Copy/Repost Hike

On Saturday, October 10th , we met up at the trailhead for Silver Lake and the Falls of Lana off of Rt. 53.  It was chilly and still drizzling when we got there.  Initially it was George, Phil and I, but we knew Dave was coming up from MA for the day and we waited an hour for him (knowing he does come when he signs up for hikes).  At 10:30AM we started out, despite the fact that Dave still hadn't shown up.  We headed up to the Falls of Lana, where there was an overhang to view the falls from above, but no good view of it.  We continued along the Aunt Jennie Trail, where we quickly came to a point where a bridge over Sucker Brook had washed out and hadn't been replaced.  We crossed the brook and proceeded up to the junction with the Rattlesnake and Aunt Jennie Trails.  We stayed on the Aunt Jennie Trail, which is the most direct route to Rattlesnake Point.  It was moderately steep in sections, but we took several breaks along the way, so that we could all stick together.  We reached the Rattlesnake Cliffs, which is at the end of a spur trail, shortly before noon and took in the views of Branbury State Park and Dunmore Lake below.  It was still overcast, but warming up.  We then continued on to summit Mt. Moosalamoo via the Oak Ridge Trail.  This trail is an easy walk through the woods on its way up with an additional elevation gain of appoximately 1000 feet.  About half way up the trail we finally ran into Dave.  He had passed us while we were on the cliffs and had already summited Moosalamoo and was returning.  After the usual introductions, we all continued up to the summit (2659') and had lunch.  It was almost 1:30PM and the skies were just starting to breakup and the sun was shining through.  After the break we returned via the same route back to the cliffs, since Dave had missed these on the way up.  Since it had cleared, there were now views from the trail westward to the Adirondacks and to the peaks eastward along the Long Trail.  After a suitable break on the cliffs we continued back down...this time descending via the Rattlesnake Trail.  Back at the Sucker Brook crossing we decided to take the trail along the northern side of the brook to get a better look at the falls.  This was part narrow ledge and part short scrambles in spots.  From this side there were beautiful views of the main portions of the falls.  A short distance from here there were also minor cliffs, where we met up with folks rock climbing.  This spot also provided nice views over the park and lake below.  The trail continued down to the Branbury State Park campground, where I was staying.  From here it was a short walk south along the road back to the cars.  We reached the cars at around 5PM.  Phil and Dave had previous commitments, so they took off.  George and I went back to clean up.  That evening we met up with Chris and Don, who were joining us for the rest of the weekend and went up to Middlebury for dinner (Two Brothers Tavern).

It turned out to be a fantastic day, despite a little unsettled weather at the start of the day.  Thanks to George, Phil and Dave for joining me.

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