a similar hike and intended to spend the night at Boyce. I would have encouraged him to spend the night at Skyline instead, but that was two miles up a fair steep pitch and it was getting later in the day.
We reached Middlebury Gap at about 5:30, a little more than seven hours after we'd set out. There was good cell coverage, so I called my wife to pick us up and she showed up about 30 minutes later.
It was a nice hike, always fun to spend time alone with my son, who is very pleasant and mature when he's not around his younger brother and sister (ugh). My knees are still sore from ski season and I could feel them by the time we were on our final descent.
All in all, I would say this was an easier segment than the 10 miles from Brandon Gap to Middlebury Gap that we did last year. Some good climbs and descents, but also some flat stretches to provide a welcome break.
edit: I forgot to mention that there was one stretch with a fair amount of snow still. The log at one of the shelters made it sound like the trail had been difficult to traverse just a week ago, due to snow.
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