Lake Willoughby Region

Moose Mountain, Sutton

se Mountain (elev. 2360 ft.) is a mid-elev f Moo of the mountains in the Willoughby Reg~ ion peak that, like many . h • ion, offers e . t overlooks despite av1ng a wooded summit s· . xce 11 ent vis a p. h M . • 1m1 1ar to M and Mount 1sga , oose 1s predominantly ount Ho r . h covered by h dwood forests wit so1twood stands limited mainl t h' open ar ky h ·1 Y O 1gh eleva tions an? roe . aredas lw ere s~1 sl are. t~inner and conditions mor~ hallengmg. Situate a most entire y withm Willoughby St t F c • .c. . a e orest, oose Mountam 1eatures a 1ong, wooded ndgeline th t M a stretches southw~st to northeast. Two excellen! overlooks, situated at each end of the ndge, take advantage of clear vistas atop granite ledges.

The trail on Moose Mountain was developed in 1979 after a proposal by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was forwarded to the De- partment of Forests, Parks and Recreation, requesting to build a link trail between Wheeler Pond and Mount Hor. 16 Originally dubbed the Wheeler Pond Trail, the route traverses the Moose Mountain ridge and then, descending into Big Valley, climbs the western slope of Mount Hor, intersecting the Herbert Hawkes Trail on the Mount Hor ridge. Today, the Moose Mountain Trail is part of a broad trail net- work that has grown throughout Willoughby State Forest. While moderate in difficulty, the Moose Mountain Trail is steep in places and covers a large area of remote forest.

The Wheeler Pond trailhead is located on the Wheeler Mountain Road in Sutton Gust north of the Barton/Sutton Town Line) approximately 1.2 miles north of US Route 5. Here, parking is available for 6-8 vehi- cles. The Big Valley trailhead is located to the northwest wh~re the Moose Mountain Trail descends from the west and the Brookside and North Trails climb Mount Hor to the east. The Big Valley trailhead is located in Sutton, just south of the Sutton/Westmore Town Line.

From the north end of Lake Willoughby and Route 16 (0.0 mi.), fol- low Peene Hill Road to Lakeview Road (1.5 mi.) where ~he road tuhrns to d'rt1 h Aft passing throug a and, continuing straight, travels sout · er . nd continue sma_ll farmyard, turn left onto Big Valley Lane (2-9 m1.) a tinues st ra~ght past Wheeler Mountain Road on the right. T?e wa:s~:;a gate st raight through a four corners (3 .4 mi.) and, narrowmgh, p the road and ent 9 . ) From ere, ers w·1ll oughby State Forest (3 . m1. · b di"fficult for Passes over several large drainage dips· w hic. h may e 57 Northeast Kingdom Mountain Trail Guide low-clearance vehicles. Passing the Mount Hor-N~rth Trail access on the 1e ft (4• 3 nu.· ) , the road .reaches an old log landing (4. .7 mi)· Wh ere the Moose Mountain Tra~l enters the woods on the nght and the Mount Hor- Brookside Trail departs on the left.

MOOSE MOUNTAIN TRAIL- From the Wheeler Pond Trailhead (0.0 mi.), the trail immediate_ly cr?sses _Wheeler Brook on a timber foot bridge and reaches the Junction with the Wheeler Pond Trail. Here the Moose Mountain Trail climbs left while the Wheeler Pond Trail bears right and continues around Wheeler Pond. Leaving the junction, the trail soon enters a recently logged area and travels over rough, rocky footing, the result of glacial erosion and transport of extensive granite blocks. The trail is relatively insulated from the re- cent logging, however it soon reaches the first of two skidder cross- ings, one of several trail restoration sites improved by North Woods Stewardship Center trail crews in 2009. Continuing on, over a nearly constant series of waterbars, steps and retainers, the trail soon climbs to the top of a low rise and, continuing up, reaches the toe of a granite talus slope. Climbing an impressive rock staircase, the trail soon passes beneath a ledge outcropping (0.3 mi.) and, climbing up to left, begins to cross areas of open bedrock where red spruce and red oak are present. Descending briefly, the trail reaches the junction with the Moose Ledge Overlook (0.4 mi.).

