| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Philadelphia Peak, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Pine Brook Trail, old Philadelphia Peak Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 12, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the end of Thresher Hill Road at the northern trailhead for the Pine Brook Trail. Park to the side as this is the turnaround for the road. There are also the remnants of a fire pit at the turnaround, so watch where you drive and park. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
An insignificant crossing on the northern end of the Pine Brook trail after the bridge. Nothing challenging. Just watch your step. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Philadelphia Peak Trail is abandoned. There is a sign with allowed usages at the start, but the trail is not named. Several blowdowns clusters along the way. Two of the clusters require going wide of them. The last three-tenths of a mile fade in and out with waist deep ferns in sections. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Watch out for yellow jackets. See the note below. |
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 | Bugs: |
There is a yellow jacket nest in the vicinity of the bridge. I was stung by one on the way in and two on the way out.
Plenty of deer flies and horse flies in the woods. This includes a cloud of them on the summit.
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Philadelphia Peak is one of the Vermont 110 (https://www.thevermont110.com/peaks/)
This was a repeat from my last, failed, late-day attempt on June 27th. I used the Vermont GIS Trails data, extracted the feature for the trail, converted it to a GPX, and uploaded it to my watch. Navigated via it the whole way. Still, I got off route for the last ascent (must have followed another old trail corridor) and was bushwhacking through a mix of open woods and waist deep ferns. I did find the trail again and finally summited.
No views from the top. There is a solar panel, communications shed, and some old racks. It was a cloud of bugs too, so I grabbed a snack and started the descent.
The upper portion of the old trail fades in and out. In parts, the trail bed can be seen. In other parts, the trail is overgrown with ferns. There is flagging to follow in parts too.In the time where leaves are absent, there is probably a decent view to the west of the spine of the Green Mountains. The trail leads back to where I dead-ended the first time and started my ascent today.
Not much to report on the way out. It’s a fairly quick hike. Brushy, branchy, and blowdowns.
On the return car ride, I did some scoping out of the end of Bingo Brook Road for an old trail headed up towards Monastery Mountain based off a Peakbagger trip report. I did not definitively find it, but I have some candidates.
I also scoped out Corporation Road for a loop over Round Mountain and Corporation Mountain. The road gets rough after a mile, but what really deterred me was the feeling I was encroaching on peoples’ property. I may have to rethink my approach to those two even though the Peakbagger trip reports I have read ascend from that area. Technically speaking it is a Forest Service road. Mostly likely I would try coming in from the Chittenden Brook side. |
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 | Name: |
Chance Yohman |
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 | E-Mail: |
chance.yohman@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-07-14 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/3752514020 |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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