WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Results 1 to 18 of 18
  1. #1

    Default Highest Peaks of New England

    This was a really cool trip I did with my father and my 4 sons a couple weeks ago. I thought I’d start posting my journal entries here along with pics and the videos I uploaded to YouTube in case anyone wants to do the trip.

    My father did this trip with friends about 20+ years ago. It was the brainchild of my former Scoutmaster who was one of the friends my father accompanied 20 years ago. My former Scoutmaster has always been known for his crazy, fun, adventurous and somewhat spontaneous (not much pre-planning) trips. He would just drive and go. He lives here in Virginia but is originally from New Jersey. I’m not sure if this was a trip he took as a youth or one he had just dreamed up.

    The trip was to climb the highest peaks in each New England state with Rhode Island being an optional stop if time permitted. In the trip 20 years ago, they skipped Rhode Island and also skipped Bear Mountain in Connecticut.

    All of the peaks are on the Appalachian Trail except Mansfield in Vermont which is on the Long Trail about 100 miles from where the AT veers eastward from the LT at Killington. Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island is not on any trail that I am aware of.

    The highest peaks of each state in New England are:

    Mt Katahdin in Maine | 5,269’

    Mt Washington in New Hampshire | 6,289’

    Mt Mansfield in Vermont | 4,393’

    Mt Greylock in Massachusetts | 3,491’

    Bear Mtn in Connecticut | 1,283’

    Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island | 811’

    I planned the trip from Virginia up to Maine (Katahdin) and then to New Hampshire (Mt Washington) in some detail making campground/hotel reservations, etc, but left the rest more loose in case of weather delays, etc. instead of the 10 or 11 days I originally planned, I shortened it to 8 with the possibility of 9. It turns out it could’ve been shorter than that, especially if you experience good weather every day.

    My father stayed in hotels/inns and we camped most nights. He manned base-camp and did not hike.

    I knew ahead of time what route I was going to take up Katahdin and up Mt Washington, but I had not made a final decision about Mansfield. I was less sure of what we’d do at Greylock and had a fair idea of the route to the Bear Mtn summit from hikes available online. It’s fair to say we figured the last 3 (Mansfield, Greylock & Bear) on the fly.

    Right now I’m editing my daily journal entries which I typed on my phone each evening. I’ll add them here in this thread and post pictures with the YouTube videos of each climb in case there is interest.

    I’ll get them posted in the next several days.

  2. #2
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-20-2012
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Age
    67
    Posts
    4,540
    Images
    3

    Default

    Get the 50-state highpoint bug (or 49 if you don't want to get into mountaineering) ! We did, finished the 50 on Kansas (Mount Sunflower, no one on record had finished the 50 there) a couple years ago.. Great way to see the entire country! check out highpointers.org
    Attached Images Attached Images

  3. #3

    Default Highest Peak in Kansas

    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    Get the 50-state highpoint bug (or 49 if you don't want to get into mountaineering) ! We did, finished the 50 on Kansas (Mount Sunflower, no one on record had finished the 50 there) a couple years ago.. Great way to see the entire country! check out highpointers.org
    Enlightening information. Lived in Kansas all my life and never heard of Mount Sunflower!

  4. #4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    Get the 50-state highpoint bug (or 49 if you don't want to get into mountaineering) ! We did, finished the 50 on Kansas (Mount Sunflower, no one on record had finished the 50 there) a couple years ago.. Great way to see the entire country! check out highpointers.org
    Very cool!!

  5. #5

    Default

    Day 1
    Saturday, July 27, 2019

    Yesterday 7/27/19 we drove 589 miles or so from Richmond, VA, to Salisbury, MA.

    Traffic was horrible outside of DC, Delaware, and NYC. 95 is a horrible road built through the middle of every major city in the US.

    It took us 12 hours to get here. Currently nice and cool. 66°. Yesterday, we had lunch late around 1:30pm at a Roy Rogers in one of the NJ service centers on the NJ turnpike.

    We had dinner at Sylvan Street Grille in Salisbury. Probably after 9pm or so. My dad is at the Hampton Inn nearby. Will pack up soon to go get him and get coffee and breakfast.

