June 26-27, 2004

Welcome to Summer!!

Equinox and Stratton

Saturday we decided to hike Mt Equinox. We had to wait for the rain to stop, so didn't get going until noontime.

This is the profile of the hike from our GPS.

Look who finally got to join us hiking!! They were excited to put their packs on.

The start of the trail leaves the back left corner of the parking lot.

Although we hiked in the rain most of the way the temps were pleasant and we didn't need bug spray. The trail is very easy to navigate - just follow the blue blazes.

The trails in the area are maintained by the Equinox Trust.

About 90 minutes into the hike we came to a junction with no signs - a yellow blazed trail crossed the trail we were on. We continued straight. The trail to the right goes to Look Out rock.

A few minutes later we came to a transmission station-tower. Go past and around it keeping the tower to your right, then take a quick left.

A few more minutes and you reach the summit at the back of the old Inn.

You can also drive to the top via Skyline Drive.

Nobody was home.

We peaked through the windows though :>.

Looks like it was being setup for a formal dinner.

Opposite the Inn are towers and a picnic area.

If you wanted to carry up some charcoal and burgers you'd be able to cook them on one of several grills.

The boys are waiting for us to pull out the treats - they were disappointed we forgot the bugers and dogs.

We enjoyed some time in the sun which finally came out.

The smile of a well fed hiker.

The clouds lingered but we did get some views.

Looking West

Kerry enjoying the views from the Inn's deck.

We returned to our car via the same route we took up. It took us about 1:45 to hike up the 3.4 mile trail and 1:15 to descend. The boys having a well earned drink.

Back at the campsite we were visted by a family of ducks. Here is Mama.

And here are the babys - they came right up to me and decided my fingers looked like food, sampling one of them.

Back to doggy school for you!!!

On day 2 we tackled Stratton and made a loop of it to stop at Stratton Pond.

This is the profile of the hike from our GPS. This is a little misleading as most of the trail was not steep.

It was a brisk sunny day with with steady winds to keep the bugs away. The trail is fairly flat for the first 45 minutes, before getting steeper as it heads up to the summit. This is part of the Long Trail which runs 273 miles from the MA border to Canada. A hiker known as Cave Dog set a record today as he completed the entire trip in 4 days, 13 hours, 15 minutes. He came down this trail around 3 AM this morning.

At the summit we climbed the old fire tower to check out the views. The wind was howling which made it a little scary to climb. Looking west towards Stratton Pond - our next stop

It was so clear, we could see Mt Washington!

Great 360 degree views.

The white building is the shelter for the ranger that stays at the summit - 6 days on, 2 off

We met a group from a Summer Camp in Grafton, VT who we also saw at Stratton Pond a little later.

Arriving at the pond, the boys barely let us take their packs off before they went swimming.

When the Summer Camp group arrived the boys looked for somebody go swimming with them.

It was quite windy and with the wind off of the water, quite chilly.

But there is always one in every crowd!.

Kinsale had a playmate for a while :>.

We also saw many butterflys as we ate our lunch at the pond.

The boys dried off while listening to the group tell us that they saw a black bear a few yards off of the trail - they were about 20 minutes behind us arriving at the pond - wonder what the boys would have thought if we had been 20 minutes slower?

The trail from the pond to our car was in thick trees - but the trail was very well maintained and dry. Here Geri gives the boys a drink.

We assumed it does get wet at some point during the year as we came across numerous sections of board walks.

Check out our Hiking page