| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Mountain, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Unknown Pond Trail, Middle Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Unsigned Unknown Pond Trail starts on Route 114 directly across from Hurricane Road. I drove about 100 yards down Hurricane Road and parked at a plowed out area with room today for about 4 cars. No idea if this is legal, but there were no ‘no parking/trespassing’ signs anywhere. Probably wouldn’t drive down this side road without AWD at the moment. Wicked icy! Looks like there is summer parking on the east side of 114, but it was not plowed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All frozen over and easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
This is a newer trail that to my knowledge is not yet in any guidebooks. It is part of an ongoing effort by the NEK section of the Green Mountain Club and the Northwoods Stewardship Center to connect Gore and Middle Mountains and Unknown Pond, and eventually (?) with Bluff Mountain in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Only one little section of walk-around blowdowns (2) today, about 3/4 mile in. Blazing was perfect—not too little, not too much, and there are signs and arrows at appropriate spots. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Lots of moose and other critter tracks |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was a beautiful hike just a few miles south of the Canadian border in Warren Gore and Avery’s Gore in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The route is through predominantly open hardwoods and birch glades, with softwoods just in the final 0.1 mile. By the looks of it, it doesn’t see much winter traffic, except for critters. It climbs about 1800 feet in 3.5 miles. Most of the climb is in the first 1.5 miles, followed by lots of lovely ridge walking.
I started off in spikes (mostly in order to get safely down Hurricane Road!) but switched over to snowshoes about a mile in. Although I was not sinking very much, the snow did get deeper with elevation and I think they were the right choice this day.
The summit of Middle Mountain is almost a 3000 footer, missing that mark by 53 feet.
Note that the Unknown Pond Trail proper does not yet go all the way to Unknown Pond, but I think there is a route flagged from the summit down to the pond which will make a nice loop.
From the summit, the trail continues to Gore Mountain Trail, but I turned around at the 3.5 mile mark. |
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 | Name: |
Snowflea |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-01-31 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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