Plymouth Mountain

 It was an absolutely perfect day today. Could not have asked for anything better. I decided to revisit Plymouth Mountain as there is a new view spur that has been added. I opted for the Plymouth Mountain Trail as it is slightly shorter and quite a bit less elevation gain than the more popular Sutherland Trail. I love this trail. I parked in the pullout on Pike Hill Rd in Hebron and headed up. I saw no one on my ascent or descent and only 4 people while on the summit. The new to me spur is right off the summit, behind the summit sign, called Newfound Spur. The other 2 spurs are off the Sutherland Trail below the summit. The previous 2 times I had been up my views were somewhat obscured with weather and wildfire smoke if I remember correctly. Today was flawless. I had the ledges to myself for about 15 mins before anyone else came along and I just stood and enjoyed the view. The short spur trail was probably the most technical part of the hike as it descends a little and had a couple sit and slide scrambles, but absolutely nothing crazy. The ledge view intimidated me slightly when I popped out on it as it's on a bit of an incline, but I carefully made my way along with no trouble. It really was a 12/10 day. 

Strava Activity

where the trail leaves off Pike Hill Road

right turn onto the trail from the snowmobile corridor

the marker was just past the summit sign on the spur trail

Crotched Mountain

 A new spur has been formally added to the network of trails on Crotched Mountain, and I decided today I would explore. Laura and I set out under the premise of potential rain showers. We lucked out, though we could see them around us as we got higher up the mountain. Thankfully they held off until we were done. Laura had never been to Crotched Mountain before, so I opted for the slightly longer, but less elevation of Shannon's Trail up. This also took us past the gorgeous view point at the top of the All Persons Trail which is an added bonus. I had expected it to be busier, but we arrived to only 1 car and that hiker finished as were getting started. Did end up seeing a few others along our way, but way less busy than I had anticipated. Shannon's Trail really is a relatively gentle ascent. We took a shortcut path over to Bennington Trail a little ways before the actual Bennington Trail intersection. This was a little overgrown, but still easy to follow. Before we knew it, we were at the spur marked with yellow blazes. The spur is just under half a mile and leads over to the top of the ski lifts with lovely views to the surrounding areas. We didn't linger too long seeing the rain off in the distance and not sure which way it was headed. Back on Bennington Trail, we did head up to the summit where the fire tower pylons still remain and down to the viewpoint where the picnic table no longer remains. Then back down Shannons Trail. We jumped on the All Persons trail for a bit, but then back onto the main trail and returned to the car. A really great day in the woods. 

Strava Activity

viewpoint at the top of the All Persons trail

heading out on the ski lift spur

what is left of the old picnic table