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July 16, 2005
Hiking
One of the best things about living in Vermont is that there are so many opportunities to do things outdoors, away from noisy cities and bright lights. I think the cows are the singlemost enjoyable feature of this state, but outdoor activities come in a close second. Karl and I went hiking on Friday and Saturday this week, and we had a great time. We hiked up the Sterling Pond Trail from Route 108 to, you guessed it, Sterling Pond for about a mile. Then we followed the Long Trail for 1.5 miles or so up Madonna Mountain, which was lots of ups and downs, but it wasn't too difficult. Karl kept the pace rather comfortable, as he was following behind me and I figured it wouldn't be very nice to disappear out of sight. Madonna Mountain was cool because we ski at Smuggler's Notch a lot, and they have a chairlift that goes to the top of the mountain. Against Karl's protests, I took a short break on one of the chairs facing down the mountain. The breeze felt wonderful, and the view was spectacular.
After enough time on the Long Trail, we took Chilcoot Trail to Beaver Meadow Lodge, where we spent the night. We were excited to see the sign at the interstection informing us that the lodge was a mere half mile away. Little did we know that the half mile was at the bottom of an incredibly steep descent. All-in-all, though, the hike only took us three hours from the start to Beaver Meadow Lodge, which was definitely impressive considering we ascended and descended 1300 feet in that time frame. We ate dinner and spent the night at the lodge, which was surprisingly comfortable. The hike back up and down the mountain was relatively uneventful, and we arrived back at the car just in time to have a nice little picnic before heading home. I know that my quads are a little sore right now from all that extended use, so I hope that Karl is still able to walk tomorrow...
Posted by rgutwin at July 16, 2005 02:34 PM
Comments
Cool.
Did you take that picture? Oh, ha, you didn't. Well, it's nice.
Posted by: Diana at July 17, 2005 10:02 PM