Blue Ridge Mountain via the Canty Trail, July 30

Rutland, Vermont is located near the border of the Northern section of the Green Mountains.  There are numerous ski resorts in the area as well as some excellent hiking.  The Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail intersect near Killington, Vermont just a few miles up the road.  I really wanted to do some hiking in "the mountains".  Most of the elevation around the area is below 4,000 feet so I didn't really consider the terrain mountainous, but hilly. After doing a little research I determined there were several short day hikes a few miles from Rutland so we headed out early on Saturday morning.

We ran into a guide at one of the trail heads we had considered hiking and he told us about another "easy" hike just up the road with  a water fall and views of the surrounding areas.  We headed over to the Blue Ridge Mountain on the Canty Trail.  It was a 6 mile round trip with an elevation gain of 1700 feet.  Just driving up in the mountains made me feel like I was back in my element.  Something about the mountains just makes me feel better.

The hike was pretty, following the creek most of the way through the trees. (I've looked on several maps and there is no name listed for the creek) The trail was well marked.(I think it is used for snow shoeing in the winter) but not an easy trail to walk.  It had rained very heavily the day before and the roots and rocks on the trail were really slippery. I really had to watch my footing.

Just a few hundred yards from the trail head we came up several small abandoned cabins.  They would be great warming huts or summer cabins, but they were pretty rustic.

Nancy and Maynard blazed through the trail.

There were huge fungi on the trees.

Yes, really big!

This tree had lots of little fungi on them, making for an interesting composition.  Can you see the different faces?

Joel didn't have too much trouble negotiating the trail down over all the tree routes and rocks, but going up was a different story.  It was tough for all of us.

The map simply notes that there are cascades on the way up and a "nice" waterfall:

We found the water fall and took a break on one of the conveniently placed logs at the base of the falls.

There were several sets of pretty cascades along the creek.  I noted there was lots of tannin in the water which made the creek  look foamy and dirty, but the water was really was crystal clear.

The views at the top of the mountain of Rutland and surrounding area.  The trees have grown up so the view is now partially blocked.

All in all it was a pretty good day.  We all agreed we are a little out of shape for a six mile hike with that much elevation gain, but the creek was pretty and we saw only two other people on the trail.