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About
Dorset, VT, Danby, VT
Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below.
Looking down the Jeep road just above the first height of land
Route: Jeep road, herd path, (Dorset Peak North Peak), herd path, (Dorset Peak), herd path, (Dorset Peak South Peak), herd path, jeep road
I was able to drive about 3/4 of a mile up the Jeep road with out many issues, though cars with low clearance may not fare as well. Parking in a field, I continued on foot up the road, passing two small water crossings, then, about 8 minutes later (not taking any left hand turns), an old cabin on the left.
The road steepened up after this, becoming a bit of a workout (though never overly steep). Reaching an obvious height of land, the Jeep road reached a T intersection. Left went downhill, while right went uphill. Heading right and thus uphill, the grades were much more gradual. I avoided taking any of the right hand turns thereafter and eventually found myself at another height of land (with some makeshift trail markers pointing right). I went left first, to the northern peak, to see if there might be any views. I didn't look around too long and found none (not that there would be any in the fog). Back at the junction, I followed the makeshift signs (to the right) southwest and soon found myself at the highpoint of Dorset Peak, marked with a backwards sign and cannister. I didn't see any evidence of any views. After taking a bit of a break, I continued southwest.
About 7 miles later, I found myself at a junction marked with an old trail sign. I went straight through it, heading to what the sign said was Dorset Peak (contrary to the USGS topo maps).
Five minutes after passing the old trail sign, I found myself at another trail junction, marked with the famous doorknob tree. I took a right, then an immediate left, noticably going uphill on perhaps a snowmobile trail.
Three minutes later, I found myself at the old fire tower. I suspect there could be directional views down a trail cut from this peak, however otherwise there probably wouldn't be much to see.
From the tower, I took what would have been a sharp right turn, dropping steeply down a straight (at first) trail. Three minutes later, I hit a Jeep or logging road and took a left to continue downhill. About a dozen minutes after that, I reached the original Jeep road I had ascended. From there, I continued down to the lower height of land, took the left, and descended back to my vehicle.
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Looking up the Jeep road from the field about .7 mile up.
Dorset Peak
Back to Dorset Peak Profile
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