Stark Mountain (3662 feet)

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Today I ascended Stark Mountain via the Jerusalem Trail and the Long Trail (2.8 miles; elevation change: 2070 feet, average grade: 740 ft/mi). The trail head is on Jim Dwire Rd.. There was space for parking for a few cars along the road.

The Jerusalem Trail ascended by easy grades for some distance, gradually steepening. The trail became quite steep during its final ascent to the Long Trail. From there I went north (away from Ellen), past the Orvis Lookout, and up over mixed grades to the summit of Stark Mountain. There is a false summit before reaching the true summit, so pay attention to your location to be sure you go far enough. Today there was a threat of rain at the beginning of my hike, but the skies eventually cleared and good views could be had.

Although the summit was not clear, the forest was open enough for some good views, particularly of Mt. Ellen to the south. The picture at the top of this page was taken just below the summit and shows the Long Trail heading south through the brush with Ellen in the background. On the way back, lower on the trail, but before reaching the Orvis Lookout, I got an even nicer view of Ellen through the trees, shown below.

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