Reports

Trip Reports Wed Oct 19 2022 Calais trails by Heather Bailey We decided at the last moment to change the venue from Stowe to Calais, as all hikers were local and we wanted to avoid the Stowe traffic. We started out on the Ellis-Bruce trail off of Kaeding Road. We then traveled on Longmeadow Road…

Trip Reports Sat Oct 15 2022 Wu Ledges – Waitsfield by Steve and Heather Bailey Wu Ledges is located in the Waitsfield town forest. We had never led a GMC hike there, though we have visited it many times. There is a parking area on Hastings Road which will only hold five cars. A marked…

Trip Reports Sat Oct 08 2022 White Rocks by Phyllis Rubenstein On a day that surprisingly started with light rain in Montpelier and light snow in Middlesex, four of us decided to hike up White Rocks rather than Hunger Mountain as had been planned. The trail was covered in leaves and, as we ascended, snow…

Trip Reports Sat Oct 8 2022 Stone Work Day on Bamforth Ridge by Morgan Irons On October 8th the GMC led a stone work training for the Montpelier Section on the Bamforth Ridge Trail. Nine Montpelier members were joined by two from the Burlington Section for this great learning opportunity. Under the direction of GMC…

Trip Reports Sat Aug 20 2022 kettle Pond walk by Cynthia Martin & George Longenecker Walking the wooded rocky perimeter of Kettle Pond provided our group of six relief from the heat and sun of the 80+ degree temperature. The highlight of the outing was introducing two exchange students from Austria and Denmark and their…

Trip Reports Sat Aug 13 2022 Hike from Fayston to Burnt Rock on the Long Trail by Dana Lawrence On a lovely summers day with moderate temperatures and just a hint of mist, 10 participants (1 leader and 9 hikers ) commenced a hike from Fayston to Burnt Rock Mt. 4.9 miles out and back…

Trip Reports Wed Aug 03 2022 Rattlesnake Cliff and the Falls of Lana by Steve and Heather Bailey This trip has not been a popular one for the Montpelier section, probably due to the distance from Montpelier – it’s a 90 min drive. I could only find one trip report in the archives (from 1997)…

Trip Reports Sat Jul 09 2022 hike up Bald Mount Westmore by Dana Lawrence/Nancy Thomas Eight intrepid hikers,two trip leaders, and one friendly and very fluffy dog gathered in the Village of Westmore for a hike up Bald Mountain. The weather was perfect, 60 degrees, the blue sky with puffy blue clouds. The trail up…

Trip Reports Sun Jun 26 2022 Bamforth Ridge Trail Work by Morgan Irons Section members Nancy Thomas, Dana Lawrence, Morgan Irons and Alan Paschell hiked to the Bamforth Shelter tent platforms on Saturday, set up camp, and spent that afternoon and Sunday morning doing trail work, mostly on the shelter spur trail. Our last project…

Trip Reports Mon May 30 2022 Wildflower Walk Groton State Forest by Cynthia Martin & George Longenecker It was ideal weather and there were minimal bugs to contend with on the 2022 annual wildflower walk. This year’s walk was in Groton State Forest on the Big Deer Trail with a spur hike to the Big…

Trip Reports Sat May 21 2022 Work Hike – Smugglers’ Notch by Morgan Irons Trail or Shelter Maintained (Start/End of Maintenance): LTN from Barnes Camp to wooden staircase above stream crossing Maintenance Completed: Replaced one broken puncheon (just above Barnes Camp), removed several blow-downs, cleared water bars, clipped brush, dug one substantial drainage ditch, brushed-in…

Trip Reports Sat May 14 2022 Work Hike – Duxbury by Morgan Irons Trail or Shelter Maintained (Start/End of Maintenance): Bamforth Ridge Trail (LTS) to just past LaRocca (aka Banister Ledge) Maintenance Completed: Removed two blow-downs, cleared water bars and ditches, brushed-in some detours and over-wide trail areas. Future Maintenance Required: There is endless brushing-in…

Trip Reports Sat May 07 2022 Peacham Bog by Phyllis Rubenstein On Saturday, May 7, 2022, 5 of us hiked to Peacham Bog in Groton State Park from Greenbay Loop Road. Most of the hike was along a woods road. Adjacent to a pond, we crossed a new bridge above an area flooded by beavers…

Trip Reports Sunday April 10 2022 Bear Swamp Loop by Phyllis Rubenstein On the afternoon of Sunday, April 10, 2022, 8 of us walked the Bear Swamp Loop in Middlesex. We started under cool, cloudy skies, which opened up to a light drizzle as well a snow, which we preferred to the rain. Soon after…

Trip Reports Sat Apr 02 2022 Hike up Mt Elmore by Steve and Heather Bailey Thirteen hikers started out on a wonderfully sunny day with a few inches of fresh snow. We decided to hike the Ridge Trail both up and back since the trail from the old ranger’s cabin to the top had a…

Trip Reports Sun Mar 13 2022 White Rock Mt snowshoe by Steve and Heather Bailey A foot of snow fell on Saturday, so we had to reschedule to Sunday. Luckily we had 11 people on this hike, so we were able to take turns breaking trail. It got quite strenuous the higher up we went,…

Trip Reports Sat Feb 26 2022 XC Ski at Hardwood Flats by Steve and Heather Bailey It was a perfect day for cross country skiing, with 6-8 inches of fresh snow and a temperature of 20 degrees under a bluebird sky. Nine skiers explored the various groomed trails, then set off to visit Little Pond,…

Trip Reports Sun Feb 20 2022 Stevenson Brook Trail by George Longenecker & Cynthia Martin There’s something enchanting about walking a winter trail alongside a rushing, icy brook. Seven of us plus one dog hiked Stevenson Brook Trail up to the old sawmill site. Stevensen Brook is one of many Little River State Park trails,…