Deer Leap Lookout

Pico from Deer Leap Lookout

It's been a rare occasion over the last ten years if I have gotten out for a real snowshoe hike in deep powder.  Today after work, I had my chance.  Two things I now recall: (1) Going up hill in deep powder is really, really hard; (2) Going down in hill in deep powder is really, really fun!!!

Deer Leap Lookout is a great short hike and perfect after work.  Now that there is considerably more daylight than there was a month ago, there are plenty of options before the sun sets.  The trailhead for Deer Leap is located at the Long Trail Inn, right on Route 4, only a mile west of Killington.  So afterwards there's a perfect spot for a burger and beer.

At the trailhead, I noticed the trail had not been broken in from the week's snowfall.  The first few hundred yards were brutally difficult.  My shoes sunk in at least two feet and above my knees.  This was more difficult than I remember.  Another issue would be trail location.  The blue blazes were spaced out quite a bit making navigation difficult.  Fortunately, the trail became clearer.  The previously broken in trail became recognizable and there was a bit of packed snow underneath.  My guess is that the early section of trail gets windswept.

Lots of snow

Looking back at my tough to break trail

The going got easier.  Nice packed trail underneath.

I soon reached the junction of the Appalachian Trail.  Such fond memories I have of hiking the southern section of the trail over ten years ago.  Hopefully I get around to completing the northern part.  The trail towards the lookout did not present many difficulties.  I passed through walls of Balsam Firs.  I had fun relieving some of them of the weight of snow they carried.  I think they appreciated my efforts.  They look more relaxed now.

Balsam firs

One of best parts of winter are snow covered Balsam

Snowshoe Hare tracks?

I reached the look out at sunset.  Too bad there were a lot of clouds.  Still, this is a great spot for its accessibility.  One has a great view of Pico Ski Resort.  On a beautiful day, this would make a great spot to watch the sunset.  The summit of Deer Leap Mountain is visible close by.  A little to the east is Blue Ridge Mountain.  There are also some views to the east.  Some of the slopes on Killington are visible.  I will come again.

Blue Ridge Mt and Deer Leap in foreground

Summit of Deer Leap

Pico at sunset

On the way down I made the mistake of going off trail.  This made things very difficult.  But it was fun when I was going down.  When gravity worked against me, not so much.  Puff Daddy was not happy either, since I generated far too much warmth.  When I finally made it back to my tracks, I dove head first into them.  Breaking trail is no joke.