Trail work

Went out today and did some maintenance on my trail on Windham. The trail was in pretty good shape. While doing some clipping at one point, I accidentally cut through Howie's leash with pruning shears.  Later in the day, I met a mountain biker who said that he used to maintain the same trail. Turned out to be a nice day weather-wise - even though the forecast did not look too promising.

Prospect Rock

Did a short hike with Howie near Manchester, VT this morning. Parked at the end of Rootville road and then continued walking on the road to Prospect Rock. Went for another mile to the junction with the Branch Pond trail. Turned around and headed back. Stopped at another viewpoint on the way down (a short unofficial spur trail lead to it). Nice sunny day in the Green mountains.

Round-trip Distance: 5.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1270 ft

Prospect Rock

Starbucks

This post is about mountains, not coffee. There actually is a Starbuck mountain in the Adirondacks. Climbed this trail-less peak with Howie. Parked on Route 28 near Cleveland road and headed into the woods. Within a few minutes, I picked up a well defined path which I followed. Reached Raquette brook and there was a plank of wood to cross it. Continued on the path past a power-line cut and then reached some cliffs. Looked like a popular rock-climbing spot. Followed the path on the right to the top of the cliffs. No views at the top of them. I continued on up the mountain. There were no more paths, so this was bushwacking time. I was getting close to the upper cliffs, but it was getting too steep and I didn't see any easy way up. So, I dropped back down to the valley between Starbuck and Black mountains. Reached the creek that drains Black mountain pond. There was a field of stinging nettles to cross in this wet area. Made it through those and followed the creek uphill to the notch. Then I headed west up the mountain. Finally reached the top of the upper cliffs. There were several ledges with great views looking east, south and west. Could see Snowy mountain way off to the west. After soaking in the views, I headed up to the true summit. Not much to see there. Made my way back down.

Summit Elevation: Starbuck 2556
Round-trip Distance: 3.0 mi
Elevation Change: 900 ft

After the first hike, I climbed Hackensack mountain in Warrensburg. Parked at the trailhead on Prospect street. The area was a little confusing with a maze of logging trails. I actually started out on the wrong trail. After realizing it was unmarked, I back-tracked and then found the correct one. It was a short, but steep climb to the top. Took a few pics and headed down. On the return, I took a different trail past a beaver pond. Nice warm, sunny day. Bugs not too bad - mostly mosquitoes in the lower areas.

Summit Elevation: Hackensack 1357
Round-trip Distance: 2.5 mi
Elevation Change: 570 ft

Starbuck

Spruce

Did a short hike in the southern Adirondacks today with Howie. Climbed Spruce mountain (the one next to Hadley mountain). Parked on Lens Lake road near state land. Headed into the woods in a easterly direction. Dropped down to a creek and then up the western ridge. In less than a mile, I picked up an "unofficial" path marked with orange spray paint. Followed that up to a nice open viewpoint looking west/south and north. Continued on to the summit and then another ledge with a view to the east. The forest changed to spruce and the path became more of a trail marked with colored discs (red and blue). I followed it for ways as it dropped down the northern ridge. Guessing that it heads to someones camp. Turned around before I got too far down, and headed back. Great day out. Some mosquitoes were out, mostly in the lower swampy areas.

Summit Elevation: Spruce 2650
Round-trip Distance: 4.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1100 ft

Spruce

The hills are alive

Did a hike in Adirondacks with Howie today. Climbed some small trail-less hills in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness area. Started from Sucker Brook trailhead. Soon after signing in at the register, I left the trail and headed up to Pine Hill. I quickly reached a couple of nice view points to looking west. Continued along the ridge to Orange Hill which didn't have much in the way of views, and onto to Franks Hill. There were several ledges west of the summit with views to the west/north/south. Stopped for a lunch break and headed to Number seven hill. Near the summit, I almost stepped on a baby deer. It got up and started crying. Within seconds, the mother returned and was making huffing noises. I got out of there and dropped back down to the trail. Took the trail back to the car. Great day out in the woods. Cool, breezy and sunny. And no bugs, except a couple of mosquito bites.

Summit Elevation: Pine Hill 1519, Orange Hill 1642, Franks Hill 1660, Number 7 Hill 1620
Round-trip Distance: 6.8 mi
Elevation Change: 1300 ft

Pine Orange Franks Hill