I took a trip to the Lye Brook Wilderness in Vermont's Green Mountains from Sunday through Tuesday this past week (9/29 - 10/1). I was always intrigued by this place after viewing one of Sintax’s early (pre hammock!) videos on this several years ago. This was also my first solo trip! I was a little anxious over it but things worked out fine.
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My hiking companion, Gnorth
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Got the Circuit packed and drove up Sunday morning to the Lye Brook Falls Trailhead and got there at noon. The parking lot here was pretty full. I had a quick lunch at the car and hit the trail. The Falls are about 2.3 miles in from the trailhead and seem to be a popular spot for day hikers. I saw several on their way out. This initial section of the hike is all a pretty consistent but definitely not a killer (roughly 850’ gain) and the trail is very well established and fairly wide (2-3 abreast could work for much of it). I didn’t take the spur to the falls as it’s roughly 0.4 mile back down a fairly steep grade. From what I understand the falls are much nicer in the spring with greater runoff. From here the Lye Brook Trail becomes a 1 lane hike. There’s a little more uphill before settling in to a more rolling hills on a much more general uphill. The woods were fantastic! - generally still green going to yellows on the lower brush with lots of the upper canopy with colors near peak.
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My goal was to get to Bourn Pond and camp there for 2 nights. This was about 5 miles from the fork with the falls. This was a pleasant ramble. I only saw 1 person coming out and then a father & son about a half hour later also coming out. I was enjoying the walk so much I never really felt anxious about stumbling into a bear or moose. Only saw a few moose prints on the trail. Only real hazard I came to was one section that was very marshy and you have to pick your way through and I initially missed the ‘best’ route through and ended up with one boot all the way in followed by a stumble that put me up to my shin. After I got back to terra firma I saw the error of my ways and gingerly worked my way through.
The Route:
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When I arrived at Bourn Pond there was a small group occupying some spots on the southern section of the pond. I continued north along the western side of the pond and took the next spot. I think it’s called the Western Bank spot. You could easily fit a small group here and I had it all to myself for the 2 nights. There are other spots located off a spur trail on the north side of the pond but I never checked into those. I decided on a spot for the Chameleon and got the bear bag hung. That’s the first time I’ve done the bear bag routine and got it on the 3rd try on the only tree a reasonable distance away from camp that I could find.
My Front Yard:
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As I prepped dinner I realized I might have been a little optimistic about how much fuel I needed since I accidentally put about half of it into the stove to cook with. I think I might need to bring some kind of small measuring device to keep me honest - like a medicine cup. As I contemplated cold breakfasts and texted my wife (I was surprised by coverage here), I went to pull out the charger for the phone and realized that while I brought battery packs with me, I forgot to put the USB cord into the bag too! D'oh! So I realized I might not be taking as many pics as I had hoped and definitely wouldn't be doing GPS tracks on the remaining hikes.
Setup:
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Sunset:
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It was a little cool that first night, probably upper 30's/low 40's. I woke a couple of times feeling cool but I think what it was was actually sweating a bit and little drafts coming and cooling me off. Sunrise was very pretty. I realized that for my oatmeal, while I been resolved to having it cold, I could use my candle lantern to warm up the water. I put about a cup in my 425 ml pot and set it over the candle for about a half an hour. I got it better than warm but less than hot. I was pretty pleased with that solution. (I could have had a fire too).
Sunrise:
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Camp guardian I discovered in the morning:
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I packed up the day pack and headed off east to the Stratton Mountain fire tower about 6 miles away. This again was a pleasant hike. About 3/4 of this hike is on mostly rolling terrain, with the only big uphill being up the side of Stratton. I accidentally took a new path under construction at Stratton Pond but made the connection with the AT/LT to complete the climb. I met a couple in their 60's who were undertaking the AT SOBO to the Connecticut line. The climb up Stratton isn't too bad. Yeah, a few pauses on the way up but definitely not as steep as some of the ADK & hike in the White's I've done. I reached the fire tower and made the climb up for a view. There were some clouds starting to roll in but overall I still had good views. You could really see some of the color in the valleys. I had a quick lunch and headed back to camp. I think I heard a bull moose 'bellow' somewhere off in the distance after I passed Stratton Pond. I had to listen to some calls back at home to confirm.
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I got back to camp around 3 or so. I texted my wife that I was back at camp and told her not to expect another text until I got back to the car. I had a quiet afternoon at camp, dinner around 5 and I think I was in the hammock at like 6:45 - the sun hadn't fully set yet! There was rain in the forecast and I had hung some rain gear at the end of the tarp to help ward off any potential blow in. It stayed in the mid 50's that night. I also tried out putting one of the Dutch sit pads in the foot box. My feet were warmer (warmer temps anyway), even going without socks. I did notice in the morning that there was condensation in the pad 'pucker wells'. It rained on and off all night but no worries on getting wet.
In the morning, the trees were dripping but it was not actually raining. I decided to just packup and eat on the trail. The woods in the wet/rain were nice. At one point in crossing some chest high grass & brush that I noticed it had started raining again. I skipped the rain gear as I tried it at camp packing up and was overheating. It was still in the mid 50's and with hiking, I was comfortable. I met back up with the AT/LT for about a mile on the way out. That portion and the split of follow Old Rootville Road out. Even though it's all downhill, I think it's steeper than what I walked up on the Lye Brook Trail side so that could be a 'challenge' for just starting out. I believe this is where Syntax started his hike from and I think I recall him making a comment about the grade. The weather had everything in clouds or fog so, while I stopped at the Prospect Rock lookout, you couldn't see anything in the valley. Once you get to the bottom, it was about a 2 mile road walk back to the Lye Brook Falls parking lot.
Overall, I had a great time on this trip and I was glad I did this. The solo aspect I found pleasant and may keep it mind for future trips. I LOVED being in the woods at this time of year. I learned a few things from my miscues - the USB thing really annoyed me! If anyone else is looking to do this in the future, I think I'd recommend the Lye Brook parking area to start from. It's much bigger and it gets you into the woods faster. And while it would be downhill to the parking lot if you started from Old Rootville, you'd have an uphill hike to get back to you car there. I didn't get a chance to check out other sites around Bourn Pond. I suspect the North Side has some suitable spots too. There are privy's near the south and north end of the pond but I ended up only needing to use the one by the Statton Pond Shelter (which was much nicer in my mind). While bear canisters aren't necessarily required, I can see how it would be easier since there is a general lack of suitable trees to hang a bag from (unless you did Ursack). I saw that the Stratton Pond Shelter has an actual bear box there. I didn't see any evidence of bear while I was out. Even if you're just looking at doing a 1 nighter, you could skip the trip to Stratton and either do an out and back to Bourn Pond or loop it similar to what I did.
If you made it this far, Thank You for reading!
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