Mt Philo in the Rain

 Nov 11, 2024

Ann & I drove her daughter back to UVM on Veteran's Day and brought our bikes.  We were hoping the rain would have subsided by the time we started our ride but we had no such luck. All the hills and mountains in this area fascinate me and Mt Philo stands out in particular when we drive by.

Mount Philo emerged millions of years ago in the mists of geologic time. Scientists call it a klippe, a relic of the Champlain Valley thrust fault, which means it is a leftover piece of older rock sitting on top of younger rock from the Champlain Valley. Such a fault appears when one immense plate of the Earth's crust is forced up over another. The formation of the Champlain Valley thrust fault, which occurred roughly 500 million years ago, is one of the mega-events that shaped the Champlain Valley.

Philo, like Snake Mountain off to the southwest and other rocky eminences rising above the valley, is an eroded remnant of the leading edge of that thrust.

The summit sits at 968 feet and has always offered a clear view of the Champlain Valley and he name "Philo" likely derives from the Greek word philo, meaning love.

Upon entering the State Park we immediately started climbing.

and what a climb it was with a nearly 23% ramp in the middle.

There were some nice BFRs or Glacial Erratics along the way.

Here is the 23% part of the climb

with some nice cliffs.

Visual map of the surrounding mountains.

Today's weather kept pretty much everything obscured off in the distance

but there were still some nice views. I think we are looking at Split Rock Mountain to the left and behind it is probably White Face Mountain.

A good view of Vergennes and Lake Champlain

Finally, the sun started to break out of the clouds.

Another view of White Face Mountain.

The Adirondaks

It was still a messy ride back to the parking lot.

I had a longer ride planned but Ann wasn't feeling up to it after that climb.