Mount Putnam via Pinnacle Meadow

This route starts and ends at the Pinnacle Meadows Trailhead on Upper Pinnacle Road. From the trialhead, follow the Pinnacle Meadow Trail, an old fire road, climbing gently for about 0.5 mile to an open meadow with views of Mount Mansfield and the ski area. Continue through the woods to a junction with the Stowe Pinnacle Trail, about 0.5 mile below the Stowe Pinnacle overlook, at roughly 1 mile. Turn right and continue on the Stowe Pinnacle Trail to Stowe Pinnacle's open, ledgy summit, at roughly mile 1.6. From there, follow the same trail as the Stowe Pinnacle Trailhead approach: continue over Hogback Mountain's viewless, off-trail summit, then onto the Skyline Trail, bearing left onto a short, unmarked spur to Mount Putnam's wooded, viewless summit, at roughly mile 2.9. Retrace the same trails back to the trailhead for a round trip of roughly 5.6 miles. Beyond Stowe Pinnacle, the trail is faint in places, boggy, and prone to blowdowns; carry a map or GPS, since the true summit of Mount Putnam is unmarked and easy to walk past.