 GREEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST
Glastenbury Mountain 8-3 to 4-02
Tracks showing repeated illegal travel by ATVs crossing the West Ridge Trail southwest of Glastenbury Mountain, in the proposed Glastenbury Mountain Wilderness. The tracks cross the trail bearing northeast-southwest. Location coordinates by GPS receiver: N 42 degrees 56.175', W 73 degrees 08.376' (24 feet limit of error).
The following are excerpts from notes I made after a Green Mountain Club backpack trip in to Goddard Shelter August 3-4, 2002 (Saturday & Sunday, Ottauquechee Section; Leader--Rick Ethier of Springfield).
I discovered more evidence of ATVs and snowmobiles on this trip than I expected, and there are several things it would be good to follow up. There appears to be an extraordinary amount of illegal motorized activity in the Glastenbury area. Unfortunately, documenting all of it would be difficult and time consuming for people on foot, since the area is so remote.
Stats:
August 3
Distance and elevation: 9.4 miles, 2,062 feet vertical gross ascent, 1,351 feet net; summit elevation 3748 feet.
Route: FR 275 north from Vermont Route 9 to Little Pond; southwest on an old logging road to the Appalachian Trail; north on the AT to Goddard Shelter; to the summit of Glastenbury Mountain and back to the shelter.
August 4
Distance and elevation: 9.1 miles, 1,000 feet ascent, 3,378 feet descent; 2,378 feet descent net; trailhead elevation 1,370 feet.
Route: West Ridge Trail west and south to Bald Mountain; Bald Mountain Trail east to the water tank on Harbor Road in Woodford Hollow.
Saturday:
There is a logging road bearing roughly southwest from FR 275 near Little Pond toward the Appalachian Trail/Long Trail. The first portion of the road has been used fairly recently to access a clearcut southeast of the road. The end of that portion is blocked by boulders, but an older road continues onward, ending just at the AT. This is the route we followed from FR 275 to the AT. This road had fresh ATV tracks from FR 275 to the boulders at the end. Coordinates at the boulders: N 42 degrees 55.273', W 73 degrees 04.333' (114 feet limit of error).
About five minutes north of Little Pond Lookout on the AT, we spotted a line of orange flagging leading to the left (nominally to the west). The group didn't stop, so I had no time to get either a bearing on the line of flagging or a GPS reading.
We found a heavily used campsite in a sag that appeared to be a spot where the map indicated a cross trail. At this site there is a very distinct and well-traveled foot trail, apparently on an old tote road, heading downhill to the east, evidently toward the maze of ATV and 4WD tracks in the area west of FR 325. Despite what the map said, there was no trail to the west. The trail to the east warrants further investigation. Coordinates: N 42 degrees 57.449', W 73 degrees 03.658' (33 feet).
A little farther on we came to an overgrown road crossing which had no evidence of recent ATV use. Coordinates: N 42 degrees 57.779', W 73 degrees 03.495' (29 feet).
Goddard Shelter, built in 1985, is very attractive. Rick had last visited it in 1988, when it was still pretty new. Sometime after 1988, somebody had cut a hole in one of the log end walls, apparently with a chain saw, presumably to install a stovepipe. Since then, the hole was been covered with galvanized sheet steel and the stove, if any, removed. It seems likely that the perpetrators were snowmobilers or hunters who used tarps to enclose the shelter. It is improbable that anyone without a snowmobile or ATV would have lugged a stove to that site.
Rick and I took a walk up to the summit and climbed the fire tower. I spotted and photographed several rocks on the AT/LT south of the summit scarred by snowmobiles. Snowmobiles are prohibited on the AT/LT.
Signs indicated that two one-way snowmobile trails approach the top from the east, one for uphill use and the other for descending. We did not see a snowmobile trail from the west, but we didn't explore the northern half of the summit.
Sunday:
Fifty minutes from the shelter along the West Ridge Trail, we crossed a snowmobile trail bearing 50 degrees magnetic. Coordinates: N 42 degrees 58.563', W 73 degrees 06.101 (33 feet). At 8:51 a.m. (1 hour, 16 minutes from the shelter) we crossed another snowmobile trail bearing 5 degrees magnetic at N 42 degrees 58.701', W 73 degrees 06.265' (22 feet). The second snowmobile trail was very wide and appeared to be built to corridor trail standards.
At 10:58 a.m. we came to a very distinct ATV trail bearing northeast-southwest crossing the West Ridge Trail. Coordinates: 56.175', W 73 degrees 08.376' (24 feet). It would be a long hike to check this out, but it indicates deep illegal ATV penetration of the Glastenbury area.
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