    The campsite we are staying at is called the Pines Camping Area. It is near the beach. May go look at that shortly too.

    Bugs are bad here. They are just waking up as well.

    IMG_0082.JPGIMG_0081.JPGIMG_0079.JPGIMG_0080.JPG

  6. #6

    Default

    Day 2
    Sunday, July 28, 2019

    We got up at 7am and packed up camp. Headed to see the beach near the campsite. It reminded us of the Jersey Shore and Cape May.

    About 8:30am, we met my dad at the Hampton Inn and had McDonalds breakfast near the hotel.

    Then we left Salisbury, MA, for the drive to Millinocket, ME. There was little traffic and it took no time before we were into NH and then in Maine.

    We soon took an exit to Kennebunkport and drove through the village and along the scenic Maine coast. We saw the home of President George HW Bush. We then drove up Route 1 a bit to Biddeford ME, and then got back in 95.

    Not too much farther up the road, we exited again for Route 1. This time, we headed to the coast to see the Portland Head Light, a scenic Maine lighthouse. It was a nice day and very crowded but beautiful. Probably 80° outside.


    We then drove into Portland for a quick lunch at Becky’s diner along the harbor. The boys had breakfast for lunch: pancakes, eggs, sausage, etc. The pancakes with wild Maine blueberry were amazing.

    We left and hit the road to Millinocket. We arrive at the Big Moose Inn about 6:15pm. It had been about 320 miles since leaving Salisbury, MA.

    After we checked in, we set up our tents. My dads room was little bigger than a tent! The boys were excited that the hotel had WiFi.

    The owner had offered to fill up our water bottles. So we packed our bags for the hike tomorrow, including food for the day, and then took our water bottles to the hotel to be filled up.

    We had dinner at the Loose Moose Bar & Grill at the hotel. The owner was very knowledgeable about the area and Baxter Park. The gate to the park is not far. She agreed we should try to get there at 6am.

    We had a wonderful dinner at the bar where they had live music. We enjoyed the bar food and sandwiches, which were delicious. The cook was obviously very good.

    The boys and I played guitar in the lobby until just after 9pm when we headed back to camp. But some walked back to the Inn for the WiFi until just after 10:30pm. They woke me up when they returned, but soon were asleep to the sounds of the loons.


    IMG_0123.JPGIMG_0122.JPGIMG_0121.JPGIMG_0115.JPGIMG_0101.JPGIMG_0084.JPG

  7. #7

    Default

    Day 3
    Monday, July 29, 2019 – Mount Katahdin

    We awoke at 5am and the boys impressed me with how fast they got moving.

    We met my dad at the hotel at 5:30am and left to go to line up at the gate of Baxter State Park. We were probably car #10 in line arriving at 5:45am. The gates opened at 6am and traffic moved quickly. We had our parking pass printed ahead of time which sped things up, so were on our way to drive up to Roaring Brook Campground to start our hike at about 1200’. We left Roaring Brook at about 6:45am heading up the Helon Taylor Trail.

    The climb was tough but not terrible and we made good time. The views were amazing, and as the trees thinned out and it got steeper, we had better and better views. The trees thinned out, and we climbed above the tree line. We finally made it to Pamola Peak 4902’ at 9:30am.

    We then proceeded down the Knifes Edge. It lived up to its name. The first obstacle was to climb down Pamola and then up the Chimney. It was practically vertical down and up. Then we had an easier time along the ridge, with very steep drop offs on either side. It was the most intense hiking I’ve ever done.

    We reached Baxter Peak 5267’ around 10:45am (4,067 foot elevation gain). There were a lot of people there, and we saw several thru hikers finishing their hikes. We took a few photos and ate lunch. Our water was getting pretty low.

    I took pictures of the first SOBO white blaze and the last NOBO white blaze on the AT.

    After we left the summit at 11:30am, we headed down the AT which is called the Hunt Trail. We passed Thoreau Springs and turned to follow the AT where the Abol Trail heads down.

    Things got steep fast, and we spent a lot of time negotiating cliffs and big boulders. Before long we were back below the tree line and out of water. We got more water at Joy Stream. I filtered water for all the boys and myself–10 bottles!! Plus we cameled-up (drank a bottle each). So 5 more.

