Sports

Matthew Dickerson: Of fall foliage and alpine ponds

A RED MAPLE leaf floats on the surface of Sugar Hill Reservoir, just one of a multitude of colorful foliage that surrounds the quiet body of water behind Goshen Dam.
Photo by Matthew Dickerson

Sugar Hill Reservoir in Goshen — more commonly referred to by the name of the structure that created it, Goshen Dam — has always been one of my favorite Vermont waters to paddle a canoe and cast a fly, especially in autumn. Yet somehow I hadn’t been there for several years. I’m not wholly to blame for that. For two years, the pond was almost entirely drained for a major repair and renovation project of the 100-year-old dam involving the building of a new intake structure. To say the pond was unconducive to paddling and fishing during that period would be an understatement. Then in 2023, with all the destructive flooding in Addison County (and beyond), it seemed that so many of the gravel roads in and around the national forest had been so badly washed out that I didn’t even bother trying. So on a beautiful late-September afternoon of 70-degree air, a pleasant breeze, and mixed clouds and sun, when my wife suggested we take our canoe for a paddle, I thought of Sugar Hill Reservoir.

The mountain reservoir sits in the northeast corner of Goshen off the Goshen-Ripton Road. The gravel access road is just a mile plus a few long strides south of the Moosalamoo Campground entrance (National Forest Road 24) on the opposite side of the Goshen-Ripton Road, and is just a few long strides less than a mile in length up that road to a small dirt parking space by the reservoir. Though it is a private, gated access road for Green Mountain Power, it is left open during summer months for public day use including hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, picnicking and biking. It has a small wooden sign more readily visible for cars traveling north.

The 60-foot-high Goshen Dam — and the 74-acre reservoir it created — were originally built in 1922-1923 as part of the hydroelectric Silver Lake Project. Although no electricity is generated at Goshen Dam itself, it acts as an important seasonal water impoundment, storing water during periods of high rain and snowmelt and controlling the flow of Sucker Brook. Water released through the dam flows down Sucker Brook, where at the much smaller structure known as Sucker Brook Dam about 2.5 miles downstream of the reservoir some of it is then later diverted at another small structure over to Silver Lake through an underground pipe while the rest continues down over the Falls of Lana.

After a hiatus in stocking, Vermont Fish & Wildlife began stocking Sugar Hill Reservoir again in 2023, putting in 1,300 brook trout in the one-year-old age class (averaging just under 10 inches each) along with another 414 brookies in the two-year-old age class (averaging closer to 15 inches).

Although I brought a fly rod with me on our recent visit, it was not primarily for the fishing that I suggested Goshen Pond, but for the foliage. And indeed, I never bothered to set up my rod and cast — though if I had seen any rising fish I certainly would have. The foliage, however, did not disappoint. The pond is surrounded by hills and more distant mountains and the shoreline is thickly wooded with a wonderful mix of hardwoods and evergreens. I saw maple, birch and oak as well as pine, cedar and spruce, and farther off what appeared to be hemlock and fir. As my wife noted within moments of putting our canoe on the water, we were surrounded by foliage of pretty much every color we could imagine: not just the myriad iconic shades of orange and crimson red we associate with maples, but also hues of yellow, gold and russet as well as purple, lilac, plum and ruby, and even countless variations of green. It was hard to take our eyes off the shore.

In the past, I have seen loons, eagles, ducks and osprey at the lake, as well as an occasional beaver and muskrat. On this day, the wildlife was scarce at first — just two or three kingfishers working the shoreline canopy. But then we paddled along the edge of the marsh grasses in the bay on the southeast side and spooked a great blue heron, which startled us as much we startled it when the prehistoric body lifted off on its huge wings and disappeared up the inlet stream. We also caught fleeting glimpses of mysterious LBBs (little brown birds) moving among the grasses.

We were not the only ones enjoying the lake. A half dozen other cars were spread around the dirt parking lot when we arrived. One group with kids was playing along the shoreline, with their joyful noises carrying across the water. Judging from their excited voices, one of the youths managed to catch a fish of some sort, which was almost enough to prompt me to rig up my own rod. We also saw a standup paddle-boarder and two kayakers, one of whom had a big, happy dog in a life jacket calmly riding the bow. And yet the pond still felt secluded and quiet. Once we were on the south bay, we were out of sight and sound of any other humans.

Despite the concerns for road conditions that kept me away from the reservoir in 2023, the access road was in better shape than I’ve seen it in years with no major ruts or washouts — presumably out of necessity for the construction work. As beautiful as the foliage was, it still had not reached peak so I hope to be back again sometime after this article is published. Except next time, I’ll have my fly rod out and rigged.

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