Bald Hill and Middle Mountain(Pawlet, Vermont)

 After hiking Haystack Mountain in Pawlet, Vermont earlier in the week, I was determined to explore the rest of the Nature Conservancy's 1437 acre North Pawlet Hills area.   Haystack, as well as Middle Mountain and Bald Hill make up a trio of north-south peaks that are known as the Three Sisters.  In addition to the Three Sisters, there are three other smaller peaks that make up the "North Pawlet Hills".  My main goal was to hike Bald and Middle and possibly more, depending on how I felt.  While the marked trail up Haystack from Waite Hill Road is the most well known access point to this area, there is another lesser known access point from the end of driveable Rees Road to the north.  There are no marked trails from this parking area or on any of these peaks other than Haystack, so today would be all bushwhack(with some woods roads as well).  Elevation to start from the roped off part of Rees Road was just under 700 feet. 

The road passes over a well built vehicle bridge and cabin before its condition deteriorates.  Makes for great walking though and I made good time climbing steadily eastward.

As the road continues on, it branches off in a myriad of directions.  Although my main goal for the day was to hit Bald and Middle, I first thought I'd follow the woods road towards 1255 foot Lincoln Hill, which is only partially on Conservancy Land.  From an open meadow on my way up Lincoln, I enjoyed this nice view of Bald Hill's ridge.

Near the summit, but being sure to stay on public land I enjoyed a large area of wide open hardwoods.

Even though Lincoln is a fairly small peak, it has some through the trees views from its steep south and west facing slopes.

From Lincoln, I headed east over towards Bald Hill's steep slopes.   At the foot of Bald, I stood at 1080 feet elevation, meaning I'd be climbing over 1000 feet in roughly 3/4 of a mile to the 2090 foot summit.

Slick fallen leaves on nearly vertical slopes made footing quite treacherous in spots.  I had to really dig my heels in making for a challenging ascent.

Bald Hill is a tough little mountain, with steep terrain and cliff bands to negotiate.

Circling north around a large band of 30 foot ledges, I finally made my way up towards the sun drenched summit area.

One last push brought me up to the large clearing atop the 2090 foot summit of Bald Hill.  Actually looked more like a hayfield than a mountain top.

From the open field atop the summit there are truly outstanding views south towards Middle and Haystack.

Middle Mountain in the foreground and Haystack's summit cone poking out behind it.  Incredible spot.

The open views continue for a little ways down, mostly to the east.  There was actually even a bit of haze on this unseasonably mild fall day.

A straightforward drop south towards Middle on slick fallen oak leaves brought me down to an incredible ledge just above the col.

The open ledge provided a perfect view of Middle Mountain, which looked close enough to touch.

Even though many leaves are past peak, there is still some good color hanging on in spots.  This is a nice look east from the rock ledge near the saddle.

The drop down off the rock ledge was not easy by any means.  I had to carefully backtrack north before finding a suitable spot around these ledges.  Once finally down into the saddle, I caught this glimpse back up at the ledges.  Wow!

From the saddle, I headed straight back up Middle's open hardwood slopes.  Within a few minutes of climbing I captured this neat look back north at Bald Hill.  A careful eye might be able to pick out the open patch at the summit.

A nice and easy 'whack brought me up to the 1958 foot summit of Middle Mountain.  The summit was fairly open, grassy, and oak filled.

A short drop down to the SW off the summit brought me to a spectacular rock outcrop with up close and personal views of neighboring Haystack Mountain.  From here, Haystack's summit is just over 1/3 of a mile away and I was actually to spot people on its top.

East facing views from the open rock, with a colorful blueberry patch to sweeten the vista.

A nice and easy descent off Middle Mountain brought me back down into its saddle with Bald. 

After a steep drop down on slick leaves it sure felt great to see the good woods roads back down low.  There are several branches that break off in different directions but I followed the main one(which I believe is an extension of Rees Road)all the way back down to the car.

Got back to the car feeling a bit fatigued from the last two days of bushwhacking.  Didn't see another soul all day-except for the long distant view of the folks atop Haystack.  6 miles RT with 2200 feet of combined ascent.  

Today's route below.  Red=Ascent   Blue=Descent