Abraham and Ellen

[Dunbar]

Other plans for Sunday had fallen through, so I decided a trip to Abraham and Ellen would make for a nice little hike. I got a later start, not leaving home until after 8 and thus I didn't start hiking until 10. The road over Lincoln Gap had just officially opened so I was able to drive right up to the Long Trail. There was a dozen cars or so in the parking area and the trail to Abraham was fairly busy (a lot of canines too). Things went fairly quick for the 2.6 miles to the top of Abraham. What a great summit! It was a bit hazy so I couldn't make out anything specific in the Whites or Adirondacks. I look forward to going back on a clear day as it would be an awesome vantage point. As it was, I still had a lot of fun looking up and down the rather green Green mountains. Vermont sure feels small when you can look one way at Lake Champlain and the other way at the mountains of New Hampshire.

I continued north on the Long Trail. Between the summit of Abraham and the summit of Ellen I only saw one other person and that was on the way back. So it ended up being a nice quiet section of trail. I enjoyed the many little view points along the way from various rock outcroppings and clear cut sections for the ski area. That section of ridgeline doesn't have many significant elevation changes so I laughed a couple times when there was a sign marking a "summit." When I saw the sign for Little Abe I hadn't even realized I was going uphill.

The summit of Ellen caught me by surprise. I hadn't thought I was anywhere close to the top when two people came walking the other direction and asked if I had already passed the summit. The backtracked a short distance and we found the uninspiring top of the mountain. I continued just past there to get the nice view from the top of the ski slopes. After a few minutes there I turned around and cruised back.

It was a hot day and by the time I returned to Abraham I had sucked up all my water. Oops. I drank some water out of the stream near the Battell shelter as I returned to Lincoln Gap. I was feeling pretty overheated by the time I got back to the car. I had a plan though - Moss Glen Falls in the Granville Reservation was right on the way home for me. It's a really nice waterfall - nicely in the shade of a canyon. I waded around in the water for a while to soothe some aching muscles. The water temperature was perfect - cold but not cold enough to sting. I then sat on a rock at the base of the falls for a while. The cool air coming off the water was delightful and I was feeling good before long. After that I stopped at the Granville General Store for some Gatorade to start rehydrating. A great end to an enjoyable little hike.

A few pictures

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Rik

Did you skinny dip?

No, I am not skinny, thanks for reminding me.

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

I've hiked Abraham twice from Lincoln Gap and I hiked Ellen from Appalachian Gap, both very nice hikes, great section of the LT, nice views and wildflowers on Ellen too. Looks like you had a hot but nice day for it. My favorite place to cool off and take a dip is at nearby Bristol Falls. At some point I want to go back and do a car spot and do the whole Monroe Skyline. I'll probably be going back to the Green Mtns this weekend, yay mud season is over!

[Jay H]

I don't think mud season really began, at least I found Stratton area fairly dry, even after last week's rains..

There is a place on the way to Huntington, on the west side of Camel's Hump that is supposedly a famous swimming hole, and famous enough to have had a few deaths..

I saw a warning of how Irene rearranged a lot of the streams and that there may be new dangerous sinkholes and/or traps in the streams. Diamond Notch falls in the catskills is one stream in NY that I'm familiar with that is now different post-Irene...

Jay

Jay