Pond Mountain At Last!

 

Before we start our hike to Pond Mountain, I want to take a paragraph to speak to the seeming unrest regarding accusations that a conflict of interest exists within VT Fish & Wildlife. The conjecture is that conservation in particular wildlife management decisions are biased towards those who fund the department. I reached out to my resource on this subject who responded with the following:

Unless money comes from a specified grant, state and federal wildlife projects are funded by two main sources - migratory bird hunting stamps, and Pittman-Robertson tax. PR tax is a tax imposed on the sale and purchase of firearms and primed ammunition. so unfortunately, hunters are paying for 90% of all wildlife conservation. to justify this, state agencies and federal refuges are required to allow some form of access for consumptive use activities, such as hunting or trapping...most of these designated areas are poor for these purposes because the purchase of the land was intended for the protection of other non-game species...(in their opinion) PR should also be imposed on items like binoculars, canoes etc. which would allow non-consumptive use wildlife enthusiasts to contribute to the general fund. It would also help prevent some of these socioeconomics. The migratory bird hunting stamps (Duck Stamps and the VT Migratory Waterfowl Fund) are also available for purchase by anyone, and technically your hiking pass to federal land; but the percentage of non hunters who purchase them is virtually non existent.

Looking west over Huckle Hill from the pull off just beyond the state line. 

After attempting to hike from Scott road west to Pond Mountain in February (We Pushed Beyond The Devil), several readers offered Wayne and I suggestions on easier trails to the mountain. We were offered an ATV ride, told we could start at the VAST trail on Silver Lane or catch the trail at the end of Hemlock road. We investigated Hemlock road which is off of Huckle Hill and while the trail is clearly visible here, we opted to park off of Huckle Hill road just over the state line. Wayne and I try to avoid privately owned land as much as possible and we had hiked east at this location with Martin once before (The Quest to Locate Marker B&N) The trail picks up just east of the pull off which is located along the MA WMA yellow boundary diamonds. 

Walking into the woods from the pull off we intersected a north south trail. We walked south (to the right) on this trail. The trail (above image) continues southeasterly to privately owned parcels (green on image), then gradually swings northeasterly to Pond Mountain.  I would classify this trail for its entirety to be a family friendly easy hike. Indeed the most difficult part of this hike was avoiding the numerous other trails which intersected with it. We spent just over three hours in the woods which included some off trail hiking.

Our aim was to hike to Pond Mountain during that sweet spot in the spring when the trails are relatively dry, the flying teeth have yet to emerge and before the leaves obstructed the view. 

 

A small brook and mixed woods.

My original thought was to follow the state line blazes and flagging due east to Pond Mtn. Wayne's plan to my mind, resembled an attempt to travel between Vernon and Maine where it makes perfect sense to travel south in order to go east. So at this fork in the trail, we continued  southeasterly.

Wayne explaining the errors of my directionality.

The forest for the trees

At least the next intersection was a little more clear?

When I start finding art on the trail, you know that the hiking is easy.

There seemed to be no end to decisions on which trail to choose. Here Wayne checks his app to keep us on the correct one. Before he had an app, we spent a good deal of time backtracking. This is an area where, though the trails are easy to follow, there is a high probability of taking the wrong one.

We came to a flooded area that looked to be a result of mudbogging. A bypass has been formed by people trying to avoid going through it. This is also an issue on the access road to Lily Pond due to foot and vehicle traffic veering from the road to avoid ruts, mud and bumps. In some instances this practice widens the trail causing soil erosion in others soil compaction as a new path forms.

Seed travels on the wind, in water and also will be transported by animals and people. This "lawn" in it's uniformity, seemed intentional and sometimes native grass is installed to stop erosion; but I wondered if seed had hitched a ride on ATVs.  I'm not an expert on grass, sedge and rush; but a good rule of thumb is that native plants are of greater value to wildlife. 

This small swampy area is my favorite part of the hike. While I admired it, Wayne spotted deer further up the trail. Wayne is often the first to notice wildlife on our hikes. 

I typically am the first to notice...

I have a friend who has given me an assignment. he would like for me to report back to him whenever I locate a particular something. I think that Ian is starting to figure out that he chose the wrong person for the job. I gave him directions to the find it (are you seeing the problem already?) and took his lunch break searching for it. When we again met up, he had me so confused about left and right that I fear he thinks I intentionally got him lost! So, here is my photograph showing you the approximate location of the find. I hope this clears everything up.

 Wayne is often impatient when it comes to following prescribed trails. Here I am consumed with anticipation as Wayne recharts our course to the summit.

Another map of the trail system leading to Pond Mountain

The summit as it turns out is fairly nondescript. I think I would have passed it by entirely had Wayne not announced our arrival. I had imagined it being much like the moment when arriving at the edge of the high dive at a swimming pool. Instead it was more like finding a nice family picnic area. 

I decided that I needed an exact point to declare that we had reached our goal at last and so chose this rather prominent rock. 

This view of Vernon from Pond Mountain is proof that it's not always the mountain, it's the getting to the mountain wherein lies the reward.

