Stratton Mountain is a mountain located in Windham County, Vermont, in the Green Mountain National Forest. The mountain, a monadnock, is the highest point of Windham County, and of the southern Green Mountains generally. A fire tower located on the summit is generally open for climbing by the public. There is also a small caretaker cabin (not open to the public) at the summit that is inhabited in season by a caretaker from the Green Mountain Club.

Stratton Mountain stands within the watershed of the Connecticut River, which drains into Long Island Sound in Connecticut. The south and southeast slopes of Stratton Mountain drain into Ball Mountain Brook, thence into the West River, and into the Connecticut River. The east side of Stratton drains via Kidder Brook into the North Branch of Ball Mountain Brook. The north side of Stratton drains into the North Branch of Ball Mountain Brook. The northwest side of Stratton drains into the Winhall River, and thence into the West River. The southwest slopes of Stratton drain into the East Branch of the Deerfield River, another tributary of the Connecticut.

Stratton Mountain claims a unique role in hiking trail history. In 1909, James P. Taylor (1872–1949) was on the mountain when he conceived the idea of a trail from Massachusetts to Canada, which became Vermont’s Long Trail.[1] While on the summit of Stratton during the construction of the Long Trail, Benton MacKaye (1879–1975) considered that it would be a good idea to have a trail spanning the entire Appalachian Range. The result was the Appalachian Trail, a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) National Scenic Trail from Georgia to Maine. In southern Vermont, the two trails are contiguous, crossing the summit of Stratton from south to north. A short (.75-mile), relatively flat side trail leads from the summit to the Stratton Mountain Resort.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratton_Mountain_(Vermont)