After having gone to Merck Forest the previous weekend, I made a followup visit to show this special place to Leesa. On my solo visit, I climbed Antone Mountain. This time we made a clockwise loop by first heading to the lean-to at Stone Lot, then Gallop Peak, Ridge, Dunc's Place, The Glen, Spruce Cabin, Viewpoint Cabin and back to the Visitor Center.
This was a reconnaissance to check out the rental cabins in addition to walking some trails. We knew most of the cabins were rented, but we could at least see where they were and what they looked like on the outside.
The snow was no longer deep, but it was easier to hike with snowshoes than without, so that's what we did. Most people were post holing and the trails were a mess for that reason, but with the snowshoes we were able to walk on the edge of the trails and not have to watch every step.
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| Leesa in hollow tree between the Visitor Center and the Farm. |
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| Leesa heading towards Stone Lot from the Farm. |
Our first stop after walking through the Farm, was the Stone Lot lean-to. It is situated on a little plateau in a ravine and overlooks a nice stream.
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| Stone Lot lean-to |
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| Stone Lot lean-to |
Our next stop was Gallop Peak. We approached from the southwest. There were no views from the summit. We didn't go past the summit to the northeast, so we don't know if anything opened up at the north end of the ridge.
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| On the way to Gallop Peak from Stone Lot |
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| Excellent signage throughout |
Continuing on, we went to "The Ridge" which boasts a cabin and a fine view. The cabin was occupied so we didn't get to close to it, but it definitely was a nice spot.
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| Ridge Cabin |
Next, we dropped down to Dunc's Place where a retired sugarhouse is now a rental cabin. Once again it was occupied, but it sits in a nice quiet private setting.
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| Dunc's Place... a retired sugarhouse, now a rental cabin |
The Glen offers a pavilions of sorts and several lean-tos for group camping.
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| Shelter at The Glen |
On the way back we walked past Spruce Cabin and climbed to Viewpoint Cabin. This a small 2 person cabin that offers great views to the west of Antone Mountain and the surrounding hills.
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| Viewpoint Cabin |
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| Antone Mountain from Viewpoint Cabin. |
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| The inside of Viewpoint Cabin |
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| Another view of the inside of Viewpoint Cabin |
It was a gorgeous bluebird day and I caught a little sunburn for the first time this spring. At some point, we'll reserve one of these cabins for a couple days and continue exploring the area. It's a well run operation and beautiful location. What's not to like!
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 8.6 miles
Hike Time: 6 hours, including stops
Total Vertical Gain: ~1800'
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| The route (hiked counter-clockwise) |
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