Prospect Rock

Tuesday August 24, 2021                                      Most Recent Posts:
Camping on the Battenkill                          Lye Brook Falls and Its Wilderness
Arlington Vermont                                                  Visit to the Sugar Shack

At the trailhead for Prospect Rock I read this sign and got very excited though I knew my chances of seeing an American Marten were slim to none and I was right – none.  But it was fun to imagine it.

The Prospect Rock Trail follows the old Rootville Road up along Downer Ravine

I could see the water through the trees and hear it as I climbed.  But in order to get better pictures of it, I had to climb down a steep cliff. 

I managed to get down and take this video since I wanted the sound of the falls in the post.

I climbed further down to get this picture and another video.   I had picked a good day for this hike since it had rained the day before.  The falls were more full than would be typical of late August.  Though the rain made the trail somewhat muddy.

*aside – when I viewed these videos before uploading them, they were clear as a bell but looking at them through these links they are a bit blurry.  What do you see?

The trail is all up hill and crisscrosses several mountain streams.  The sound of the water is absolutely wonderful.  Water running on either side of the path is so very peaceful.

The road gets rougher and steeper.

At about a mile and a half  the trail meets up with the Appalachian/Long Trail. Just past the junction it is VERY easy to miss the  spur trail on the right that leads 200 feet west to Prospect Rock.

I saw this sign and did the requested look up.

Ok…….. what am I supposed to see?

Didn’t seem to me that there was a good reason to look up until I saw the small white sign posted much too high on the tree with an arrow saying Prospect Rock.
You have to look closely in this picture to see the signs and how far apart they were.

Here’s a better look.   Very easy to miss this and just head on up the mountain thinking the view is at the top rather than on a spur trail.

The trail at first  led into the dark woods but shortly lightened up.

When I arrived one lucky hiker had Prospect Rock all to himself.

The elevation on the Geological Survey marker wasn’t clear.

The view too was a bit cloudy.

The rock has a  view of the Manchester Valley. They say to the west is the prominent Mount Equinox, the tallest mountain in the Taconic Range. The lesser peaks of Little Equinox (south of Mount Equinox) and Mother Myrick Mountain to the northwest are also visible.   I couldn’t tell clearly which was which.

Unfortunately for me, it got more and more hazy as I stayed.

I left when another group of hikers arrived.  Interesting that I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail.

The trail is up hill the whole way, steep at points and very rocky and gravely which made the walk down more difficult than going up.  Still a wonderful morning hike I would very much recommend especially on a clearer day.  Who could ask for more than waterfalls on one side of the trail, streams on the other and a view as the prize.