Ethan Allen East Peak-Duxbury VT-May 29, 2023

Distance: 6 Miles

Elevation Gain: 1690 Feet

Trails Used: Snowmobile Trail, Bushwhack

I have been wanting to do this peak for a while now as it is close to home. This peak had an obvious approach from the north. You would start from the Monroe Trailhead and follow the old road shown on Gaia GPS into Beaver Meadow where you would start the bushwhack. I would be hiking with my dad and he also wanted to go up in there as he knew of some cliffs in the area. 

Ethan Allen East Peak is located in Duxbury, Vermont. It is on the New England 3000 Footers and requires a bushwhack to reach its summit. There is also a register jar on the summit which is a bonus. 

My dad and I decided to use our bikes to our advantage and bike in as far as possible before bushwhacking. We biked in on the snowmobile/ski trail towards Beaver Meadow. It was a very hot and humid day but there was not a cloud in the sky. We encountered a fisherman and his dog and said hi. We then continued biking until a sign said no bikes beyond this point. My dad and I stashed our bikes and began hiking the rest of the roughly .6 miles to the start of the bushwhack. 

We reached Beaver Meadow, which has a dried-up pond and jumped into the woods. We quickly came across some cliffs and walked around them. My dad estimated these cliffs to have decent rock and be about 30 feet tall. We rounded them and climbed into a shallow col in between a Northeastern spur of Ethan Allen East Peak. We then began to bushwhack through hobble and over a downed tree here and there. However, the bushwhacking was not too bad. We came out onto the summit quickly pouring sweat. The bugs were so bad that we signed the register, took some pics, and took off back down the mountain. 

On the way down, we decided to go over the spur we had passed by earlier and on top of the cliff. It was thicker there but this had also been a reconnaissance mission for the cliff. We got multiple views south and east at multiple points before we finished the descent back to the road and found our bikes. The bike ride out took a few mere minutes.


Me soaked in sweat at the summit of Ethan Allen East Peak (Elevation 3160')


Another summit pic. This was very painful to stand around because of the bugs. Notice me swatting my face to get rid of the black flies.



The vista on top of the cliffs on the way down. I believe this is looking toward the Northfield Mountains.


A nice hike in some ways but in others absolute hell because of the bugs, the heat, and the humidity. It was nice to get some views and get another 3000-footer in the bag. However, I could barely stop or else the bugs would find me. Not too many pictures from this ascent but cool ones for the ones that I did get. In the end, the bike ride was a savior just cruising downhill and the breeze whipping in my face. Happy hiking!


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