Mount Worcester via Skyline Trail

This 11.5 mile round trip offers up stunning views, solitude and 6000' of elevation gain, though interestingly, the summit in question is about 300' lower in elevation than one of the trail junctions. Start from the Pinnacle Meadow parking lot. After picking up 1,000 feet in a mile heading over Hogback to the Skyline trail junction - the highest point of the trip at 3573' - the trail morphs into slightly disturbed ground cover. Painted trilliums and other plants are growing in the middle of this non-compacted trail surface. Exposed leaf litter and duff are the only indications of where the trail goes apart from blue blazes. The southern half of the Skyline Trail has its share of rocky changes in elevation, but the admittedly smoother path of this northern half packs a bit more punch. On to the moose element: scat and footprints lined the trail solidly between Worcester and the middle peak. The trail is often wet in places and though the ridge line is not a wetland, it is pretty soft in many places off trail. Clambering up the false summit offers a decent view of the surrounding topography to the southwest including West Hill, which Google Earth mistakenly throws in the path of the trail. (it is actually the little bump to the southeast of the middle peak). You will find yourself on the summit in 20 minutes.