Shagback Mountain North - Shagback Mountain - Wilder Mountain - Willard Mountain (VT): 6/7/2015

I would be hiking solo today so it wasn't a tough decision that I wanted to do some hiking in Vermont.  It was just a matter of where and what to do, which is usually the case.  So many peaks to do so it shouldn't have been that hard to decide.  When I left the house, there was a light rain and it was mainly cloudy skies as I made my way into Vermont.

Shagback Mountain North - Shagback Mountain

Mileage: 1.90

Elevation gain: 675'

Trails used: none. Bushwhack.


I could find little information for this peak but there were lots of roads to the northeast of Killington Peak that I could try and use to reach both summits, the northern summit being the higher of the two.  I would have to do this one really quick as there was going to be a bike road race later that morning on East Mountain Road.  

Shagback Mountain is located in Sherburne (Killington), Vermont and is located in the Calvin Coolidge State Forest.  There are no trails that reach either summit so it requires a bushwhack to reach both peaks.  I did find some recent logging roads to the east of the peaks but I am not sure exactly where they start.  You could possibly use them and make reaching the south peak of Shagback Mountain easier, and then do a short bushwhack to Shagback Mountain North.

This was the views when I started bushwhacking up to the two summits of Shagback Mountain.  The woods were open and even being used for sugaring.  

The woods stayed nice and open and other being wet from the rain the night before, it wasn't too bad to hike through to either summit of Shagback Mountain.

A blurry view of the high point area for Shagback Mountain North (elevation 2704).  There were several bumps so I hit them all to be on the safe side.

I then made the short bushwhack over to the southern summit of Shagback Mountain (elevation 2688', and the lower of the two) through open woods.  I even managed to find a few recent logging roads.

With hike one done, and drenched from the wet woods, I hopped back in the car to hopefully dry out some while I made the drive to the next area I had multiple peaks to choose from.  The sun was trying to come out and by the time I drove through Ludlow, Vermont it was turning into a very nice day.

Wilder Mountain-Willard Mountain

Mileage: 3.15

Elevation gain: 1095'

Trails used: none.  Snowmobile trail, old woods roads, bushwhack.

To reach both of these peaks in one hike, I was going to utilize USFS 10 as it winds its way deep into the White Rocks National Recreation Area and then drive up FR60 to the end of the road and park at the roundabout.   I was worried USFS 10 wouldn't go all the way to where I wanted but I was pleasantly surprised when I made it all to the way to where the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail parking is.  I went that far more as a recon for future hikes in the area.  

Wilder Mountain is located in Wallingford, Vermont and Willard Mountain is located in Mount Tabor, Vermont.  Both peaks are located in the White Rocks National Recreation Area where one can do some camping and hiking as there are about 30 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Recreation Area.  In winter, there are 50+ miles of snowmobile trails.  There are no trails that reach either Wilder Mountain or Willard Mountain so they require bushwhacks and short road walks (up snowmobile trails).

The hike up Wilder Mountain was short and very steep.  Combine that with the wet leaves in the woods still and it was a slow hike up to the summit of Wilder Mountain.

The woods on top were wide open and evidence of moose were everywhere.  I managed to find the summit jar of Wilder Mountain (elevation 2782'), which was in good condition.  So, I signed in and made my way back down towards the car to make the hike over to Willard Mountain.

I made my way back down to FR60 which continues into the woods as a snowmobile trail in winter and use it for about half a mile to make my way to the summit of Willard Mountain.

The snowmobile trail continued through as I made my way towards where I would start the bushwhack up to the summit of Willard Mountain.

It was a steady hike through nice woods and it wasn't as steep as it was to do Wilder Mountain.

The high point of Willard Mountain (elevation 2779').  The jar on the summit was missing its lid and had a hole in the side so the contents were ruined.

I spent half the day driving around to these three peaks and looking at approaches for other peaks than I did actually hiking.  Some hiking days it is like that.  While the weather started off rather bleak, it brightened up and once the sun was out it warmed up the woods nicely.  Surprisingly there were no bugs so it was a nice day in the woods traipsing around.