    We then moved on to see the beautiful Katahdin Stream Falls and then finally back at the car by 3:15pm. So while it took us 4 hours for the ascent, it took us 3 hours and 45 minutes to get down to about 1,180’ at Katahdin Stream Campground.

    My dad was there with much welcomed cold drinks. We drove back to the Inn and had our first showers of the trip. Then dinner again at the Loose Moose. More hanging out after in the lounge. As darkness falls over the Maine woods, I’m sure we will be hitting the rack early tonight.

    [yt]5GH-sXE1-Ec[/yt]

    IMG_0207.JPGIMG_0185.JPGIMG_0181.JPGIMG_0169.JPGIMG_0152.JPGIMG_0139.JPGIMG_0135.JPGIMG_0130.JPG

  8. #8

    Default

    YouTube link is here:

    https://youtu.be/5GH-sXE1-Ec

  9. #9

    Default

    Day 4
    Tuesday, July 30, 2019

    We woke up at 7am to say farewell to Maine. Really loved the Big Moose Inn and would definitely enjoy staying there again.

    We headed out about 8am stopping for a quick McDonalds breakfast in Millinocket and then a stop at Walmart for a few items in Augusta, Maine where we turned west. Before we left Maine, though, I had to get a Moxie and a Whoopie Pie before we crossed the New Hampshire border. 265 miles later, we were in Gorham, NH arriving about 1pm.

    I had been looking at the forecast for a few days and didn’t like what I’d been seeing. Then again, Monday’s forecast for Baxter had not been good and that had changed for the better.

    We ate lunch Mr. Pizza and then drove to our campground in North Conway, NH: Glen Ellis Family Campground. The campground was fantastic with a lot of amenities. And pretty crowded. We set up our tents at our campsites right on the Ellis River. This location has cell service, so I worried about the boys staying up late and not being able to get up.

    We readied our gear, filled water bottles, and passed out food for the hike to be ready. But the weather had not changed. The boys swam in the Ellis River until a leech attached to Jack’s leg. It didn’t bite him, but that was the end of that. They didn’t want to go to the pool, but we walked around the camp.

    After an hour or so, we drove my dad to his hotel in Gorham where he checked in, but on the way, we stopped at the Pinkham Notch visitors center off 16 to look into the weather and scope things out. The weather forecast didn’t look good for hiking. As we walked out of the visitors center, it started to rain a little. It rained for a few miles as we drove to Gorham.


    After my dad checked in to his hotel, we went to J’s Corner for dinner. The food was pretty good, and my dad and I talked about our plans as we ate. We decided that we could push the hike to Thursday if we needed to and still get everything done. We could spend the day doing things around Gorham and North Conway.

    After dinner, we decided to get ice cream from an outside stand by the hotel, but as we drove back to the hotel, the skies opened up. We said a quick goodbye to my dad and drove back to the campground. It was pouring the entire drive back, and we hydroplaned a couple of times.

    The tents seemed ok, though mine had a little water on the floor as I had left the screens open to keep the inside cooler. Rain was not forecast tonight, but I should have known better.

    We are going to make a judgement call in the morning, but clearly the forecast is not changing.


    IMG_0234.JPGIMG_0230.JPGIMG_0226.JPGIMG_0224.JPGIMG_0223.JPGIMG_0219.JPG

  10. #10

    Default

    Day 5
    Wednesday, July 31, 2019

    I checked the weather at 5am, and the chance of thunderstorms had moved to 2pm and after, but top of the mountain obscured in clouds in and off throughout the day until becoming totally obscured. They did not give times.

    I decided to punt. Why chance it when tomorrow will be a fine day? I let the boys sleep in, though only two of them did. I got coffee at 6am and dried out our tent and my sons sleeping bag and pad.

    I could have picked a little better spot for the tent, though it was not totally evident at the time. In the severe downpour last night, rain got between the tent and the groundcloth. So the floor of the tent was pretty wet. The tent is older, so probably not the best in a severe water situation.

