Essex County High Point Trip Report

East Mtn

Date: December 6, 2003
Author: Cliff Young

The old radar installation on top has been outfitted with a testing station for evaluation of it's suitability for a wind farm. I can see why this would be a likely location with a road to the top already in place. There is a local guy who goes up each week to check on the instruments. I met him on my way down and chatted for a bit, but didn't realize why he was going up to check on things until later. The road was plowed as far as the barracks area and he indicated it would probably be plowed all winter due to logging in the area. I climbed to the top of the largest radar support structure and the views were fantastic. I'm certain I could pick out many county high points.

Ones I'm certain of:

Washington, Coos, NH
Lafayette, Grafton, NH
Old Speck, Oxford, ME
Mansfield, Chittenden, VT
Jay Peak, Orleans, VT
Big Jay, Franklin, VT
Ellen & Camels Hump, Washington, VT
Abraham, Addison, VT
Mount Orford, some county equivalent in Quebec.
I believe Killington, Rutland, VT could be seen but wasn't sure.

I'm sure Signal Mountain, Caledonia, VT could be seen but even though I've been there I couldn't recognize it from the north. There may be some other NH cohp's visible as well.

As I was driving out the road I met another guy who noticed my Maine plates and stopped to talk (O.K., he grilled me for a while and decided I was harmless). It was from him that I learned about the wind farm plans. He also said that the road is not normally plowed in the winter so if anyone has designs on a winter ascent this is the year to go. Unfortunately I did not get the name of the company doing the testing, but it is early in the process.