| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
White Rocks, Bear Mountain, VT |
|
 | Trails: |
Long Trail, bushwhack, VAST Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 10, 2021 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Keiffer Road is just a pull off; bring a shovel. Wallingford Pond Trailhead has some parking. Road getting to it is a narrow Forest Service road, but it is plowed and partially sanded. Note there are bigger plowed lots at the 140 and 103 crossings. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Clarendon Gorge has a nice bouncy bridge thankfully. Bully Brook required a bit of thought, but snow- and ice-covered rocks proved stable. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
In this 15.5 mile stretch, I counted something on the order of 20 blowdowns, all easy to go over, under, or around. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Found a YakTrax. Carried to next road and left on signpost at Route 140 trailhead. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Long Trail from Keiffer Road to Wallingford Pond Trailhead.
I wanted to make this next section a bit longer than the obvious road-to-road 10 miles. Studying the map, it appeared that one could get very close to the LT/AT by utilizing a snowmobile (VAST) trail and a short bushwhack from Wallingford Pond Trailhead. This was, indeed, the case. I clocked .83 mile. Yay.
While there are no big mountains in this section, there were some stiff little climbs: Beacon Hill, the climb out of Clarendon Gorge, Bear Mtn., and White Rocks. Some of the section was untouched snow, some had been traveled by 1-2 people, and some short sections (Clarendon Gorge, White Rocks) were a packed super highway. Section up/over Bear Mtn. was full of bent-over, snow-encased saplings and branches for maybe a mile. That was the main route-finding challenge of the day, but it helped that one person had gone through a day or two before.
I mostly wore spikes but did about 3 miles in snowshoes and carried ‘em the rest of the day. SO many animal tracks on this gorgeous day!
|
|
 | Name: |
Snowflea |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2021-01-11 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
