June 24 & June 28, 2024 Most Recent Posts:
Moose River Campground Lower Symes Pond-Fabulous Sounds
Site 15 Fast Forward to the FLOOD
St Johnsbury, Vermont
JUNE 24
Lyndon State Forest
I just discovered Lyndon State Forest. Pronounced Linden).
This is probably because it is a biking/hiking set of trails and I passed it by in my research. I worry a bit about hiking on trails where mountain bikers fly by.
But with rain predicted, of course, I didn’t want to go too far away. Lyndon State Forest is only 8 miles away so I decided to try it out. I didn’t see a soul and there were no cars in the parking lot when I arrived or when I left. PERFECT!
As you can see from the map, there are a lot of trails here. The main one is 2 miles and the rest go off of it all over the place. There are infrequent trail markers but a few maps like this one kept me from getting lost.
The entrance to the forest is on the main trail called Permit.
This 72 acres of land was one of the first parcels acquired by the State of Vermont, purchased in 1912.
The area is hilly and I read was composed mostly of sandy soils. Early photos show drifting sand “dunes” and sparse patches of grass.
Soon after the parcel was acquired, plantings of Scotch pine, white pine, red pine, and some white spruce began. The plantings continued until 1984. I love pine needled paths and there were plenty of them here.
This is an example of the wooden trail signs. Great if you have a map so you can see where that intersection is and determine which way to go. I always take a picture of the map at the trail head just for situations like this.
This fella was the only creature I saw the entire morning.
I did all the trails in order to get 4 miles of hiking. But of course my favorite was the one that went by the water. I don’t know the name of this stream that flows into the Passumpsic River which is also the destination of the Moose River. I read that Passumpsic is an Abenaki Indian word meaning “clear, sandy bottom”. That is an obvious sandy beach along side the stream.
This bridge led to the bench overlooking the water. I’d like to go back after some rains to see it though I didn’t think to do that after the flood. Not sure how muddy the trails would be. I should have taken the bridge photograph from the other direction but I didn’t think about it either.
I’m not a mountain bicyclist and never have been but these seem pretty narrow trails for biking. I know they gave me pause wondering about someone coming up behind me or racing towards me.
You can barely see Gracie at the end of my hiking down this narrowest of all trails.
Still it was a very nice way to get some exercise and I would definitely return though not on a weekend.
JUNE 28
Artists Bluff and Bald Mountain
Artists Bluff & Bald Mountain Trails connect so I set out to do both. The Trail head is in New Hampshire but only a 30 minute drive. The New Hampshire State Line is only 7 miles away which is really nice since I can access kayaking and hiking in both states. The trailhead is located at the top of Franconia Notch. Apparently folks have been doing this hike since the mid 1800s. The rocky beginning was only a portent of things to come.
Yes this is the trail. Not only was the climb from the parking area steep, but the trail was covered with rocks and roots to trip you up and with loose gravel that made your feet slip.
They claim the trail isn’t long but don’t come without hiking poles and good knees.
There were not red arrows pointing the way all along but the ones there were, were very helpful.
It’s pretty much straight up and I was really looking forward to the view I could glimpse ahead when I finally got there.
I’d read that here I would find some of the best views of Cannon Mountain and Franconia Notch in the White Mountains. The name Artists Bluff dates to the Grand Hotel era in the late 1800s and early 1900s when resorts across the Whites catered to an upper-class clientele seeking escape from bustling industrial cities and one assumes plein air sketching and painting.
What I found at first was Echo Lake and Cannon mountain scarred with ski slopes. But that paled in comparison with what I saw when I turned to my right.
Great views of the mountains, Echo Lake and Interstate 93.
I guess they had to put the interstate through the notch but the view I was expecting from the paintings I’d seen was not there unless somehow you could block out both the mowed strips down the mountain and the road visuals and noise. There was plenty of noise.
To say I was disappointed especially after the rocky steep climb up would be an understatement. With the intrusion of I-93 it’s difficult to see the gorgeous view experienced by hikers over 150 years ago and by the artists for whom it was named. I can’t imagine anyone would want to paint it now unless they could creatively leave out all the damage done.
On my way back down I saw a trail off to the right that told me I could get to Bald Mountain. I thought perhaps I would get a more pristine view of the White Mountains from there so I climbed back up.
There were promising views from the trail.
The climb was equally steep and rocky. But especially difficult was the straight up giant rock faces at trail’s end leading to the top. Yes it was very tricky.
The views were somewhat better than Artists’ Bluff. That’s Echo Lake in the distance.
The view from the side of the rock top on Bald Mountain.
In the first picture I minimized the ski trails, buildings and parking lots you see on your right.
Usually I find going down steep and rocky trails to be more difficult than going up but not here. I was able to sit down and stretch my legs down the faces so it was only a short drop rather than a difficult stretch up. Not as much of a problem for someone with longer legs. Once I got back on the trail itself, things were fine.
Despite my disappointment in the non pristine views, it was a fun and adventurous hike planning my footsteps as I went.
I’ll close with the best picture I took from the top of Bald Mountain and what I wish was all that could be seen from there with forests on every other side.