    We had planned to meet up with my dad for breakfast a little later if we were not hiking. The hotel was about 30 minutes away from the campground. My dad has unintentionally made reservations in Gorham thinking we were 10-15 minutes away in Pinkham Notch by the trailhead. So to hike, we’d need to drive 30 minutes to get him and then 10-15 minutes back to the trailhead.

    Because of the wet gear and the driving situation, we decided to get another room at the hotel for the boys and me. We finally packed up and left the campground around 9:30am and met my dad for breakfast around 10am at Eastern Depot Restaurant in Gorham. On the way by Mt Washington, we saw the clouds already covering the top. Despite the sunny morning, I felt better about the decision.

    We decided to do some sightseeing. After breakfast, we went by the Gorham Hardware and Outfitters to purchase some Gorilla Tape and a fitting to fix a broken tent pole. The couple at the store could not have been any nicer. He said good call on not climbing today. After leaving the store, we left Gorham for Franconia Notch, about an hour away.

    We visited Cannon Mountain and rode the gondola up to the summit to see the view. We could see Franconia Ridge where the AT runs and Mt Lafayette. The views were great.

    Next, we drove down to see The Flume and take a short hike to see the canyon and beautiful covered bridges.

    After leaving Franconia Notch, we drove back toward Gorham but detoured to Crawford Notch to see Bretton Woods. Then back to the Royalty Inn for showers and a rest before dinner.

    We went back to Js corner for dinner. After dinner we had ice cream at Scoggins General Store across the street from the hotel. Then to bed for a good rest before the assault on Mt Washington.

    IMG_0314.JPGIMG_0306.JPGIMG_0298.JPGIMG_0278.JPGIMG_0277.JPGIMG_0263.JPGIMG_0241.JPGIMG_0238.JPG

  11. #11

    Default

    Day 6
    Thursday, August 1, 2019 – Mount Washington

    Alarm was set for 5am. There was ground fog. I figured we’d give it time to burn off some. Eventually got up and went to get coffee. I let the boys sleep until 6am.

    We packed up and headed out of Gorham for the trailhead at Pinkham Notch at 1,872’. There was no fog in the Notch–all was west of the mountain moving with the prevailing winds. We started hiking at 7:10am heading up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail for the 4.1 mile climb to the summit of Mount Washington.

    It was fairly easy hiking up a very rocky keep trail with several wide wooden bridges. Obviously snowmobiles are used here in the winter. And this trail goes to the Hermit Lake Shelters which we could see later from Lion’s Head (a large rock outcropping).

    It did not seem too long before we arrived at the intersection with Lion Head Trail. We turned up Lion Head Trail which quickly became very steep as we climbed the northern arm of Tuckerman Ravine. We were rewarded with periodic views at first, but soon climbed to where only very short trees grew and the views were amazing.

    Eventually, we reached Lion’s Head. The wind hit us much harder than before. We had been bouldering periodically, but the trail was more flat here until we reached the final leg of the trail to the summit. The trail then turned very steep, and there was some hand over hand climbing. In addition, the trail was hard to pick out–orange blazes for Lion Head as well as cairns marking the way. We took several wrong turns before seeing a blaze or cairn.

    Finally, we could see the summit and my dad waiting for us at the top! He had just arrived at almost the exact same time. We summited Mount Washington (6,288’) at 9:45am, a climb of 4,416’ in about 2 hours and 35 minutes.

    Fortunately, we did not have to walk down. After buying some gifts, we headed to the car and drove back down to Pinkham Notch. The drive down the auto road was very interesting and a little nerve-racking.

    Back in Gorham, we filled up on gas and headed west to Stowe, VT. Along the way, we stopped in Bethlehem, NH, for lunch at rek’-lis Brewing Co. The lunch was great, and we enjoyed seeing the small town of Bethlehem.

    We continued on to Stowe, a drive of 114 miles, and drove right to the ski resort having heard that the trails to the top of Mansfield started there. This was the first place we stayed where we had very little planned out and no reservations to stay anywhere.

    It turned out, we stopped at the exact right spot at Stowe Mountain Resort. We were at the bottom of the lift right beside a trail to the top. And the helpful lift crew gave us maps and explained the way to the top of Mount Mansfield.

