Nine of us met at the winter parking lot at Mt. Elmore State Park for a loop hike to the summit of Mt. Elmore.

It was quite chilly, so we got going quickly. We hiked up the State Park Road to the trail head, and then four hikers who were a bit faster decided to take off and do the loop on their own. The rest of us continued up the Fire Tower Trail at a more leisurely pace.

There was snow on the trail and the rocks were slippery, but we made it up with only a few slips. At the summit, we had an early lunch and some climbed up the fire tower. Although it was cloudy, there were nice views 360 degree views from the top of the fire tower (including views of Lake Elmore and the ski trails at Stowe Mountain Resort). Coming down, we took the Ridge Trail, which goes by a few lookouts and a balanced rock. The trail through the woods was very pretty with the new snow.

The hike took about 3 3/4 hours. It was a good hiking option for a cool November day.

Participants: Sheri Larsen (leader), Rich Larsen, David Hathaway, Jenny Lynch, Daniel Scheidt, Jim Watkins, Kelly Lavallee, Stacy Lavallee, Silas Saxer.