Backpacker

BACKPACKER.COM 11PHOTO BY MARK DALYGlastenbury MountainGREEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST, VT``````Follow the 272-mile Long Trail along thespine of the Green Mountains this monthand you’re guaranteed top-notch vistas ofslopes painted red and orange. But leave adetailed itinerary at home before you go: Inthe last century, half a dozen hikers havesimply vanished from the area now knownas the Bennington Triangle.``````DO ITPick up the Appalachian/Long Trailfrom VT 9 (42.885110, -73.115580) and takeit north. Mileage monsters can thru-hike20.4 miles to Kelley Stand Rd. (43.061171,-72.967758) below Stratton Mountain. It’s 9.miles to the Goddard Shelter and 9.4 to the3,748-foot Glastenbury summit. Short ontime? Do part for an out-and-back.``````Dead Horse MesaDEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK, UT``````Listen for the phantom whinnying of theherd of wild horses that was barricaded onthe mesa by cowboys in the 1800s. Somedied of dehydration, but most leapt off thesandstone precipice toward the green ribbonof the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.``````DO IT From the visitor center (38.487626,-109.735780), make a 4-plus-mile circuitthat traces the rim of the mesa by linkingthe East Rim and West Rim Trails (distancevaries with how many spurs you tack on).Going clockwise, the Basin, Meander, ShaferCanyon, and Rim Overlooks are each worththe negligible distance off the main loop.Bring an extra memory card for the photoopp at Dead Horse Point, and listen closely.``````Mound 72CAHOKIA MOUNDS STATEHISTORIC SITE, IL``````Meander around the eerie, 1,000-year-oldearthen mounds of ancient Cahokia insouthern Illinois—and rest easy knowingthat archaeologists excavated more than250 human skeletons from one. Fromthe vertical positioning of their fi ngers,scientists concluded the Cahokians hadbeen digging in the sand, very much alive,and trying to pull themselves out of themass burial.``````DO IT Check out the Cahokians’ earthworkon the Nature/Culture Trail, a 6.2-milecircuit. From the parking lot (38.654172,-90.058643), do the loop clockwise: Passthe Twin Mounds, then come up on Mound72 near mile .5. Continue past Woodhenge,a timber circle ˆ la Stonehenge, beforereaching Monks Mound and closing the loop.``````Find Haunted Hikes ($17; Falcon Guides)wherever books are sold.``````2002, a 1927 Chevy was discoveredin Lake Crescent’s depths, fi nally closingthe case on a couple that had beenmissing since 1929. They were entombedin Lake Crescent’s icy water for 73 years.In a chilling interview that was releasedby the FBI in 2013, convicted serialkiller Israel Keyes insinuated thathe’d dumped his victims in the cursedlake: “You guys know about LakeCrescent in Washington, right?” hetaunted his interrogators.Who knows how many secretsLake Crescent hides?“If you could ever get down [into theunderground stream that fl ows fromLake Crescent to Lake Sutherland],”said Dr. Charles P. Larson, a Tacoma-based pathologist who assisted with theIllingworth examination, “you wouldprobably fi nd from 50 to 100 bodies, allof which have turned to soap.”``````DO IT Walk along Lake Crescent’sglassy waters—admiring from afarseems safer—on the Spruce RailroadTrail, which traces its northern banks.The path meanders through Douglasfi r and Sitka spruce along a World WarI-era rail bed, maintaining water viewsthe whole way. Spurs to waterfalls dotthe route, which sometimes crossesbays and inlets on bridges. Keep youreyes peeled for the Lady of the Lake,a specter that’s reportedly been seengliding across the surface and believedto be Hallie Illingworth’s haunted spirit.Find the Spruce Railroad trailhead offBeach Road (48.094863, -123.805016);the path ambles some 12 miles westto Olympic Highway (48.075360,-123.954349) when merged with theOlympic Discovery Trail.``````Without major infl ows,Lake Crescent is crystal-clearyear-round—and something ofa corpse refrigerator.