Moose Ledge Overlook- The vista at Moose Ledge offers an excellent view for the effort, overlooking Wheeler Pond below and a number of local and distant peaks. The lookout, located just 50-feet off the main trail, is formed by large fractures that have ~undered granite blocks and fragments from the mountain, creat- mg a ledge drop-off and debris slope in the forest below. Looking out over the fractured rock, Wheeler Pond is presented in close detail ~ith its small boulder island, large growths of aquatic vegetation and varied shoreline. Across the pond, the GMC Wheeler Pond Camps are discreetly situated near the far shore.

Beyon~ the pond below, the surrounding hills are nearly unbro- ken- w1~h the Sutton Range to the left of center, including Norris Mountam, an un-named peak, and Granby Mountain in the .c. _ groun d an d, m. th e d"1stance, Hardscrabble, Grout and F1ore t M ountams.· L.1g h ted wmd• measurement towers here , gath dros £or a futur e wm· d farm. To the nght,. Interstate-91 cuts acrosser theata 58 Lake Willoughby Region

. t ridgeline of Big Rock Hill with Mount Mansfi ld 1 d~s!abnle. in the distance. The Black Hills of Glover are1e . ~b.e1arly v1 s1 h . · v1s1 e to 11 the n·ght and ' much c1 oser, a sma ouse 1s situated atop a near by 1ct1oll. . ·ng past the overlook, the Moose Mountain Trail beg1· 1•t conunu~ northeast towards Lake Willoughby and Mount Hor ;s s thelong lookout tre junction. , th e tra1· 1 . c1 .1m· bs mo derately, then steeply,. wind-rom . over rocks and ascendmg to two or more level benches befor switchbackinging up up throug h t he har dwoo d forest. Rounding a bend, thee . soon reaches a famt spur to the left and, around another comer tra1 f: . (O 6 . and1 up, the first of two a1 se summits . mt.). Wheeler Spur- This faint and short spur leads roughly 50-feet to the west and offers the first views of Wheeler Mountain's gray- weathered granite cliffs, stretching across the mountain's south- eastern face and looming high over the valley below. It is possi- ble to spot (and hear) hikers climbing Wheeler across the way.

Continuing on, the trail descends briefly towards the south and passes a small seasonal pool before climbing to a second false summit (0.9 mi.) with views to the southeast of Burke Mountain and a short dis- tance ahead down into the Big Valley Brook basin between Moose and Hor. Pressing on, the trail climbs the low, rounded ridge of the mountain and, passing over a small ledge, soon reaches the wooded summit (I. I mi.). Nearby, a small knoll to the west provides the first view of Lake Willoughby to the north. Leaving the summit area, the trail descends north and east, gradually at first, then more steeply, down off the mountain heights to the shoul- der where Mount Hor is visible for the first time. As the higher eleva- tion forest gives way to the more mixed forest of the lower elevations, Burke Mountain becomes visible to the east. Turning north and pass- mg an outcrop in the woods on the left, the trail descends to a secondth low hollow by a seasonal pool (1.3 mi.). After leveling briefly, e ::ti c_hmbs then falls, winding through the forest and even~lly de- eo

. d forest and then, turning sharply south, enters dense softw nuH xe the trail turns downhill slightly and passes a brief view toods. ere, . ·t M ki h o the .ght back towards the mountain summ1 . a ng a s arp switchb n ' the north the trail climbs again through the spruce-fir~ ack turn 1o , . . . .torest descends briefly and soon reaches the Junct10n with the Willoughb; Lookout Spur (2.0 mi.).

