Continuing my weekend close to home, I spent the morning working around the house. At 0925, I left my condo and drove through Hanover, dodging lots of people who were participating in the HERO Run. The day was cool and windy. When I finally got on I-91, I drove to the Bradford Park & Ride (arrived at 1000). There, I met up with other folks who hoped to join Bradford Dayhike & Dine #16. After Jared got a few of us into a smaller number of cars (car pool), I rode with Kanan and Brian (reporter for Upper Valley Daybreak) to Fairlee so we could meet the rest of the group. We parked at the Volunteer Fire Department lot (next to Lake Morey) and, when we counted, found that we had the most hikers (18 people and three dogs) we've ever had at at one of these events! Today's edition took us on a really interesting hike of the Palisades Trail. The route paralleled I-91 and took us to the top of a ridge with steep rock faces and beautiful views of the Connecticut River, the towns of Orford (NH) and Fairlee (VT) and many of the well-known peaks in the Upper Valley. We didn’t log a lot of distance (just under three miles) but the trail conditions (as well as the foliage) was perfect. When finished (1215), we left the trailhead and drove a short distance to US-5 and and stopped at Jan's Fairlee Diner. The little restaurant was quite crowded - most of us sat at the counter and I had to sit on a stool that warned "seat broken." With a ring-side seat for the cooking, our hiking group was treated to a nice reward/celebratory lunch. This satisfying, delicious meal was enjoyed by all. Everyone agreed that we owed our thanks, as always, to Jared for organizing another awesome event! When we were done eating (1330), Kanan drove me and Brian back to Bradford (via US-5). After saying goodbye to everyone at the Bradford Park & Ride (1345), I drove home (via I-91) - I talked to Mollie on the way and arrived at my house by 1415. This has been a great weekend!
