Scott and David met at the Richmond commuter lot at 7:30 and drove via the back roads from the I89 Middlesex exit (they’re pretty rough, so it’s worth driving on to Montpelier and taking Rt 12) to the trailhead for the Middlesex Trail, where we left David’s car. We then drove on to the trailhead for the Worcester Mountain Trail and started up at 8:40. Rain was pretty steady most of the way up, but let up somewhat after we passed the Worcester Mountain summit.

We encountered a lot of blowdowns and moose droppings (but no moose) between Worcester and Hogback (or Putnam, or unnamed peak, or whatever the high point in the range is called). The old guidebook David had said it was 9.2 miles from Worcester to Hunger, but the sign said 5.4 miles, and the latter seemed closer to correct. After a short lunch stop at Hogback, we continued on to Hunger, and encountered many (maybe 20+) Quebecois hikers (the only other people we saw).

Since we were in the clouds the whole way we passed the many “Vista” stops. Descending from Mt. Hunger the rains started up again, but we made it down the rock slabs with no mishaps and reached David’s car round 3 PM. And, of course, as we drove down toward Montpelier and back to the Burlington area, the sun came out. It was a wet, but still enjoyable hike.

Participants – Scott Barras, David Hathaway