Fall fashion. We returned to Mount Belvidere to climb that damn fire tower again. It is fall foliage season so we also went there to avoid the crowds.
More waterfalls.
Heather on one of the steep bits.
The view from the top of the fire tower. Winds were harsh and when I got to the top I actually remained seated.
Again beautiful views.
Sterling Forest is part of the Stowe Land Trust, private lands for public use.
Hmmmmmm Fall.
There were swings at the top over the view.
Just a cool place to chill. It must of been interesting to get it all up there.
Moss, I have to touch the moss.
A memorial for a family grave. I love the design.
Now that is a covered bridge.
The Groton State Park has the Rail Trail running through it's lands. What use to be a railroad bed now is part of VAST (the Vermont snowmobiling trails) horse and walking trails.
Still used for active logging one of the few clear cut areas I have ever seen in Vermont afforded a beautiful view of the rocky cliffs opposite.
Due to heavy rain the water was running fast and hard.
I just liked this sign.
We turned around at this point. It looked fake with the golden fields and the fall foliage in the background.
The Stowe Land Trust holds tracts of private land for public access. Kichburn is one of these. What used to be a maple sugaring grove in the early 90's now is filled with trails. 
The tree won.
The old sugaring shack. There are lots of walking, running and skiing trails. It should be brilliant in winter.
This is a hike that defeated us before so we tackled it again from the south. It is about a 3,000 plus elevation gain and a damn hard hike.
This was the easy part.
By the time we got to the top we were tired and actually left packs on the trail in order not to be encumbered while scrambling over sharp rocks and dizzying heights.
This is almost the peak. There was a straight drop off and the view was incredible.
These guys were at the top making tea on a shear drop off. The mountains around are vivid and stunning. It pushed my abilities to deal with heights and our stiff hiking boots made rock scrambling hard.
And the decent.
The Worcester Range is east of Montpelier and west of Mansfield. It isn't large in contrast to the Adirondacks. It seemed like a quiet place to go. Our approach to Worcester Mountain was from the west.
There were these huge veins of marble throughout the rocks. 
Sal enjoyed the scrambling.
The view from the top.
Again a nice hike, good view and mountains all around. We could almost see the Adirondacks.
This was a short hike just north of where we skied in the winter at Groton State Park. We had a map but trails were badly marked and a couple of new road meant we got a bit lost... I got us a bit lost I mean.
One hell of a mushroom.
And one hell of a view.
So for those keeping track, this is the peaks around Hurricane Mountain. We climbed this area back in spring but didn't get on any of the side trails. So this time we headed up towards Big Crow.
We ended up following the exposed ridge line towards Hurricane. Another clear beautiful day with stunning views.
Looking back along the trail.
My island.
As you can see I was carrying a bed roll. We were planning on spending the night there but we got to the lean-to (which is about a mile from the car) and decided to hike out and enjoy the night in our bed with a lazy Sunday.
That's right, finally caught a real fish. It took all summer, and given I am writing this two months after, it was the last fish I caught. 
It was beautiful on Otter Creek. A calm nice day where the fish were biting and the silence refreshing.
Capped with a beautiful sunset. What more could I want...
