Elevation gain: 1385 feet
Trails used: Black Swamp Trail, bushwhack.
Highlight(s): open woods, registers on both summits.
I planned to hike Sunday but after the late night we had at the Foo Fighters concert at Fenway Park in Boston, I got a late start. I still wanted to do a hike in Vermont so I headed out in mostly cloudy skies. The forecast called for highs in the 90's and possible thunderstorms and rain but it didn't deter me from hiking. There was enough of a breeze from the storms forming that it kept the humidity and bugs at bay for the entire hike.
Smith Peak and Ingalls Hill are located in Shrewsbury, Vermont and also located in the Calvin Coolidge State Forest. There are no views from Smith Peak nor from Ingalls Hill, which is located almost due south from Smith Peak and not far from the CCC Black Swamp Trail parking area. Both Smith Peak and Ingalls Hill require bushwhacks of various lengths to reach their respective summits.
Smith Peak is on the Vermont 100 Highest List, the Vermont 200 Highest List and the Vermont 3k List.
Coolidge Range Hiking Trails
There is a small parking area for the Black Swamp Trail, which starts off as an old logging road (Black Swamp Road) and snowmobile trail but eventually turns into a proper trail.
It is roughly a mile of walking along the Black Swamp Road to get to the actual start of the Black Swamp Trail. I would start my bushwhack right around where the Black Swamp Trail and snowmobile trail intersect.
I bushwhacked through mostly open woods that was part old logging road and possibly a snowmobile trail in winter with lots of herd paths everywhere.
At first I thought this was a herd path but then I realized it was a trail by the blue blazes on the trees so I hiked it a bit until I realized it wouldn't go to the summit of Smith Peak.
After a short, briefly steep bushwhach I reached the summit of Smith Peak (elevation: 3200) complete with summit register. There are brief views through the trees but nothing really to see from the summit.
I bushwhacked back down to the old trail from the summit of Smith Peak through open woods, which makes most of the bushwhacks we have done in Vermont nice hikes.
I followed the old trail, which was maintained fairly recently as evidenced by fresh blazes on trees and some of the blowdowns removed. The old trail started heading up but I needed to head down so I bushwhacked to the start of the Black Swamp Trail.
This is where the Black Swamp Trail starts at the end of Black Swamp Road. I had already hiked up to Shrewsbury Peak in the past, so I decided not to do that today. So, I headed back down Black Swamp Road and back to where I parked my car to begin my second hike.
I crossed the CCC (Shrewsbury Road) and headed straight into the woods to begin the short bushwhack to the summit of Ingalls Hill.
The summit area of Ingalls Hill (elevation: 2654 feet) complete with pill bottle register. The contents inside the pill bottle were wet but someone had left a single piece of dry paper in it so I signed in and headed back down to the car.
Typical Vermont open woods coming off of the summit of Ingalls Hill. It probably took me about 15 minutes total to do this bushwhack.
Not a long hike for the day but a productive one nonetheless. Down low on the bushwhack, the snowmobile trail was a muddy mess but once I managed to make my way out of the mud, it was smooth sailing to the summit of Smith Peak and then on to Ingalls Hill. There are very few redeeming qualities for most people on doing this hike, unless you start the hike on the Black Swamp Trail and go to Shrewsbury Peak and then back down. Otherwise, this is a peakbagger's delight.
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