Mt Abraham (NE#50), (VT#2)

I had been planning to hike this weekend. Just wasn’t exactly sure where. I have a strong pull to the White Mountains. There are so many hikes I can’t wait to do again. I balance that draw with my desire to work on the NE67 as my next hiking goal. I decided to head toward mid-state Vermont and a Mt Abraham and Mt Ellen traverse.

The most common route is to get on the Long Trail at Lincoln Gap. This was my plan until I asked a few questions in the Vermont Hiking group on Facebook. I quickly learned that Lincoln Gap is closed for the winter. This is a common thing to find in northern New England. Many roads are not maintained due to the nonstop snow. Crews would be plowing every day from October through June to keep it open. The alternative was to take the Battell Trail which would lead me to the Long Trail on southwestern flank of Mt Abraham.

I got on the road late and after a 2.5 hour drive, arrived at the Battell Trail trailhead. It was around 15 degrees so I added a fourth layer, strapped on my microspikes, and started up the trail. The trail started as a gradual ascent winding through a not very dense hardwood forest. This section of the trail was very well traveled and nicely packed. As I walked the trail gradually became steeper. It was noticeable but not too strenuous. I did notice I was starting to sweat so I removed a layer at about the one mile mark.

After about a mile and a half, I noticed that the forest was becoming more coniferous and snow was sticking to the tree branches. The trail remained in great shape so I left my snowshoes strapped to my pack. The trail was growing more and more narrow, closed in by the snow covered trees. It remained warm and at the 2 mile mark I removed another layer because I was still sweating too much. I knew the exposed summit was going to be much colder and it would not be good to be soaking wet when I get there.

At about 2 miles I came to the junction of the Long Trail. Soon after I was at the Battell Shelter. I took a short break here and had a snack and some water. I did notice that my water had not started to freeze. I had recently switched to large opening Nalgene bottles. The small opening ones were freezing at the opening very early on in my winter hikes. I thought the large opening ones would take longer to or maybe not even freeze. So far, so good.

I left the shelter where a sign indicated 1 mile to the summit. Things got much steeper at this point. The switchbacks were behind me and the trail was more what I was used to in the Whites, straight up. Not only steep but the most direct route to the summit in pretty much a straight line over whatever might be in the way. There were some very steep scrambles as I approached the summit. Microspikes helped but it was not easy. It was not overly technical, just steep and slippery.

As I thought it would be, the summit of Mt Abraham was exposed and much more windy and cold. I put one layer back on and added my puffy coat. As I crossed the actual summit high point all tracks and signs of previous hikers disappeared. I double checked my map and I was on the trail. The snow got very deep with about a foot of powder and 2′ – 3′ drifts in places. I walked back to the summit where I was able to put my snow shoes on. Once I had them on, I continued on my way to Mt Ellen.

I was soon at Lincoln Peak, the second of 5 mountains I would be hitting. This is a chair lift accessible summit of Sugarbush Ski Resort. Getting here from Abraham was not too bad and didn’t take very long given the unexpected trail breaking I had done along the way. I hung around on a ridge just above the lift where skiers were getting ready to head down the mountain. Several would stare and point at me. I probably did seem a little out of place with my snowshoes and 40L backpack.

I headed back into the woods and quickly realized I was once again not on the trail. Another consult with the map showed me where I went wrong and I quickly backtracked and got on course. I was going very steeply down from Lincoln Peak on an exposed ridge. The wind swept snow was hard packed and easy to walk on. As I progressed on this ridge the snow got steadily deeper and fluffier, drifting again to several feet deep.

I made my way through the drifts and eventually the Long Trail began to parallel a ski trail. There were some faint foot prints that lead me to a very nicely packed and flat ski trail that appeared to be seldom used. I walked along this well packed section for a bit and was able to increase my pace making good time to Nancy Hanks Peak. The trail then became very difficult to follow. The white blazes marking the Long Trail became sparse and hard to find. I found myself guessing where the trail was at this point, relying heavily on my GPS to navigate. I was trudging through very, very deep snow at this point and very obviously off trail.

I did make my way back to the trail. This section too appeared to have been traveled but not recently. I was continuing to break trail as I made my way to Cutts Peak. Next is Mt Ellen, the second 4000 footer of the day after the start with Mt Abraham. I had set a 12:00pm turnaround time based on my start time and progress made. The calculation would ensure I had daylight on the return trip. I am always prepared for dark hiking but in new and less populated territory I like to avoid it.

I arrived at Cutts Peak around 11:45am. Almost 5 hours into the hike at 6.5 miles. A mile to go to Mt Ellen. I can’t be at Mt Ellen by noon, my turnaround time. It will be at least 12:30 when I arrive and I dont know what lies between me and the summit. I made the difficult decision to bail on Mt Ellen for that day.

The return trip to Mt Abraham was much faster. I had broken enough trail on the way out that I was able to not sink while still not walking directly in my previous tracks. This also benefited those who came after me. I actually got some appreciation for the trail breaking from some hikers in a Facebook post!

All in all, it was a great day. The weather was forgiving but didn’t offer the best views. Can’t get the views on every hike! I will be coming back to hike Mt Ellen very soon and depending on the weather, I may just venture all the way out to Abraham again.

Miles	Elev Gain	Time
12	4760	6.75 Hours