Windsor County High Point Trip Report
Gillespie Pk (3,366 ft)
Date: November 26, 2003
Author: Mohamed Ellozy
I drove from the east, coming by I-89 to VT 107 to VT 100 to VT 73. Parking is immediately (0.1 mile)
west of Brandon Gap, the lot is on the south side of the road. For purists the Long Trail crosses the gap at
the height of land, so walk along the road to pick it up. For others there is a path from the north side of the
road opposite the parking area that soon joins the LT.
The GMC's Guide to the Long Trail map shows three peaks - Mount Horrid (3,126 feet),
Cape Lookoff Mountain (3,320 feet), and Gillespie Peak (3,366 feet).
Neither the map nor the text shows a small knob on the south side of Gillespie Peak that could be
mistaken for the summit, fortunately my altimeter showed it to
be over 100 feet lower than Cape Lookoff Mountain, whereas Gillespie Peak is slightly higher.
There is a sign at the summit of Gillespie Peak, a totally undistinguished wooded summit.
The distance one way is 3.3 miles and the net elevation gain (summit elevation minus road elevation)
is 1,183 feet. The latter figure is not very meaningful, I estimate that about 500 feet of elevation are lost
(100 feet going down Mount Horrid, 300 feet going down Cape Lookoff Mountain and a final 100 feet going
down the unnamed bump), for about 1,700 feet of total elevation gain on the way up, and 500 more feet of
elevation gain on the way "down".
The sun came out as I was returning, and the open hardwoods on the south face of Mount Horrid were very
beautiful, white birches standing in the midst of white snow.