O is for Overlook

Sunday, June 17, 2012:

Overlooks dominated today's 7.2 miles of trail.  There were three of them, and they all looked over the same general area - the village of Manchester Center.  The first one I encountered was from a power line clearing after walking just a mile and a half south from VT 11 and 30.  That's not the one shown above.  Here's that power line view, looking across the (O is for) Otter Creek valley to THE Green Mountain (Green Peak, at left):

The most panoramic of the three overlooks was from Prospect Rock, accessible by the rough but passable Old Rootsville Road.  That's not the one shown above.  Here's that one for comparison:

The AT actually takes a nearly one-mile road walk on Old Rootsville Road.  That was the easiest mile, but the entirety of today's walk was easy, with very little elevation gain and very little rocky or swampy footing.  I was done early and had a chance to stop in at Eastern Mountain Sports in Manchester and buy a small waist pack/belt pack to carry food and water within easy access.  It's something I should have had all along.  I've been using pockets - either the huge pouch-like ones in my rain jacket or, when it is too warm for the jacket, the multiple ones in my cargo shorts (making them sag and droop from the weight).  Now I've got a solution for all conditions.

So where did I take the introductory photo?  It's from Spruce Peak, and the trail to this viewpoint is easy to miss.  I didn't even notice the small sign (facing south) as I hiked south - whizzed right past it.  The trail to the overlook is hardly blazed - you have to follow the beaten treadway, and even then, you have to scramble steeply up the south face of the rocky peak (where the course of the trail is not clear).  Finally, when you get to the summit of this little rugged peak, you have to keep going - don't give up.  The summit is all wooded.  The viewpoint is down and around a corner on the northwest side.  I imagine a lot of people miss it.  It's no big deal, I guess, since the other two overlooks have the subject matter well covered.  But there's something special about an overlook when it takes a little work to get to it - when it's an Overlook that's ... well ... easy to overlook.

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Here's the map of today's hike and a link to more photos:



AT Day 155 - Prospect Rock at EveryTrail
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