The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-08-11
ABOUT MT. HUNGER.
An Article of Interest to Those Who
Have Been Shouting "Greater YER
mani :,

spreading of the knowledge of the
the State, have field for effort with
in ten miles easy drive of the city
While not the highest peak in the
State, it is 5000 feet high and over
and the view from its summit spreads
| from the Adirondacks to the White
Mountains and from near the Cana
dian line to beyond Killington peak
in the southern part of the State.
Mount Mansfield and Cancels Hump
are the only nearby peaks that are
higher and it is nearly level with the
camp on Cancels Hump.
Standing at the corner of Middle
sex, Waterbury, Stowe and Worcester,
in what is known as Bear Swamp in
Middlesex, is Mount Hunger, noun
tain which was once a famous resort,
with stage line from the Pavilion
Hotel part way up the mountain and
footpath with stairs the rest of the
way.
The mountain derives its name, ac-
cording to an old tradition, from the
| fact that in the early days of the town
party of deer hunters became lost on
| its summit one night and remained
there until the next forenoon with no
food or shelter. On their return they
were asked where they had been and
t hey replied ION Mount Hunger"
In October of 1877, Theron Bailey,
of this city, proprietor of the Pavilion
| Hotel at that time, became convinced
| that the mountain could be made a
| pleasure resort and he engaged Will
liam Chaplin of Middlesex to construct
road to the top of the mountain
Owners of adjoining land gave deeds
of right of way and 25 acres on top
and in 60 working days a road over
two miles long was constructed, all
but the last half mile being accessible
to teams and the remainder so well
provided with ratings and stairs
that people over 80 years of age were
able to climb to the top. 1t is related
that the Hon. Daniel Baldwin of this
town made the ascent twice after he
had passed the S6th milestone. Six
horse teams easily went over half way
up the slope.
A house and observatory were built
on the summit and during the sum-
mers of 1878, 70 and 80 several hun
dred people made the trip and the
mountain became famous scenic re-
sort Later the growth of other re-
| sorts, both in and out of the State de-
tracted from this place and the road
was left to decay and ruin. Lumber
ing interests secured possession of
the land and used the old highway and
path in getting out logs, while fires
completed the ruin.
In 1903 the entire mountain was
wept by forest fires and the last trace
of the old-time improvements was OBJ
liberated. Now but few people ever
visit the top of the mountain, the
number being restricted mostly to the
young people of the town of Middle
sex.
! Mount Munger and its sister noun
tain, White Rock. are easily visible
from this city. The latter is picked
out by the apparent boulder lying
on the level top of the mountain.
A very small expenditure of money
would restore the team road over half
way up the side and the remainder is
comparatively easy path No part of
the entire climb would be as hard as
the last mile of the present trail up
Camels Hump. A spring on the sum-
NIT almost never fails to give a large
| flow Of water. In the sag between tie
two mountains is an ideal site for a
camp similar to that on the Hump,
giving those visiting the resort the
easy walk to White Rock or the hard
er climb to Mt. Hunger.
The top of Mt. Hunger is almost as
bald as the Golden Dome of the State
| House and into the bare rock has been
cut the name of the peak. Although
cut many years ago the letters are
still deep enough to be readily seen
and bid fair to remain legible for
many years to come
Bear Swamp, at the foot of these
two mountains, is famed the country
round as trout fishing Mecca, while
several local people have built shacks
in the woods along the streams in
which to spend the week-ends
If local people would take hold Of
this proposition with the vim with
which the Camel's Hump Club of Wa
terbury has exploited Camel's Hump
Montpelier would soon restore the
old-time fame of this mountain,
which combines ease of accessibility,
easy climb and excellent view