Division III

ARLINGTON-WARDSBORO ROAD TO

MAD TOM CAMP

The Trail follows the highway eastward about 1 mi. to the Grout Job, an abandoned lumber village. From this point an approach trail to the left takes one directly to Stratton Pond and Willis Ross Camp, a distance of 3 1/2 mi. thru beautiful hardwood forest, and, for nearly half the distance, beside a rushing mountain stream, the headwaters of the Deerfield River. Very easy grade; blue painted blazes.

The Long Trail continues along the highway for about 2 mi. east of the Grout Job, and then turns north to Webster Camp, which is visible from the highway. About half way from the Grout Job to Webster Camp is a bronze tablet on a granite marker, about 200 ft. north of the road, marking the spot where Daniel Webster addressed an audience said to have numbered 15,000 people, at a Whig convention during the log cabin and hard cider campaign of 1840. Webster Camp is an open front camp with stove and bunks for 8.

Distance from Camp Caughnawaga, 8 3/4 mi.; from Glastenbury Mt. Camp, 13 1/2 mi. Time from Caughnawaga, 8 hr.; from Glastenbury, 12-13 hr. (Southbound about the same).

Leaving Webster Camp the summit of Stratton Mt., 2 3/4 mi. north, is reached by steady climbing, nowhere very steep. There is a fine spring near the summit. At the top are the Fire Warden's cabin and a steel tower. This tower was erected by the Stratton Mt. Club and is at present maintained by the State Forestry Dept.

Division III 27

It provides the finest view on the southern part of the Trail, including parts of N. H., Mass., and N. Y., as well as most of southern Vt. To the south, Grout Pond and Somerset Reservoir, and to the west, Stratton Pond, are near at hand, while Mt. Greylock in Mass., Monadnock in N. H., and Killington Pk. in the Green Mts. are easily visible in clear weather.

The Trail now drops westward to Stratton Pond and Willis Ross Camp, 3 mi. away, passing thru the DuFresne Job, another abandoned lumber camp. The descent of Stratton Mt., tho nowhere difficult, is much steeper than the ascent from the south. Willis Ross Camp was erected by the Worcester, Mass., Section in 1929, and has a good stove, cooking utensils and bunks for 12; it is located at the east end of Stratton Pond, the largest and most beautiful body of water on the Long Trail. This is one of the most attractive camp sites on the whole Trail. Distance from Webster Camp, 5 3/4 mi.; time, about 6 hr. (Southbound, about the same.)

The Long Trail follows the south shore of the pond on its way north, but an optional route follows the north shore line, meeting the Long Trail at the west end of the pond. The blazes on this north shore trail are painted blue. From the west end of Stratton Pond the Trail continues on to Bourn Pond thru beautiful forests of hardwood, much of it first growth timber, a distance of 2 3/4 mi. from Willis Ross Camp, with an easy grade all the way.

Bourn Pond, tho much smaller than Stratton, is a beautiful sheet of water, with several small islands, in a wild and lonely setting. There is a boat on Bourn Pond but none on Stratton.