    We left to go find a campground and hotel. Right next to Stowe was Smugglers Notch State Park. It turned out they had no tent sites but had a shelter we could sleep in. It was perfect. The ranger also gave us a bunch of maps and ideas for our hike up Mansfield.

    We left the campground and less than a mile up the road found a quaint inn run out of someone’s home: The Fiddlers Green Inn. My father got a good deal on a room there. We drove in to Stowe to walk around. In Stowe, there was a festival with live music and vendors with tents.

    After the festival, we went to dinner at Pie-Cassio and had really good pizza. The place was very crowded. We then drove my dad to the Inn and went to our campsite to set up in the shelter.


    https://youtu.be/CMOZ1ERalcA

    IMG_0354.JPGIMG_0353.JPGIMG_0345.JPGIMG_0337.JPGIMG_0335.JPGIMG_0331.JPGIMG_0326.JPGIMG_0322.JPGIMG_0320.JPG

  12. #12

    Default

    Day 7
    Friday, August 2, 2019 – Mount Mansfield

    At 6am, I wondered why someone was chopping firewood. It was a woodpecker. Three of the boys woke up as well, and there was no going back to sleep. It was a shame because we had planned to get up at 8am since the gondola didn’t start running until 10am. My dad planned to meet us up there by taking the gondola. I’d planned to pick him up from the Fiddlers Green Inn at 8:30am.

    I took a 4 minute shower for $.50 at the campground. We drove into Stowe wasting time and then up to the trailhead. There was an information hut operated by a nice older couple. I got a map and a lot of good advice about the hike.

    Finally it was almost 8:30, and we went to pick up my dad. We drove toward Stowe and found a great bakery for coffee and breakfast (Stowe Bee Bakery).

    We returned to the trailhead by Stowe Mountain Resort and started hiking at 9:10am on the Long Trail heading Southbound.

    The trail was pretty rocky and muddy but very easy going at first. Even the uphills. But soon the climbs got tougher. The total distance to the top was about 3.8 miles with an elevation gain of 2,800’. There were many steep, rocky climbs where we had to use both hands.

    Probably the best part was the climb up to the summit called the Chin (4,393’). The views were amazing. We were told the last .6 to the summit would be rough, and that proved correct, though I’d say it was more like the last 1.6 miles to the summit was very strenuous.

    Thomas and William summited in 1 hour and 30 minutes. The rest of us finished the climb in 1 hour 45 min. We took some pictures and admired the view. You could see the Whites and Franconia Ridge, though it was too hazy to see Washington. In the other direction you could see Lake Champlain and Burlington, VT.

    Soon, we hiked down the Long Trail southbound again to the Cliff Trail. The trim was hard to spot and we missed it. The Cliff Trail was extremely steep and difficult. It takes you to the gondola. I must’ve hurt my toe on the way up, because it really started hurting as I descended the Cliff Trail.

    My dad was waiting at the top of the gondola. We watched some people go down a very long zip line from the top of the gondola.

    We then rode the gondola down and left the resort about 11:30am. We drove through Smugglers Notch before heading to Massachusetts to see the scenic road. Boulders were inches from the car. People were parked everywhere hiking or rock climbing/bouldering.

    After our drive through the Notch, we turned for North Adams, MA. In Waterbury, VT, we stopped for some Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream at the Ben & Jerrys factory. After driving over 162 miles, we arrived in North Adams.

    Again, there were no concrete plans. We had a lot of trouble finding the park. Finally, we determined how to get up to the summit just to get some information about the climb. Unfortunately, the main entrance was 30 minutes away on the south side of the mountain–North Adams is on the north side. We found a way to the top from the north side. There were no rangers. It was a little after 6pm, and the rangers had left at 5pm. They would not return until 10am. Someone working at the restaurant was able to provide a map but not much else.

    I met a couple outside enjoying beverages. They obviously had hiked up. We reviewed the map and what the rangers had told them. They gave me great information on the trails to take and where to park–on the west side of the mountain. Unfortunately they informed me of the forecast–I had not even checked. Rain with chance of thunderstorms starting in the morning.

