Elevation: 1,915 ft (overall) 3,053 ft (total)
Time: 1:27 (Skyline Lodge) 2:26 (Bread Loaf Mtn.) 3:10 (Mt. Wilson) 5:29 (Total)
Trails: Skylight Pond Trail, Long Trail, Bread Loaf summit spur
Signs at the end of Forest Road 59 make it pretty easy to tell you are going in the right direction to get to this trail head. The road is unpaved, but was in good shape this day. the lot at the trail head has room for around 10 cars, but there is plenty of room on the road for over flow. There was however a warning sign in the lot saying they have been experiencing vehicle break ins and that you shouldn't leave anything of value visible in your car/truck.
The trail starts off very easy with just a gentle incline. It didn't take too long and I was at the first small brook crossing. There was no bridge, but I was able to use rocks to keep my feet dry. There was also a small log I could have used, but the below freezing temps overnight left a layer of ice on that which wasn't on the rocks. A little later is the biggest brook crossing of the day. This one has a nice bridge going over it though.
The only bridge on the route
As the trail starts to climb more steadily up the side of the mountain, it begins a long series of switchbacks. The hillside didn't seem steep enough to require this many low angle inclines, but they did make for easy hiking. The trail never really seemed to get steep except maybe for the occasional small obstacle. There was also only one other brook crossing on the route up, and this was easily stepped over and doesn't look like it ever gets that big.
As I climbed up towards the Long Trail, I kept thinking I was about to be in the sun. This wasn't the case though as it seemed that the location of the sun and contour of the mountain constantly kept the sun just barely blocked. For quite a while the sun was shinning on the trees just above me, but I wasn't quite in it. At the intersection with the Long Trail I headed directly across and made my way down to Skyline Lodge. Here I saw my first signs of ice on the trail, but it was all easily avoided. The lodge is nice and in a great spot. I expected it to be a bit more open between it and the pond, but that wasn't a big detractor. The pond had a thin layer of ice on it, and the thermometer on the lodge said it was still only 32 degrees. It had just gotten that warm when I started my hike, and it seems I was climbing at the same speed as the warm air was this morning.
Skyline Lodge
Skylight Pond
Back at the Long Trail, I headed north. The trail has a few ups and downs in this section, but it was pretty easy going. Eventually you come to the one steep section between the lodge and Bread Loaf Mountain. The trail maintainers have done a real nice job here with stone work and I can only guess how many hours it took them. After the climb up to the ridge, the trail gradually go down just a bit before coming back up. You'll come to a sharp right hand turn in the Long Trail where there is an old sign while headed north letting you know it turns right. Straight ahead though is a spur trail over the summit with blue blazes. There is no sign on this trail, but with the blazes it does seem like an official trail. The trail goes the short distance to the summit, then turns left around it and brings you to a small lookout at the top of a short ledge. There are nice but limited views to the west here. After taking some pictures, I headed back to the summit which is marked with a small cairn next to the high spot.
View west from Bread Loaf Mtn
Heading north on the Long Trail again, it's a steady decent down Bread Loaf Mountain until the Emily Proctor Shelter and Trail. The shelter is simple, but nice and the Long Trail continues past it on the right hand side. If not for the sign and arrow, you wouldn't really know. You'll pass the path for the bathroom on your left and the tent area on your right. From here it was a pretty steady climb up to the summit of Mt. Wilson. This summit also has a small stone cairn on the (right) side of the trail. There wasn't much here to look at though, other than trees. After a break, snack, and pictures, I got out my portable weather meter and checked the conditions. The wind was only blowing 5 mph down here in the trees and the temperature was still only hovering around 32 degrees. For warmer temperatures than that predicted, it sure wasn't warming up fast.
Emily Proctor Shelter
Mt. Wilson summit
I had read some trip reports that said there were some views from Mt. Wilson at some ledges near the ridge. I looked as I hiked back, but only found a couple limited views, even with venturing off trail some. Maybe they were further up the trail or just exaggerated a bit. I made good time down to the shelter where a group of hikers were taking a break. I quickly said "hi" and continued on my way. The damp rocks on the climb back up Bread Loaf Mountain weren't as slick as when coming down it seemed, and before I knew it I was back at the sharp turn in the trail.
From here it was smooth sailing. The hike back to the Skylight Pond Trail passed quick and it was finally starting to warm up some even as it was getting a bit more cloudy. I had already forgotten how many PUDs there were before the intersection and the last bit seemed to take a bit longer than I expected.
The switchbacks on the Skylight Pond Trail made for an easy descent as well. I saw a few others hiking up as I worked my way down. The sun was finally out a bit on this trail, and that made it that much nicer. Dropping down into the hardwoods, a layer of leaves also started to develop on the trail. I was cruising along nicely near the end of the trail when I came around a corner onto a straight section only to see a black bear standing in the trail up ahead of me about 75 feet. I stopped to watch and see what it did. Pretty quickly it made a bit of a bound off of the trail and crashed through some vegetation off into the woods. Initially I thought the bear was easily over 300 lbs, but the more I thought about it later, the more adjusted my estimate to around 300-350 lbs, probably on the lower end of that range.
I suspected based on size this bear was male, but I still waited to see if any young ones were trailing behind. After a short wait and not seeing anything else, I started walking slowly down the trail again looking for it in the trees in case it didn't go very far. I didn't see it again, but you'd be surprised how many dark objects off in the trees get your attention after seeing a bear on the trail. Soon I was at the bridge and then back to my car. All in all this was a pretty nice hike with a good bear sighting thrown in. I was surprised at the pace I was able to keep during this hike, but the terrain was good for it.
Descending the Skylight Pond Trail
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
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