Upon visiting Sterling Pond, we were able to find a series of trails that went around the lake. The far side of the lake is beautiful, especially since the person rudely playing music on a boombox at the other side of the lake was not audible there.
The second pond outlet was a bit of a disappointment. There was no water flowing south! Instead, there was a bit of a boggy area, and no sign of recent water flow. Most likely there is flow to the south during snowmelt, which comes rather late to Sterling Pond, which is in a very cold place.
About the water found in the outlet... it too reflected the cold climate of the area. Rather than a creek, there was a small patch of snow in the shaded outlet area, despite it having been quite warm lately.
We also found talc deposits on the far side of the lake, reinforcing the idea that the lake is there because very soft rock was eaten away by the glaciers.
So... Sterling Pond is rarely, if ever, in the Winooski watershed. The Lamoille outlet area is heavily trampled, and I can't help but wonder if heavy foot traffic in this sensitive area has lowered the level of this outlet a few inches, tipping the very delicate balance of this lake and ending the flow of the Winooski outlet.
Another reminder... wetlands are fragile, so explore them gently or keep to the uplands.
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