Did you know that there are two Green Mountain Club cabins accessible by Bolton Backcountry terrain? Bryant Camp which sleeps 8 in its rustic loft is reachable via a short trail through the nordic area in the mansfield state forest. The second is Bolton cabin located lower on the mountain, across from Timberline Lodge and The Ponds. These two shelters can be rented through the Green Mountain Club from August through the winter for a uniquely beautiful outdoor experience.
Today I meandered my way out to Bryant Camp while checking out the Nordic trails and see how the Disc Golf holes held up this past winter. The route I took was beautiful as the beginnings of bright summer green pop up around tree branches and underbrush. The route I took went up wilderness lift line to the left and onto World Cup. From there I followed WC until taking a right turn to go up Coyote. It was on this trail when I finally noticed that the spotted leaves that were covering the entire forest floor were in fact, Trout Lilies in their early stage.
The two-tone green leaves covered large areas of the ground as the Lilies are colony-forming, and upon closer inspection the early bulbs of spring could be seen hanging over the leaves. Some of the flowers were slightly farther along than others but it seemed as if across the board they would be blooming in the next couple of days. It would appear that in the next week or two the nordic trails will be covered in a huge bloom of trout lilies, with green speckled leaves continuing as far as the eye can see in multiple directions in the backcountry. It’s an excellent time to hike around the mountain, come see for yourself!
