Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Late Winter 2017 | 35 Many interesting theories have been created surrounding the Bennington Triangle’s disappearances. One such claim is that of a man-eating rock, which was introduced in Joseph A. Citro’s 2009 book, “The Vermont Monster Guide.” Despite these interesting stories, one could easily argue that a major factor in the disappearances is the remote character of the region surrounding Glastenbury Mountain. People simply wander off, become lost and are just never found. The Bennington Triangle has also been a hot spot for UFO activity, Big Foot sightings and strange lights and sounds. There is even an old local folklore that Native Americans regarded the Glastenbury area as “cursed” and avoided it, as well as tales of hairy “wild men” and other strange beasts in the woods. The most recent recorded sighting was in 2003 when a Winooski man believes he saw a bigfoot-type creature at dusk while driving north on Route 7. According to the story in the Bennington Banner, “Ray Dufresne, 45, was heading back up north after visiting his daughter at Southern Vermont College, when he spotted a 6-foot-plus tall, 270-pound, ‘big, black thing’ walking upright from near the highest point of elevation on Route 7. “It was hairy from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet,” said Dufresne. “It was not walking like a normal person.” Although Dufresne couldn’t see the animal’s face, he said from his vantage point of about 140 feet away, he could see that the creature had very long arms and was covered in long, black hair. He said it Trails Report walked east into the woods toward Glastenbury Mountain. Dufresne isn’t the only one to report strange sightings of such creatures in the Bennington area.” Now that you know the history and lore of the area wouldn’t you like to take a shot at riding your sled up Glastenbury Mountain? There is a 60- foot steel tower on top of the mountain that can serve as your destination. The tower was erected on the mountain in 1927 for fire protection, and even though the last fire warden left the mountain in 1949, the tower is still there today for you to enjoy. A panoramic view awaits you! So get up there and snap a photo of your sled or a loved one 60 feet down below! The one-way trail leading up to the tower is Corridor 71, and takes off from Corridor 7A at intersection BN 60 and heads uphill through the trees to BN 61 and BN 62, where the trail quickly climbs up to the peak and the fire tower. The trail down is also one way and is labeled Corridor 72. It will take you down through intersections BN 63 and BN 64. The trail is maintained by the Shaftsbury Sno Pilots and is groomed by Mark Lukas of Glastenbury Grooming. Mark and his crew sometimes have to shovel for three to four hours to fill in the trenches made by sleds spinning through the deep snow on the mountain before they are able to groom it with their 4’ drags and snowmobiles. It is a thankless job, so if you ride this section of trail, please take it easy and consider the groomers who try to keep the trail in shape for your enjoyment. Who wouldn’t want to take a trip to the tower in an attempt to find Bigfoot or to simply have lunch at the top with a spectacular view from the tower! Thanks to the Shaftsbury Sno Pilots volunteers, the trails are signed very well, so you should not worry about becoming the 11th missing person near Glastenbury Mountain. The snow does get deep up that high in elevation, so please be careful not to get lost in the snow! I hope you enjoyed this destination and will consider making your next snowmobile adventure a trip to the Bennington Triangle! You can be sure to tell your friends and relatives that you survived. Maybe you will be the first person to get an actual photo of Bigfoot! If you do, would you send it to us for Snowmobile Vermont so we can publish it? Maybe keep a little beef jerky in your snowmobile bag to entice it out of the woods. I hear that Bigfoot likes beef jerky. Good luck on the mountain! Mario D’Acunto and Steve Bender enjoy the view from atop the frosty 60-foot fire tower. (Steve Bender photo) Corridor 71 up Glastenbury Mountain and 72 on the way down are one-way trails and are difficult to maintain, so please be considerate when riding there. (Ryan Bottesi photo)