When Sarah and I daydream back in time to our 2001 Long Trail hike, many wonderful memories come to the surface. The mountains, beautiful vistas, the valleys, trail magic, wild flowers and the freedom of the trail. But one thing that can stick out when you think about all those nights on the trail, where everyday your home was somewhere new, are certain shelters along the trail. Skyline Lodge, in the Breadloaf Wilderness on the Long Trail, is one of those such places for us. We try to frequent Skyline as much as we can, both because its beautiful and because we have adopted the Green Mountain Club shelter and check in on it from time to time. The Lodge is a four-walled shelter with a big front door and two paneled windows overlooking a front porch and serene Skylight Pond; the backdrop is a long-range mountain view. Its such a special place. The Lodge can be accessed either from the Long Trail, hiking North or South, depending on where you get on to the trail. Accessing the lodge from the south is the shorter of the two options and the better option for a day hike. A good access point is Route 125 (Middlebury Gap), where the trail crosses at the height of land. This hike is a beautiful 5-mile stretch of rolling terrain. Alternatively, there is a blue-blazed side trail, the Skylight Pond trail which can be accessed by turning off the Middlebury Gap Road onto a dirt road (clear instructions are given in the Long Trail Guidebook). This hike is one of our favorites: 2.5 miles of beautiful switchback climbs alternated with long slabs across the hillside make this a mellow approach through beautiful hard- and softwood forests. We highly recommend hiking to this Lodge, using either route. If you're short on time or are concerned about distance, take the Skylight Pond Trail - you won't regret it
Here are some pictures from our recent hike out there:
Have fun out there!
T&S
The fourth of July is always a fun time. Sarah, Odin and I usually have
a mountaintop tradition on the fourth that starts with a beautiful
hike, friends, dinner, fireworks and the beautiful hike down in the
morning. This year we let spontaneity take us. So we found ourselves
on our bikes with no plan, only to see where our two wheels would take
us. This is where we found ourselves...
