Copy/Repost Hike

FRIDAY

On Friday, May 27th, we all met up at Brighton State Park in Island Pond, VT.  Jim and Matt were already there, when I arrived by 4:30PM.  Kirk arrived a little later with Martin showing up by 8PM.  We had a late dinner by the campfire under mostly clear skies, although later there was thunder and lightning, which passed to the north and didn't affect us (it was hot and humid though).  We all turned in about 10:30...at about the time that Peter got there.

SATURDAY

We awoke to sunny skies.  Everyone had their breakfasts and by about 9:15AM we drove over to Lake Willoughby for the traverse across Mt. Pisgah.  We placed a couple cars at the end of the North Trail and then drove down to the South Trailhead.  We got ready and by 9:50AM we started up the trail.  It was again a beautiful mostly sunny day.  It was already pretty hot, when we started.  The trail entered the woods and crossed a pond via a boardwalk.  The trail meandered through the woods a little before starting to climb at a modest grade.  There was some switchbacking and by 10:20 we were starting to get limited views of Mt. Hor on the opposite side of Lake Willoughby.  At 10:30 we reached the small ledge for Pulpit Rock.  This provided a wonderful view over the south end of the lake.  We continued to climb and almost an hour later we arrived at an open area with views to the south.  The Mt. Burke ski area and East Mountain with its abandoned air force base could be seen.  We enjoyed an early lunch.  We stayed here for about 20 minutes, but the black flies were getting bad, so we eventually decided to press on.  By 11:45 we were on the wooded summit of Mt. Pisgah (2751').  The summit was marked by a sign and cairn, but there was nothing very special about it.  Only 5 minutes later we were at the short spur trail for another lookout.  This provided a wonderful overview of most of the lake below.  We re-joined the trail and at just after noon we were at another spur.  This spur trail descended to two more ledges with spectacular views over the lake and the surrounding cliffs.  From here the trail descended through the woods...steeply in spots...back to the north trailhead.  We arrived back to our cars here at 1:40PM.  We drove back to the South Trailhead to collect our cars.  Afterwards, we drove the short distance to the beaches at the south end of the lake.  We walked the short trail through the woods to the nude beach, which was situated in a little cove.  It was fairly low key with a wedding party have some photographs taken there.  The views through the glacial notch was wonderful from there.  After a short time here, most of us headed back (Peter stayed to soak up the sun for awhile).  Jim and Matt were looking for a coffee pot, so the rest of us stopped by a country store along Route 5A.  They didn't have one, but we enjoyed some ice cream here anyway.  We checked out another store as we made our way back to the campground.  At around 4PM most of us were back at our sites.  Jim, Matt, Martin and I put on our swimsuits and drove to the beach at the south end of Spectacle Pond...still within the campground.  Surprisingly, the water was fairly warm and we all went swimming.  Afterwards we returned to our campsites and got ready for dinner over a campfire.  Matt even made s'mores for everyone later in the evening.  Again, we turned in by 10:30PM.

SUNDAY

We woke up and had our breakfasts.  By about 9:30AM, four of us (Matt, Jim, Martin and I) went out to find a outfitter for kayaking.  Peter and Kirk went exploring together...Peter had family up in the area and was visiting a family cemetary.  The state park had rentals; however, they didn't seem all that happy, that we wanted to kayak from Spectacle Pond to Island Pond.  They suggested going into Island Pond, but there we quickly discovered that there are no rental companies in town.  At a convenience store we asked around and they told us to check out a company in Charleston (just to the west).  We drove over there and found an outfitter on the Clyde River.  They drove us and the kayaks back up river and put us into the water just south of the Charleston Elementary School.  It was about 10:30AM.  We packed up the kayaks and started out.  The river was flat and slow, as it meandered slowly back.  It was a beautiful trip and we checked out a tributary and kayaked around some trees and logs in the water.  There were a number of beaver dens along the river (and one dead beaver hung up on the underwater debris).  By noon we were starting to look for a spot, where we could get out and have lunch.  The banks of the river were very muddy, so we didn't stop until 12:40PM.  The spot was still muddy, but it wasn't too bad.  We walked up the bank and had our lunches in an open area along the river.  We stayed for about 15 minutes before getting back in our kayaks and continuing up the river.  It had become a little more overcast and as we progressed we passed a duck and turtle sunning on the banks.  There were a number of others on the river by this point, but for the most park it was a quiet and relaxing paddle with the river to ourselves.  At 1:30 the river opened up into Pensioner Pond.  We found a small, remote beach on the south side of the pond for a snack.  Here Martin and I also took a dip in the water.  The water was again pretty warm, although the pond bottom was still pretty muddy.  We continued across the pond and after passing a loon nesting area at the outlet near the north end of the pond, we were quickly back at the outfitter.  We took out of the river at about 2:30PM.  We dried off and headed back to Island Pond to poke around town before heading back to the campground.  It was still early and while Matt and Jim hung out at their campsite, Martin and I walked down to the campground's beach on Spectacle Pond for another swim.  It was pretty quiet here, as we were the only ones at the beach after a bit.  We had seen our camp neighbors here briefly and they had just walked the path along the pond out to an old house foundation of Chief War Eagle, a pro wrestler, who left the property to the state.  Martin and I swam across the pond to the rock at the base of his property.  When we got out of the water and climbed the bank there was nothing but the old foundation left.  After swimming back we hung out while we dried off and then walked back to the camp site.  We started a campfire and most of us got together again by 7PM to cook and eat our meals (Kirk had packed up and headed home due to the predicted chance of rain overnight).  There were a few drops of rain during the eveing, but nothing of note.  We wrapped up the evening with some cake and spirited conversation and then called it a night by about 10:30.

MONDAY

After a night of light rain starting after about 1AM and lasting throughout the night, we began waking up around 6:30AM.  It was mostly cloudy with darker skies.  We had our breakfasts and began to break camp.  Martin and I waited until everyone was up.  We said our goodbyes and left before 8:30.  The other guys were still having breakfast and packed it in sometime after that.

Despite the unsettled forecast before the trip, we were very fortunate, as it was a pretty spectacular weekend.  It was a wonderful and relaxing time hanging out, while we enjoyed the area hiking, kayaking, swimming and our nightly campfires together.  As always, we had a fun group of guys with whom to spend the Memorial Day Weekend.  Thanks to Peter, Matt, Jim, Kirk and Martin for joining me and making this a very special weekend.

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