Beaver Meadow is a beautiful bowl in Morristown located 1,500 feet below the Long Trial and the summits of the Sterling Range. Our group of 5 started out for Beaver Meadow in a light rain and a gentle breeze that stayed with us for most of the hike. We moved along at a good clip to the Beaver Meadow Lodge, where we stopped for snacks and a rest before ascending the Chilcoot Pass Trail. Hiking up the Chilcoot Pass Trail was a good choice on this rainy day, as the steep trail was strewn with slippery rocks and roots.
We joined the Long Trail at the base of the pass and hiked north for a mile or so. Although we did not have the hoped for views of Mt. Mansfield and Lake Champlain, we passed the time with interesting conversation and enjoyed the hike along the ridgeline all the same. Soon after we arrived at the Whiteface Shelter for lunch, we were joined by a woman from Hyde Park doing an end-to-end hike from North to South. She shared one of Dean’s homemade brownies with us before heading on to Sterling Pond Shelter for the night.
We continued on down the Whiteface Trail and rejoined the Beaver Meadow Loop. We took a short detour back around the meadow to see the Burling Shelter. We had heard from another hiker (one of the shelter adopters) that the shelter was still warm from some overnight guests who had had the wood stove going – so we decided to take advantage of the remaining heat!
As we left Beaver Meadow, we began to see patches of blue sky and the sun started to shine through! The sun highlighted some of the early fall colors starting to appear in the trees. We all vowed to get out for some more hikes in the next few weeks to enjoy the fall colors that would soon be at their peak!
The hike ended up being a surprise reunion for us, as we were joined by Megan Daly (who attended the GMC trip leader orientation with us in February) and Galen Wilkerson (who rode with us on Local Motion’s bike trip to Montreal in May). Also with us on the hike was Mariana Matrajt, a friend of Galen’s from UVM. We enjoyed connecting with old friends and new in one of our favorite hiking and backcountry skiing places in Vermont!
Trip Leader: Dean Bloch and Valerie Wilkins
