I had a gorgeous spring day for a late morning climb of Blueberry Mountain in the Benton Range from its NW trailhead, followed by a bushwhack traverse across Jeffers Mountain and a long descent back to the trail.
I had seen several reports that the short side road to the trailhead had been washed out, and it is a big one.
There's room for a couple of cars to park alongside Page Road adjacent to the washout.
Yikes!
It doesn't seem like this little road will be opening anytime soon.
It's a short walk along the edge of the washout to the trailhead.
The first half-mile of the trail follows a pleasant old farm road on private land.
There's one more washout on this section.
The trail then follows logging roads of various vintage. Spring greenery was sprouting.
The trail passes through an interesting area with many stone walls...
...and several cellar holes.
Artifacts.
There are several easy brook crossings.
A nice gentle hardwood section at the base of Blueberry Mountain.
The trail then climbs steadily through a mossy spruce forest.
The upper slopes of Blueberry feature a pleasing combination of ledge and scrub.
As you get higher, the ledges present long views across the Connecticut River valley to distant peaks in Vermont.
The uppermost spot with western views is worth visiting for those ascending Blueberry from the east side off Long Pond Road.
Killington and Pico to the SW.
To the north are the ledgy summits of Sugarloaf, Black and The Hogsback, neighbors of Blueberry in the Benton Range.
Many a hiker's favorite spot on Blueberry is this trailside ledge on the eastern slope with an intimate view of Mount Moosilauke.
An especially fine view into Slide Ravine.
It's a hard spot to leave.
One of the many red pines that populate the upper slopes of Blueberry.
With my late morning start I knew I might
be pushing it time-wise for the traverse along the ridge over Jeffers,
but at mid-afternoon I climbed the short side path to the actual summit of Blueberry - marked by several iron pins from the late 1800s U.S. Coastal Survey - and headed north through a barrier of dense scrub.
This almost looked like a manmade well.
Lots of moose sign on this ridge.
Blowdown to skirt.
I was happy to break out into the gorgeous open hardwood forest that cloaks the south ridge of Jeffers. In this col there was an impressive colony of False Hellebore.
As I knew from a previous spring visit, early wildflowers abound on this ridge, such as these Spring Beauties.
The Trout Lilies were beyond counting.
Definitely the stars of the show.
Plenty of Red Trilliums, too.
The ridge is a magical place on a bluebird spring day.
Interesting terrain.
The gnarled trees reminded me of ridges in the Catskills.
I guess you could call it bushwhacking.
Like a park.
A ridgetop meadow with a peek at Moosilauke.
Fleecy clouds.
This scene reminded me of the upper ridge on Lone Mountain in the Catskills.
Canister and antler.
A sign, too.
Continuing north along the ridge, I made a detour out to the east edge to visit a remarkable quartzite ledge I call the "A-Frame."
Back in 2010, the precarious perch atop this ledge offered a nice view of Moosilauke and the Kinsmans. All that's left now is a partial glimpse of the Moose.
The A-Frame from below. A wide flanking maneuver is required to get on top.
Farther along, a trace of the USFS Jeffers Mountain Trail, abandoned in the 1940s.
Farther along I made my way out to a dramatic quartzite ledge on the western edge of Jeffers's northern shoulder.
Close by to the north are Sugarloaf and The Hogsback.
A vast view out to Vermont.
Southward to Smarts, Cube and Piermont.
Looking down.
Nice place to hang out, but I couldn't stay long.
I headed north along the ridge to find a safe spot to drop down to the west. High up on the slope I pushed through a brushy recent clearcut.
Most of the 1200-ft. decent to the lower Blueberry Mountain Trail was through open hardwoods.
The biggest obstacle was a huge clearcut that forced me into a long traverse across its top edge, but I did get a nice near-sunset view. Thanks to the open woods below here, I made it out just before dark.
