I was undecided at first which loop I was going to do by myself, but in the end I picked Sugarloaf. As I pulled up to the trailhead I saw a group of 30 or so people heading into the woods. I knew it wouldn't be long before I would catch up to them so I took my time getting my boots on and ready for the trip. I passed them and stopped to take a few pics of the stream and small waterfall:
I made it to the Chairs but stopped only for a short look as the big group was coming up to them and photos would have been difficult.
I continued on to the Beaver Pond, where someone was hard at work!
This was a picture taken with my iPhone and ended up being the nicest one of the day in my opinion. I had my regular camera as well, these photos are a mix of the phone and my regular camera.
This is by far the weirdest looking tree I have ever encountered...
There was a view point off the left of the trail with limited views. The rocks and dirt were pretty loose and I would not advise trying to get a look here. Here are the pictures I snapped while there.
Zooming in on the rocks across the way. These look interesting and I would like to get up to them sometime. I need to research whether its very difficult to get there or if its private property. This is on the list for next summer's hiking!
Next, I headed up to the view point near the summit. Unfortunately, there were so many people there that I waited for them to leave. They stayed for 30 or so minutes so I just took a quick look, but no pictures. It was quite nice though! There was another set of rocks that have a great view further along on the trail, but that too was so crowded I just kept going...
Finally, I came to an area where you could just tell that there was a great view, but it was just above the tree line. So I decided if I wanted any views, it was tree climbing time. I managed to make it up without breaking the camera and here is a shot. It was nicer than it looks in the picture.
I headed down and made it to the final viewpoint that overlooks Plateau Mountain and Mink Hollow. This was my favorite viewpoint on the hike because of the appearance of the mountains criss crossing each other.
Sugarloaf took about 4 hours and 50 minutes to complete, including the 30 minute wait at the summit. All in all, it was a great hike and I would like to do it again with less people on the trail. Will bring some friends as well and really take our time along the way.