    We drove down to the southern end and looked for a motel or hotel without any luck. We drove south a bit and then turned north. We checked out the trailhead and then drove into Williamstown, NY. We saw Williams College.

    We had some trouble finding a place to stay that was reasonably priced. Because of the late hour, we decided to stay in a motel rather than camp. We settled on Howard Johnson’s, the third motel we checked.

    After checking in, we had a great dinner at a Greek place across the street: the Olympic Pizza Family Restaurant. After dinner, it was back to bed to get plenty of rest for the last leg of our epic journey.

    https://youtu.be/5dK6A-I2Wdk

    IMG_0405.JPGIMG_0395.JPGIMG_0394.JPGIMG_0392.JPGIMG_0388.JPGIMG_0386.JPGIMG_0385.JPGIMG_0375.JPGIMG_0374.JPG

  13. #13

    Default

    Day 8
    Saturday, August 3, 2019 – Mount Greylock and Bear Mountain

    We lucked out to wake up to a positive forecast. Though it was raining, there was a window of no rain from 7am until about noon. Alarm was at 6am, and we were at the trailhead and on the move at 7:10am after a stop at Dunkin.

    We left from the Roaring Brook Trailhead at 1100’ just as the rain stopped and took the Roaring Brook trail to the Sperry Road campsite, a total of 1.9 miles. The trail was fairly easy, but there were several climbs straight up an old Jeep road.

    From the Sperry Road Campsite, we walked up Sperry Road to Hopper Trail, then cut over on Overlook Trail south to the Appalachian Trail Northbound. All the hiking was easy after just before the campground.

    We summited Greylock (3481’) in about an hour and 45 minutes. Total elevation gain was 2381’ in 3.6 miles. We met my father at the top. There was some sun and some clouds. No rain. We left about 9:10am to drive 62 miles to Salisbury, CT which took about 1.5 hours.

    We arrived at the trailhead for Bear Mountain, CT at almost 10:45am. The trailhead at 773’ is on 41 just north of Salisbury, CT. Rain was not forecast until 3pm or so. The sun was out, and we set out at about 11am on the Undermountain Trail, about a 1.9 mile hike to the junction with the AT. Then we hiked on the AT northbound for probably 1 mile to the summit which we reached about noon after a climb of about 1,543’.

    The summit of Bear Mountain, CT, at 2316’ was a rock cairn that you could stand on almost like a platform. There was no USGS marker that I could find. We spoke to a very nice couple from Coastal CT and spent about 15 minutes on the summit. But then a light rain started and we headed back down. It took about 45 minutes to get back to the car. This was the easiest hike of the trip taking a total of about 2.5 hours to hike 5.8 miles.

    At 1:36pm we were about 7 hours from home without factoring in stops, but we did stop at Chick-Fil-A in New Milford, CT, off Rte 7 near Candlewood Lake and in Garrisonville, VA, off 95 for a late night dinner at McDonalds and gas. The drive home was unremarkable and we were fortunate to have no traffic. All the kids slept or watched shows on their devices. We took the Tappan Zee Bridge to bypass NYC. We got home at almost 11:30pm with 2,477.2 miles on the odometer!!

    In all, it was an amazing trip/adventure climbing the 5 highest peaks of New England* over 8 days. There were a few things I wish I’d known in advance or researched better, but there is little I’d do differently if I had to do it again (some of that is what made it an adventure).

    *Note: sorry, RI. It was not worth driving an extra 4 hours yesterday to visit 811’ Jerimoth Hill which you do not/cannot climb to visit. I will visit there if I’m ever passing nearby.

    https://youtu.be/g0nEF4KHW1w

    https://youtu.be/Se5wrzFQwAE

    IMG_0475.JPGIMG_0477.JPGIMG_0476.JPGIMG_0474.JPGIMG_0473.JPGIMG_0461.JPGIMG_0457.JPGIMG_0450.JPGIMG_0442.JPG

  14. #14

    Default

    The highest peaks of each state in New England are:

    Mt Katahdin in Maine | 5,269’

    Mt Washington in New Hampshire | 6,289’

    Mt Mansfield in Vermont | 4,393’

    Mt Greylock in Massachusetts | 3,491’

    Bear Mtn in Connecticut | 1,283’

    Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island | 811’


    Correction on the height of the tallest peak in CT. Bear Mountain is 2,323 foot elevation. Interestingly, the highest point in CT (2,380 feet) is not a mountain summit but on the flank of nearby Mt Frissel (summit is in MA).

