A beautiful summer day calls for a hike to a beautiful summit peak. Today I decided to climb Spruce Mountain in Plainfield, Vermont. From the guidebook description it looked like it was achievable in the coolness of the morning – perhaps one hour to drive and one hour to hike, each way. The hike follows a pretty trail, beginning with an easy mile along an old forest road, then turning increasingly steep as it winds its way to the summit. There, an old fire tower offers 360º views of central Vermont.
Nearby, a cellar hole marks the location of the fire wardens’ former cabin.
Actually, the drive to reach the trailhead was also quite pleasant, winding through rural Vermont with the early morning fog fading away. As the morning sun emerged, it shone a golden glow on the village churches, ancient barns, and stony brooks along the Waits River valley. The most unusual sight, though, was a wayward cow that was wandering through a front yard before crossing the road just after I passed by. Its horns looked sharp! so I’m glad it did not charge my car.
It was when I passed through an intersection on Vermont Route 25, though, that I had a flashback to a previous visit to Spruce Mountain. After that hike, in February 2021, my brand-new Tesla was rear-ended by a distracted driver in this very same intersection. Ugh! That poor experience apparently did not stop me from returning to Spruce Mountain in March 2022.
So much for today’s hike being a visit to a new mountain, as I thought when I reviewed the guidebook at breakfast. I suppose one of the benefits of getting older is that, by being forgetful, you return unintentionally to places you’ve been before ;-). My guidebook now has a pencil annotation: 3x.
A small photo gallery shares more scenes from today’s hike, including a video panorama from the summit.
Hike stats: 46th consecutive weekend hike!
Distance: 4.38 miles (7.1km)
Time: 1h41m including summit time
Gain: 1,192 feet (363m)
GaiaGPS track
David Kotz 