I wasn't planning on ending our journey here; but somehow it feels right to take pause and contemplate how from east to west in late winter, the hike to Pond Mountain was beyond our resolve to get here. And so I will for now, leave you here on top this 1,250ft high peak, clearly in view of those doing yard work in the town of Vernon below. - Norma Manning

What's happening at Lillis Pasture?

 It was in March that Wayne and I ventured into Lillis Pasture via Lillis Pasture Rd. Lillis Pasture is a 400 acre lot on Tyler Hill that was acquisitioned by Vermont Fish and Wildlife in 2020 and added to the Roaring Brook Wildlife Management Area. If you recall in my post, Walking in Circles on Tyler Hill, Wayne and I followed the trail to the right at the fork. This trail looped around into Munson's property before exiting further up on to Tyler Hill Rd. In this post we take the trail on the left to the pond.

Our intention on Easter weekend was to hike the path suggested by Don up to the summit of Pond Mountain; but with rain in the forecast, Wayne and I thought better of it. The rain was to begin at 9:00, then noon and then again pushed back to 1:00. Eventually, Helen, Kirk, Wayne and I found ourselves hauling out the lawn furniture and sitting around an unlit fire ring under clearing skies. It was 2:00 before we decided that we should tempt fate and head up to Lillis Pasture. 

Wayne decided that it would be a good idea to actually park on Lillis Pasture road just in case it did rain. This seemed like a rather bold decision in light of the fact that on our last visit we felt like we were sneaking into the place. As it turned out, we were the third car to park by the gate.  It didn't take us very long to begin noticing that things had started to change in the course of a month.

Even though the VT Spring 2022 turkey season doesn't start until May 1st, someone has been using their turkey shotguns for target practice on the VAST signs. I can only imagine that this is a major headache for Don who is a Vernon Trailbreakers Snowmobile Club coordinator as well as an avid hunter.

The state is shoring up the road with riprap stone. It's not much fun to walk on; but it prevents soil erosion. 

Sometimes I become fixated on the trail itself and forget to add the context of what the trail is cutting through. There is a lot of water up here and with Lillis Pasture now being a main access to Roaring Brook, flood mitigation is necessary. We noticed flags marking wetlands along the road.

I often wonder what Helen and Kirk think of our natural community here in Vernon. It turns out that Kirk was telling Helen how nice it was to walk in a quiet warm rain. 

Helen pointed out some turkey tracks.

I pointed out a bit of local history.

Walking in muddy tire ruts isn't any easier than walking on riprap.

I once read an article that claimed that flooded tire ruts can serve as vernal pools. I think about how we both unintentionally and intentionally impact our environment and whether that impact is a detriment or an asset. 

Kirk and Helen point out that a deer has been eating the bark on this hemlock sapling. An invasive species, Hemlock Woolly Adelgids  also feed on Eastern Hemlock and threatens this wildlife resource in southern Vermont.

We headed towards the yellow state lands signs.

Culverts have been installed in some areas.

Other areas appeared to be untouched.

Helen noticed another sapling being stripped by deer. I took two pictures to show you how difficult it was for me vs an expert to find these things. 

We came across the main VAST trail intersection where 1 and 1-A meet. Note the fresh orange blazes independent of the VAST system.

I'm not sure what this was all about, perhaps a catch basin? 

I was starting to get the hang of spotting deer browse.  

I mentioned to Kirk, my concern over the potential loss of  our American beech trees to bark blight (pictured) and now beech leaf disease. Wayne mentioned that there are plenty of acorns to feed the deer. Kirk explained that the red oak's acorn is nutritionally poor,  that it is the white oak that produces the better acorn for deer. Even so, "American beech nuts are high in both protein (20 percent dry matter) and fat (50 percent dry matter), Something that acorns are not; with over 1/3 of its composition made up from carbohydrates." National Deer Association, Know your Deer Plants: Beech. Hard mast production is vitally important to many mammals and birds. Find out more about it by clicking here.

We kept seeing gravel pushed up into mounds along the path. At first we quipped, "that trail is closed", then I decided to investigate.

Behind this gravel mound is a pit filled with water.

The rain picked up just as we reached the pond.

The flowers didn't seem to mind a little extra water.

I asked Kirk why hunters don't police their shells. He said that these were practice and that they should have been picked up. Kirk said that when hunting, the priority is to track the animal that was shot and this makes it difficult to find the casings and pick them up later.  

It only takes a few reckless and careless individuals to prompt landowners to post their land. In the case of Lillis Pasture, the state has purchased this land for its deer yards, ease of access and wildlife management. Clearly they are investing a lot of effort and money here to ensure that outdoor enthusiasts like hunters have the space and game that they need to participate in their heritage sport. 

A diverse, open and healthy ecosystem shared by many different outdoor enthusiasts should be everyone's priority. 

Coyote scat with fur and bone in it.

Kirk mentioned that this was an "urban coyote" as it had sunflower shells in its scat.

So that's what has been happening at Lillis Pasture this spring. Ginny would like to remind everyone that she likes turkey if you are inclined to share and to take good care of Vernon's natural resources by picking up after yourself and your pets. - Norma Manning.

Further reading:

VT Fish and Wildlife, 18.WTDeer PDF, Part Seven, Habitat Management for Game Species