Leesa chose todays trip which ended up being a double header. Part 1 - Wilmington Slide. She felt like climbing a slide today and I thought Wilmington Slide sounded like what she was after. I had climbed it twice last winter, but had not seen it in summer. She agreed with my suggestion, and off we went.
We parked at the intersection of Bonnieview Road and John Bliss Road. There is a pull off there that hikers use. Our first 1.5 miles were an easy walk on the Cooper Kiln Trail, which is an old woods road. This is an excellent cross country ski trail in the winter for those who like nice long hills with moderate grade.
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| The Cooper Kiln Trail |
We were expecting the day to feel hot and perhaps buggy, but there was a nice breeze and the air felt dry. Needless to say, bugs did not bother us all day.
Out on the slide we just poked along enjoying the day. We looked for interesting rocks and by moving slowly and keeping my heart rate down, my sinuses were not aggrevated any worse than they already were.
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| A good look up the slide |
In winter, I had avoided lower headwall due to ice. Today, we climbed the lower headwall before giving in to the upper headwall. Leesa didn't care about going into the woods to reach Wilmington Peak which was only a quarter mile away. I had already done it, so we decided to turn around at the bottom of the last headwall.
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| The headwall |
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| Leesa walking through rubble |
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| The view downward |
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| Rev resting near the top of the slide |
On the way down, we followed the slide a little lower before cutting back to the trail. We the slide finally narrowed and formed more of a ravine we went back to the trail and back down to the car.
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| Looking down the lower part of the slide. |
Part 2 - Silver Lake Bog Trail
This was also Leesa's idea. She wanted to see this bog trail which she had noticed on the National Geographic map. We still had some time in the day, and it wasn't far away, so we went to check it out.
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| The sign in register |
We found the trail to be quite nice. The first portion, which goes through the bog is on a raised boardwalk the entire way. It is ADA accessible and has turnouts at regular intervals. The bog is certainly something worth seeing and the boardwalk makes it easy to navigate.
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| Rev testing the boardwalk |
At the end of the bog, the boardwalk ends and hikers that are inclined can continue on the footpath to "The Bluffs".
The trail takes you to an un-named ridge that offers a nice look down to Silver Lake and across the way to Catamount, Esther and Whiteface Mountains.
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| Silver Lake |
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| A lower ledge that offered the best view of Silver Lake |
It appears that persons with an adventure of spirit, have continued along the ridge on an unmarked heard path that comes and goes. The ridge is lightly treed and is easy to navigate. We followed the unmarked route which hugs the southern portion of the ridge. There were almost continous views of Silver Lake. The western end of the ridge hosted a beautiful stand of red pine.
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| Leesa at the west end of the ridge |
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| Pretty forest |
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| 2 happy hikers |
At the western end of the ridge, a brisk breeze was quite refreshing. WE returned the way we had come to end a nice day of hiking.
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| The road at the trailhead |
Hike Stats - Part 1 - Wilmington Slide:
Hike Distance: 4.9 miles
Hike Time: 4 hours
Total Vertical Gain: 1700'
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| The route to Wilmington Slide (click image to enlarge) |
Hike Stats - Part 2 - Silver Lake Bog Trail
Hike Distance: 3.4 miles
Hike Time: 2 hours
Total Vertical Gain: 400'
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| The route for Silver Lake Bog Trail (and bushwhack along ridge) |
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