Burke Mountain

The hike Carol and I took to Unknown Pond in Avery's Gore for her Vermont 251 +4 Geocaching Challenge finale inspired me to head back up to the Northeast Kingdom for another hike. One of the best viewpoints in the NEK is Burke Mountain (3267 ft.), which is also easily accessible off I-91. I had climbed Burke in spring snow back in 1986 with the late John Dickerman, who also gave me a tour around the Lyndonville area where he (and his brother Mike) grew up. That was a great and fairly rugged hike, and I remembered that the views were far-sweeping.

 

Due to morning dithering I got a crack o' noon start from the parking area at the base of Burke Mountain Ski Area. 

The Red Trail is the primary access to the top of the mountain. Its upper section can be combined with the West Peak Trail (aka the Blue Trail) to create a scenic loop.

After an initial easy approach along an old logging road, one short section of the Red Trail coincides with a mountain bike trail called Kirby Connector (Burke is hugely popular as a mountain biking center). Along here is a magnificent open hardwood forest.

 

 Above the Kirby Connector the Red Trail provides a wonderful moderately-graded meandering climb with excellent footing - a very well-designed trail.

 

A number of blowdowns from a recent storm (microburst?) had been cleared. Thank you!

 

The hardwoods continued well up on the mountain along this fine section of trail.

 

At the junction for the upper loop (~2370 ft.) I turned right onto the West Peak Trail; reports I'd seen recommended ascending this steeper, rougher trail and descending the Red Trail.

The blue-blazed trail soon became steeper and rougher and more like a trail in the Whites.

There were a few short scrambles.

 

 

A ferny high elevation forest.

Rugged enough.

 

Neat ledgy terrain on the approach to the West Peak,

 

 

 

The first viewpoint, looking west to the Green Mountains. 

 

A well-kept lean-to on the summit of West Peak, managed by the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Much of Burke Mountain is within Darling State Park.

 

First peek out towards the White Mountains while descending off West Peak.

 

 

The Summit Trail is one of two trails that make a sort of loop around the summit area. Despite the fact that Burke hosts a major ski  area an an automobile toll road, except for a couple of spots the trails stay away from these developments and provide a remote mountain experience.

 

 

An unmarked spur descends off the Summit Trail to an open ledge perch with a wide view to the south. The White Mountains are seen in the distance beyond nearby Kirby Mountain.

Looking SW to central Vermont.

 

Zooming in on the Whites: (L to R) The Twins, Garfield, Franconia Range, Cannon, Kinsmans, Moosilauke, Clough and the Benton Range.

 

 

A hard spot to leave!

 

The Profile Trail makes an interesting loop around the south side of the peak.

Thick woods!

 

The trail passes under this cool rock profile. 

 

 

 

 

It then climbs to a spur that leads to the top of the profile. 

 

This slightly precarious perch (with a major dropoff) offers a commanding view, with nearby Umpire Mountain in the foreground.

Good look at the sprawling Whites.

 

The Pilot and Pliny Ranges.

Presidentials.

 

 

Wide-angle panorama.

 

 Summit benchmark.

 

 

 

The lofty summit fire tower. 

 

 

 

From the fire tower: Camel's Hump and the Worcester Range.

Willoughby Gap and Bald Mountain in the Northeast Kingdom.

More Northeast Kingdom, with Gore Mountain in back on the right.

View from ski trail, just off Red Trail on the descent.

The upper part of Red Trail has some rugged sections, but below the loop junction it offers a very pleasant descent. The round trip to Burke Mountain, including the upper loops, is ~6 miles with ~2200 ft. of elevation gain.