Saturday October 9 dawned sunny and cool with just a few puffy clouds. Eight hikers met at the world famous P&H truck stop in Wells River Vermont to carpool to the trailhead in Plainfield VT. A ninth hiker, John O from Burlington, met us at the trailhead.

The Spruce Mountain trail starts out gentle but becomes increasingly steep towards the top. It evens out just before the summit, which is covered in trees, however has a tall fire tower from which anyone willing to climb the steep and shaky stairway can see a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. In fact you can see a good chunk of the state of Vermont as well as nearby peaks in New Hampshire.  The sky was clear and we had a good view from the tower off to the West towards the Green Mountains. Camels Hump, with its distinctive profile, was easy to spot. 

The fall foliage was just a bit past peak in Northern Vermont but still gorgeous nonetheless. 

A small cliff atop the mountain offers a sweeping vista of the hills in Groton State Forest and the peaks of the Western Whites beyond. It was where we had our lunch and reveled in the beauty surrounding us, despite numerous other hikers and small children running about... We tried not to let them disturb our serenity. 

The descent back to the parking lot was pleasant and uneventful. The trees in the woods just coming up to peak color. After the hike we all pretty much went our separate ways except for a few hikers staying at a nearby inn, where we had dinner and planned another hike in the hills of beautiful serene spectacular Vermont. 

Thanks to Chris H for organizing this Columbus Day hike in Vermont.

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