10/26/2019 – Beane Trail to App Gap

Seven of us met at Richmond Park and Ride and took 2 cars to the trailhead on Carse Road. This is a little known trail that starts on an old sugaring road. We strode along and came to the split off where Beane trail started. For about 1 mile we trekked along an aged mixed forest until we got to Birch Glen Shelter. We took a quick break and proceeded on up the Long Trail heading south away from Camel’s Hump. It was still the morning and there was thick fog in the woods and quite chilly in some spots. The trail was washed out in some locations, as we approached the Molly Stark Balcony we came along a beautiful cliff that we wrapped around to our original destination. No views because of thick fog and it was 10:30am. Dale Schmit had carried up a tripod and SLR  camera, and used it to get a group shot against the backdrop of clouds. I popped the question of whether we should continue on to the App Gap which would be another 1.3 miles one way. Everyone was in agreement, some elated that we would go a bit further. The trail from this point was more like walking a ridge, up and down and up and down. Some scrambles and passing by Baby Stark Mountain. At noon, we had reached to road and sat to have some lunch. The views were starting to clear, we hiked down the 5 minutes to the road and took in some more views. On our way back we were able to get a view of Camel’s Hump from the Molly Stark Balcony. David was able to get his compass and map out and spot Burnt Rock Mountain. The trails were quite wet the entire hike and I slipped a couple of times, once on my face. Leaves clogged a lot of the trails and held in a lot of water soaking our some of our boots. We got back around 2:30 happy we had gone the extra 2.6 miles to the App gap and back. Participants: Robynn Albert, Julia B, David Hathaway, Kelly Lavallee, Dale Schmit, Juan Zhang and Wes Volk (Trip Leader).

10/19/2019 – Tongue Mt., NY
When I advertise my trip lead Adk. mystery hikes, I’ve never considered anything other than the Keene Valley/ Lake Placid High Peaks region. But when hiking with Mark McLane a couple of weeks ago, he talked up his Tongue Mtn. Range hike in June so much so that I changed my thinking and also “went off the reservation” meaning hiking in an area that I’d never hiked before as a trip leader who likes to know where she’s parking, knowledge of the trail, etc. I totally winged it!  And the pay off was HUGE!

Pete, Dasha and I met at the Shaw’s lot on Shelburne Road at 6:50 am and then headed to Shelburne to pick up Ted at the Pierson Library lot.  As we neared the south property of the Shelburne Museum, the Adks. were sticking up very proudly, snow capped from the previous Thursday’s valley rain and high elevation snow.  We made a quick pit stop at the Ti Dunkin Donuts (yes, for donuts!) and then hit the Clay Meadow trailhead, bypassing it once as the sign is not particularly visible from road, grabbing one of two remaining parking spots.  We hit the trailhead at 9 am sharp and the rattlesnake warning posting greeted us upon sign in – YIKES!  We knew of the snakes but having the posting there made it really real!  (Just one pencil-sized, maybe foot-long garter snake was spotted mid-day.)  Lunch on French Point Mtn. with a couple from Amsterdam, NY around 12 N and hit Montcalm Point around 3 pm to see 2 boats with fishermen…how often do you encounter boats on a hike??!!  5 miles from point to car, much of it was along the lake shore so our views were still very much prominent and luckily not as wet as we may have thought with the recent rain. Back at the car at 5:45 pm after the 12.6 mile loop then onto the Bolton Landing Brewing Company for sandwiches and french fries and craft beer!  Back at the Shaw’s at 9 pm.  A fantastic day all the way around!  Ted put it perfectly – this is one for the GMC history books!

What was abundant during our day?  Chipmunks, sunshine!, warmth, fabulous views from all summit points of Fifth Peak, French Point Mtn. and First Peak, chipmunks, bright green moss, rolling trails, great foliage, laughs, stories, chipmunks, trail markers, Lake George boater traffic!!

What wasn’t abundant? Wind (there was zero to very light breezes), silence (we all had too much to say!), rattlesnake sightings (Ted was especially disappointed), people (I think we encountered 7 all day).

What did we save?  About 11′ as per Ted from bushwhacking off Fifth to pick up the trail to French Point rather than backtracking from the Fifth lean-to back to the trail!!

Participants:   Ted Albers, Pete Saile, Dasha Zentrichova, Robynn Albert (leader). Photos: Ted and Robynn.
Tongue Mountain Range Trail(linktoPDF)

Sunday Oct. 13 – Raven’s Ridge
This Nature Conservancy property stretches from Lewis Creek south along a ridge on the boundary of Charlotte and Hinesburg to a large wetland complex in Monkton. There is a accessible boardwalk path for the first 900 feet over a seasonal wetland leading through the woods to a overview. A loop path continues for about a mile up some rocks to west facing views on the left. On a clear day you can see forever! The return passes through mainly hardwood forest. The colors this weekend were wonderful and we were rain-free as a bonus. With Charlotte and Ted, Annette and Chuck, Norine, Patrick, Cathy, Mary.

10/12/2019 – Eagle Mt
We met at the Colchester park & ride to carpool for the short drive up to the Eagle Mountain trailhead.  It was a gorgeous sunny day with the leaves in full color. We began with a short hike to Hoyt Lookout which afforded a great view across the Lake Champlain Islands. We then climbed to the summit. The land around Eagle Mountain was given to the town of Milton by the Champlain Land Trust and the town maintains a network of trails in the area. We spent a pleasant hour trying to explore all the trails. With a small, congenial group, we had a very pleasant morning. Participants: Karen Baron, Ginger Cooper, Greg Bostock, Dana Baron (leader)

10/6/2019 – Mt Hunger & White Rock
After waking up to the first frost of the season, we met at 8:30 at the Richmond Park & Ride  and took one car to the Waterbury trailhead, where we snagged one of the last parking spots and started up around 9:10. It was cold and sunny, but the trail was a little wet, and as we neared the Mt Hunger summit the wet spots started to become icy spots. We reached the summit around 10:45 which already had about 10 to 15 people on it. After hanging out for a bit to enjoy the views, we backtracked to the White Rock trail. This trail had a lot of muddy spots, despite the puncheon that’s been added in recent years, and although we saw a few people, it was much less travelled than the Waterbury Trail up Mt Hunger. We reached the White Rock summit around noon, then headed back to the Waterbury Trail, which was now almost crowded with people. We reached the car around 2:10, and found the parking lot full and cars lining the road for about a tenth of a mile. Participants: Greg Bostock, David Hathaway (leader).