Willoughby Lookout Spur- From the trail junction (0.0 mi.), the Lookout Spur leads northeast past bear-clawed beech trees and white birches over fairly level ground. The trail enters the spruce- fir forest with Mount Hor visible to the right and, climbing up briefly, soon enters young softwoods and, a short distance ahead, the junction with the East Overlook Spur (0.3 mi.).

CAUTION: Both lookouts on the north end of Moose Mountain feature dangerous cliffs and ledges! PLEASE USE CAUTION! The 30-40 foot drop-offs pose a serious hazard and hikers should be extremely careful. Hold children and leash dogs.

East Overlook: The east overlook is just 50 feet off the main spur trail and takes advantage of a 30-foot sheer cliff that looks over the Big Valley Road below and the forested western slope of Mount Hor. To the left of Mount Hor, the Pisgah Cliffs are visi- ble along with Haystack Mountain and Bald Mountain (with its summit fire tower). A larger rock outcropping borders the over- look on the right.

North Overlook: A short distance beyond the junction with the East Overlook, the spur trail bends right and reaches North Over- look. Here again, EXTREME CAUTION should be used as a number of deep fissures in the bedrock create 30-40-foot chasms that could e~dang~r hikers, children and pets. A sign near the overlook rerrunds hikers to use caution.

Stepping across several deep fissures, the trail leads out to the North Overlook where views of Mount Hor, Pisgah H t k and B ld M · , ays ac , a. ~untams are expanded to the left to include Bald Mountam, Little Hedgehog ( foreground), Goodwin Mo . Sentinel Rock State Park ( at the height of land above W untain, and Willoughby Lake. The village of Westmore and ~tmore), Route SA are visible along the eastern lakeshore. ennont 7

Lake Willoughby Region

. to the main trail junction (2.0 mi) the M turning d c. • ' oose Mou t · e . uicklY descen s, at a com1ortable grade, diagonall n am Rfrail qJ-f re the trail crosses a number of waterbar dy across the e e y h C s an rock st s1 o P alied by the Vermont . o~t onservation Corps (VYCC be eps inst when crews maintained several sections of th 0 1J tween 19 zd-94frail route. Additional work included new trail~ d f:W~~e~er pon9 d ·1 1 · ea ac1hties ear heeler Pon , tra1M re- ocation· T .and . construction wor k on the W 11 h nd of the Moose ountain rail (including the add'f f nor! :verlooking Lake Willoughby), and tread work on1 ;~n ol the spur H 11 e ower west side of Mount or. 1,eaving the softwood forest, the trail switchbacks left then right and enters open hardwoods ~here, for the most part, it bears southwest cross the hillside. Crossing a seasonal stream, the trail climbs briefly :ears left and soon emerg:s at the Big Valley trailhead (2.4 mi.). rn'. rectly across the old cleanng, the Mount Hor- Brookside Trail enters the woods and climbs east to the Mount Hor ridge.

Total distance: approximately 2.4 mi., elevation gain: 880 ft.

Boiling Spring

The Boiling Spring (see map, p. 74) rises out of the ground in a low depression and sources a surprisingly large stream that flows to Lake Willoughby. Located in Willoughby State Forest in Sutton, the spring is reached by a short and discreet access trail.

The trailhead is located on the Wheeler Mountain Road, approxi- mately 0.6 miles northeast of the Wheeler Mountain Trailhead and 0.7 miles southwest of the Big Valley/Wheeler Mountain Road junction in Westmore. (See comprehensive directions listed under Wheeler Mountain Trail below). Limited roadside parking is available nearby.

The trail has been marked in the past with blue paint blazes and a !railhead sign, however the trail is currently poorly marked. Entenng tbe woods on the east side of the road, the trail follows even grades lbrough mixed hardwood forests and soon approaches a large de~~s- th sion m the forest floor. Here flowing out of the ground, e Boihng Spnng n·ses to the surface and' feeds the nearby stream.

Total d•s' t ance: approximately 0.1 mi. , elevation· gain:· 50 ft · 61 Moose Mountain