Long Swing Trail to Crane Pond - Pharaoh Lakes Wildernesss - 11/10/13

The Long Swing Trail from Route 74 to Crane Pond is a trail Leesa and I had not done before and we decided it was a good choice for this day that was a mix of clouds and light rain. 

 

At the trailhead were 6 trucks belonging to hunters who were out in the woods.  After we had walked a mile, the rain began to come down in earnest.  Soon we saw a dozen hunters in camouflage coming out on the trail.  These were the last people we saw during the day.

 



A beaver pond early on the trail 

 

The Long Swing Trail segment from Route 74 to Crane Pond was 3 miles.  After an hour and ten minutes we approached Crane Pond the weather began to improve.  The sun actually made a couple brief appearances.

 

 

 

Crane Pond

 

 

 

We walked along the north shore of Crane Pond until we had to make tracks to get back to the car before dark.  It was good to get out for a walk even with the on-and-off rain. 

 

  

 

Campsite on the north shore

 

Snow on Pharaoh Mountain

 

 

 

Hike Stats:

 

Hike Distance:  7.8 miles

Hike Time:  3 hours, 30 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  600'

 

 



 

Deer Leap Mountain, Sherburne Pass, VT - 11/9/13

We were headed for Burlington, VT on Friday, but we had time to take a short hike along the way.  One that caught our interest was Deer Leap, which can be seen from Sherburne Pass.  It towers over the pass and is an quick hike to a great view.  

 

The trail is longer than you would think though, because it wraps around the back of the overlook before reaching the leap.  The leap is right above you as you start out, but the trail goes 1.2 miles to  get there.  Still a short hike, but people think they can get to the top in 5 minutes and it's more like about 40 minutes.  

Deer Leap Overlook from Sherburne Pass

 

An intersection of the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail

 

 

View from Deer Leep Overlook

 

It's certainly worth the walk though since the view is fantastic.  We could see a little snow on Pico Peak across the way and snowmaking on Killington in the distance.   

 

Pico Peak

 

Snowmaking on Killington

 

From Deer Leap we continued on to Deer Leap mountain and then we headed towards the Tucker Johnson leanto, only to find a sign that it had burned down and is no longer there.

   

 

A little snow that would be gone by afternoon

 

 

Since the leanto wasn't there we looped back around on the Appalachian trail to the trailhead to complete a nice 3.8 mile loop.  Perfect for a little diversion hike on our way to Burlington. 

 

 

 

Hike Stats:

 

Hike Distance:  3.8 miles

Hike Time:  2 hours, 15 minutes (including stops)

Total Vertical Gain: ~ 1100' 



Our route (click image to enlarge)