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Traveler View Post
    The highest peaks of each state in New England are:

    Mt Katahdin in Maine | 5,269’

    Mt Washington in New Hampshire | 6,289’

    Mt Mansfield in Vermont | 4,393’

    Mt Greylock in Massachusetts | 3,491’

    Bear Mtn in Connecticut | 1,283’

    Jerimoth Hill in Rhode Island | 811’


    Correction on the height of the tallest peak in CT. Bear Mountain is 2,323 foot elevation. Interestingly, the highest point in CT (2,380 feet) is not a mountain summit but on the flank of nearby Mt Frissel (summit is in MA).
    Yes, Mt Frissel I think.

    Actually, here is the information I got before the trip:.

    Bear Mountain in Salisbury has the tallest peak in the state of Connecticut at 2,316 feet ​(the highest point in Connecticut is 2,380 feet on a mountainside of Mt. Frissel whose peak is in Massachusetts).​ There are a few ways to get to the top and all of them fall under the strenuous​ category (BerkshireHiking.com is geared towards the day-hiker so if you're a hard-core hiker this would be a great workout but probably wouldn't fall under strenuous for you). You must be in decent physical condition to attempt Bear Mountain. It's a long hike and steep. But if you take your time and bring plenty of water and "energy food" the views from Bear Mountain are breathtaking and well worth the effort.
    Another option to Bear Mountain is to start at ​Lion's Head​ and follow the Appalachian Trail over to Bear Mountain. This route is a little longer than Undermountain Trail option but is probably a little less strenuous...although either route is challenging. Lion's Head is a spectacular sight in and of itself. Incorporate Bear Mountain and you'll earn the title of "hardcore hiker"! Click on our description of​ ​Lion's Head​ for directions and information about this unique spot. Once you've hike up the short but steep trail to Lion's Head, take in the spectacular views and fuel up. Then head north on the Appalachian Trail, marked with white paint on tree trunks. A few hundred yards up from Lion's Head is a nice open plateau with a beautiful view of distant mountains and lush forest (You'll also hear the distant rumble of a waterfall but don't venture down the mountain side with it's thick growth in hopes of seeing the waterfall. It's not as close as it sounds and potentially a dangerous thing to do).

    http://berkshirehiking.com/hikes/bearmt_salisbury.html

    Mt. Frissell’s southwest shoulder is the highest point in Connecticut at 2,380 feet above sea level. It is one of only three US state highpoints that are the highest point in a state but not technically the summit of the hill or mountain. The easiest route to the summit, generally done from the AMC Parking next to the Massachusetts-Connecticut state line on Mt. Washington Road, is a very enjoyable hike with good views to be had on Round Mt., as well as the steeper sections of Mt. Frissell, including the state highpoint itself.

    http://www.summitpost.org/mount-fris...houlder/152455
    I did notice that elevation difference. Not sure where I got it originally. Probably the Internet. You know everything on the Internet is correct.

  16. #16

    Default

    The map at the trailhead of Bear Mountain also had 2,316’ which is what I probably used in my write up.

    IMG_0490.JPG

  17. #17

    Default

    Funny you should mention Jerimoth Hill. I'm planning to make the great ascent in September, when I'll be attending a wedding not far from there.
    Last edited by tiptoe; 08-21-2019 at 18:48.

  18. #18

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by tiptoe View Post
    Funny you shoul mention Jerimoth Hill. I'm planning to make the great ascent in September, when I'll be attending a wedding not far from there.
    Nice!! I definitely plan to if/when I’m up that way again. Shouldn’t be hard to get over there from 95 sometime.

    In fact, I’m kicking myself because we could have easily done it on the way up. We went through Hartford, CT, but it would’ve been just as fast to go 395 it seems.

++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •