White River Junction, VT (USA)

[teleworked from early in the morning - at 1445, I drove to White River Junction so I could work out at UVAC - swam for 45 minutes (52 lengths) and then drove home (arrived at 1630) - more teleworking]

Waterbury, VT (USA)

The forecast predicted sunny and warm so I woke up early with plans to hike my first Long Trail miles of the year.  Before departing, I did some chores around the house - it felt strange to be packing up a hiking backpack for the first time in months!  On the way out of town, I got gas at Irving in Hanover (0830), where I also helped a lady fill the tank on her Prius.  I soon got on the road and drove (via I-91 and I-89) towards Waterbury.  It bothered me a bit that I immediately encountered serious dark clouds and, when it rained all the way to the hiking zone, I wasn’t sure I’d made a good decision... Decided to go hiking anyway.  After getting off the Interstate (at US-2), I was able to cross the Winooski River and took Cochran Road and Duxbury Road to reach the trailhead parking (near Bolton) at the base of Camel's Hump.  After getting geared up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the precipitation had stopped but then immediately encountered a sign that said the trail was “closed for Mud Season.”  I looked in the trail register and, once I saw people had used it the day before, headed (SOBO) into the woods (1000).  On a perfect day, I would have tried to climb to the top of Camel’s Hump (6+ miles and about 3700 feet of elevation).  Not yet feeling 100% ready for something that ambitious, I decided to try for the Bamforth Ridge Shelter (located at about the halfway mark).  This proved to be a good decision and I steadily made my way uphill.  I met some other day hikers who were returning from a landmark called the “Duxbury Window”.  They said the trail conditions were good so I eagerly continued climbing.  Stopped a few times (snacks and shedding layers) but was soon at a pretty overlook, complete with wooden bench & views of the Winooski River and I-89. After marveling at how much my perspective had already changed in 1000+ feet of elevation, I turned my attention to the Window, which was only a few yards away.  As soon as I saw it, I was reminded of the Mahoosuc Notch in miniature.  To get through the opening in the rocks, I would have had to belly crawl a pretty good distance.  I’ll admit that I wussed out and took the bypass trail.  It was wet enough that was already worried about the slippery roots and granite ledges above me so decided to focus on that.  Meanwhile, it was getting cooler and windier… I got some views of the higher elevations and maybe even the Hump.  It looked like there was snow up there (I’d already seen a few piles where I was too) and the clouds were blowing quickly through the area. My progress to the shelter contained at a steady pace and, before long, I reached the shelter.  It was here that the mud made an appearance - I tried to visit the shelter/privy but ultimately wasn’t inclined to wade through a swamp.  Started backtracking after that.  It took a lot of concentration to keep my footing but I made it down unscathed.  I stopped to talk to two different ladies (with their dogs) and we traded intel about the trail.  Felt pretty good by the time I reached my car (1530) after about six total miles of pleasant strolling in the Green Mountains.  It started raining again about 30 minutes after I finished my hike.  I backtracked towards I-89 (on US-2) and stopped for lunch at Shaw's in Waterbury (done shopping 1430).  As I ate in my car, the rain increased in intensity.  Figuring I was done outside, I drove back south to the main area of Waterbury and had some drinks (between 1455 and 1545) at the Prohibition Pig Brewery.  The place had a good vibe and I learned a lot about craft brewing in the area.  Eventually, I left for home and (despite rain almost all the way) arrived at my condo by 1700.  We’ll see how my foot feels at the end of today but I’m glad to have gotten a nice hike in before the bugs arrived!  LT Today = 2.7 miles / Grand Total LT = 128.6 miles

Woodstock, VT (USA)

Today was a busy day of volunteering!  I was up very early and was ready to go by 0730.  For volunteering event #1, I drove (via Greensboro Road, Etna Road, Hanover Center Road, Baker Hill Road and Dorchester Road) to reach the AT parking area near the Dartmouth Skiway.  I arrived at 0800 and met up with Joe, Frank and Andre, the other members of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (Dartmouth Outing Club) work crew.  Our task today was to clean up building supplies (leftover from a privy construction project) at the Trapper John Shelter. The lumber was staged at a location 0.8 miles (and 650+ feet of elevation) from the closest road - this meant we had to walk a pretty good distance just to retrieve anything.  In about three hours, we made two round trips (plus one detour to the shelter itself, 0.2 miles from the main trail).  The effort required about 4.5 miles of hiking and lots of upper body exercise (we were carrying 4x4s, 2x8s and 2x4s).  It was a beautiful day, though, and I was glad to make my first return to this section of the AT in nearly four years.  Also met a few guys who love hiking, trail maintenance, kayaking and skiing as much as I do.  Sounds like we all might be able to help each other out with our respective adopted trails/sections. Side note: I don’t want to get too excited but I’ve been noticing some improvement on my lingering Bursitis - maybe today signals the start of a more active (hiking wise, anyway) season in the outdoors!  Afterwards (1100), I drove home by the reverse route of the morning (arrived 30 minutes later).  During my time at the condo, I cleaned up, rested and relaxed (and also got some snacks).  At 1215, I departed for my next volunteering event.  Due to construction on I-89, I drove through Hanover and used I-91.  This allowed me to get on I-89 in WRJ - I then used US-4 to reach Woodstock.  Fortunately, I arrived in town a bit early because I needed the extra time to locate a parking spot (it was VERY crowded).  Starting at 1325, volunteering event #2 of my Saturday included supporting the extremely popular annual Baby Farm Animal Celebration at Billings Farm & Museum.  Attendance was great (probably 2000+ people visited) and the little kids weren’t the only ones who were enchanted by the small creatures.  I worked at the baby turkey (poult) station and held the quivering birds (two weeks old) as everyone petted them.  Words like gentle, sweet and cute circulated in my head and from the lips of the children.  Oh, and there were lots of “ooos” and “aawwws” Reminded again why I like volunteering at The Farm: guests are happy when they visit and it’s easy to keep up their positivity while sharing in the glow.  Afterwards (1710), I spent some time visiting with the staff.  By 1730, I repositioned my car towards the center of Woodstock and attended Mass (1800) at Our Lady of the Snows.  Heading towards New Hampshire after that ended, I arrived at my condo at 1915.  What a great day interacting with the local community!

Norwich, VT (USA)

Today began as a normal work day (teleworked from early in the morning) but I managed to fit in a swim; at 0745, I drove to White River Junction so I could swim for 45 minutes (52 lengths) at UVAC.  On the way home, I did errands (Church Office, Notary and Post Office) in Lebanon.  By 0945, I resumed my teleworking.  At 1500, I left the condo again so I could do some volunteering.  Last week, I learned that truckloads of food were going to be delivered to the LISTEN Community Services Food Pantry in Lebanon. I’ve volunteered there on days when the shelves have been nearly empty so this was definitely welcome news. I asked to help unpack and ended up being able to be part of the process (after work) four days this week.  Price Chopper and their customers had generously contributed hundreds of individual bags of $10-worth-of-food of all kinds.  Possibly unforeseen by them, though, was that this created the additional task of us having to “disassemble” each bag and sort the individual items. I’ve never seen so many boxes and cans!  Such a massive undertaking required a lot of organization and room in the storage area but all the effort was still worth reaching the final goal: getting the food to needy Upper Valley families. When I first saw the quantity on Monday, I assumed there was enough food for several weeks.  This afternoon, however, I unpacked the last bags and saw that only about 1/4 of all of that bounty was left.  Before now, I was already amazed by how the need is so much greater then what there is to provide.  But this week drove that point home harder than any other.  Never forget: canned food drives aren’t only needed during the holidays!  After my session was complete (1630), I drove (via US-4 and US-5) to the King Arthur Bakery in Norwich.  From 1700 to 1800, I participated (free food, networking, etc.) in the Volapalooza Event that had been set up to thank Upper Valley Volunteers.  I saw a lot of folks I know from several places where I volunteer - it was a fun evening!

Littleton, NH (USA)

[started working very early because I needed to drive to Littleton to get Mollie's ID card validity extended by a year - at 1155, I left the house and went to find a gas station - filled up (very high prices) at Irving in West Lebanon (1205) and then drove across the River into Vermont - used US-5 and I-91 to drive north - I got off the highway near Barnet, VT and then used US-5 and side streets to re-cross the river - after that, I took NH-135 and NH-18 to reach I-93 - rainy all the way - slow going for other drivers - audiobooks - got off at US-302 - arrived at the Littleton National Guard Armory at 1315 (five minutes late) - fortunately, I'd called ahead and the appointment was quite quick - once I was done, I got back in the car and immediately drove home via US-302, NH-10, River Road (south of Orford) and NH-10 again - arrived at my condo before 1500 - teleworked the rest of the afternoon]

White River Junction, VT (USA)

[teleworked from early in the morning - at 0745, I drove to White River Junction so I could work out at UVAC - swam for 45 minutes (52 lengths) and then drove home (arrived at 0915) - more teleworking]

South Royalton, VT (USA)

I didn't really have any solid plans when I woke up but knew that there was a Free Community at Billings Farm going on - decided to head that way after I departed my condo (0915).  It took longer than normal to reach Woodstock because major construction work had begun on the Quechee Gorge Bridge...  I arrived at "The Farm" at 1000 and spent the next hour walking in the fields, checking out displays and visiting the animals.  I was going to leave at 1115 but then got asked to help out at the volunteer table (trying to recruit additional help) - I stayed until 1200 in that area.  By then, the event had gotten REALLY crowded so I said goodbye to my friends and made my way out of town.  It occurred to me that today might finally be a good day to check out Worthy Burger in South Royalton.  Since it was north of Woodstock, I thought that might be a good way to go.  Unfortunately, I tried to use my Google Maps but didn't have signal - I ended up making my way (via intuition, luck and back roads) to the White River and VT-14.  I used that road to drive to South Royalton and arrived at about 1245.  The restaurant was located in a difficult-to-reach (and locate) part of the town square and the parking lot was already packed with cars.  I made a quick assessment that the crowds were too big to eat there and just left.  On the way out of town, noticed a huge memorial type place for Senator Patrick Leahy.  After that, I retraced my steps via VT-14 and then used VT-132 to get on I-89.  Made it home by 1330.  Will have to try the Worthy Burger again on a week day...

Lebanon, NH (USA)

Mascoma Slalom!  From social media, I'd learned about a whitewater event that was going to take place close to the Packard Hill Covered Bridge (Lebanon) and decided to stop by to watch.  I left my condo at about 0900 and did some errands (Staples and Walmart) in West Lebanon.  Afterwards, I  drove to the far eastern edge of Lebanon and managed to find a parking spot near the beginning of the race course.  From the bridge, and several other locations along the Northern Rail Trail, I watched several brave souls taking on the rapids in one of our local rivers today - yikes!  This was my first time attending the historic race and it was great to cheer for the competitors as they navigated a series of 18 gates.  Some of these targets had to be navigated from downriver to upriver - that looked really hard. Was most impressed by the people who tackled the water with canoes (!).  Most used two ended (kayak) paddles but one guy came through with a one-ended (canoe) paddle - he was quite good.  Got wonderful views of the action from several places.  There wasn’t much drama but a few folks wiped out in spectacular fashion and their boats were swept downriver to the dam near the town limits of Lebanon.  Talked to lots of other attendees, a few of the race officials and a couple of participants.  Finished my fun just after noon and headed home (arrived at 1230).  What a fun day!

White River Junction, VT (USA)

[teleworked from early in the morning - at 0800, I drove to White River Junction (via Cumberland Farms in Wilder for a free item) so I could work out at UVAC - swam for 45 minutes (52 lengths) and then (0920) drove to West Lebanon to do some errands at Staples and Panera - home again by 1000 - more teleworking]

White River Junction, VT (USA)

[started teleworking very early in the morning - at 1445, I drove to White River Junction (UVAC) so I could work out - swam for 45 minutes (52 lengths) and then drove home (arrived at 1615) - more teleworking]

White River Junction, VT (USA)

[teleworked from early in the morning - at 1445, I drove to White River Junction (UVAC) so I could work out - swam for 45 minutes (52 lengths) and then (1600) drove to West Lebanon to do some errands at Shaws and Eastern Mountain Sports - home again by 1700 - more teleworking]

Newport, VT (USA)

I realized a few months ago that my condo was located about 45 minutes from the zone of Totality for the Total Solar Eclipse that was expected today.  Not wanting to miss the amazing, possibly once in a lifetime experience, I decided to drive north to find a good spot to watch.  And, I since I was venturing away from home already (against the advice of the locals), I figured I might as well go as deep into the zone as I could.  With help from some research and webinars, I identified a good location (with 3 minutes and 35 seconds of Totality): Newport, VT, a quiet little town is located only a few miles from the US/Canada border.  I did some teleworking early (logged 1.5 hours) and then left my condo at 0715.  Out of state cars were racing through Hanover (tailgating me) but I outsmarted them by using side roads that only locals know...  Once on I-91, I didn't see too much traffic but there were more speed demons all the way.  Encountered very little snow until about 30 miles from my destination (at a place with a sign for the “highest point on I-91”).  Listened to audiobooks during the ride.  Got to Newport by 0845 and parked at Wendy’s.  Once situated, I teleworked (using the restaurant WiFi) from my car for about three hours.  The town didn’t seem busy, initially, but the parking lot of the Wendy's was full before noon.  When I started to get hungry, I found that the Wendy’s was already packed.  Gave up the idea of food just then and continued teleworking.  Just after that, though, my laptop battery drained.  After that, I walked around for a while, looking for an outlet to use for recharge.  Temps were pleasant (40s but sunny).  It was already hard to move because there were so many people.  When I got anywhere near a road, it was clear that there were also a lot of drivers who didn't think the lanes or rules applied to them.  I walked along shore of beautiful Lake Memphremagog and looked for access points to the Eclipse viewing spot: Prouty Beach.  On the way, I located an outdoor power outlet (and bathroom) at the East Side Restaurant.  The place was already extremely busy but I was able to spend the next hour charging my laptop and continuing to telework - all while relaxing in a rocking chair on the deck.  During that time, I overheard interesting conversations (eclipse, lost wallets, annoyed people waiting for lunch reservations, etc.).  At 1300, I returned to my car and teleworked for another hour.  By that point, all the internet options (including on my phone) had ceased to work due to network saturation from the high volume of visitors.  The timing wasn't bad - the big event was approaching!  I got all my gear (eclipse glasses, binoculars, folding chair, water) and started walking towards Prouty Beach.  On the way, I met some folks from Massachusetts who had just arrived (they left home before 0600) and a young couple from Littleton who often vacation in the area (they keep a boat on the lake during the summer).  By the time I arrived at the lakefront, the weather was spectacular - sunny, no clouds and in the 50s!  Just as I arrived (1417), the assembled crowd (probably 1000 people) cheered loudly because the moon had started to cover the sun.  This phase of the eclipse took more than an hour but I never grew tired of watching the celestial event with my commemorative eclipse glasses (provided by the Town of Newport; I'll add them to my "collection").  While viewing the developing eclipse, I was pleasantly surprised to see the moon almost in 3D profile as it got in the way of the bright sun.  Unfortunately, my iPhone 8 was not up to the task of getting good photos but I got to see the ones that other people near me took.  However, even those better ones didn’t do justice what we were seeing in the sky.  For almost 30 minutes, there wasn’t much action (perhaps due to earth rotation?).  Meanwhile, I talked to others in the crowd and ended up meeting families from near my home in the Upper Valley. At 1510, the air got noticeably colder and I began to wish I'd brought a jacket!  Just as Totality began (1526), I managed to capture (video) the excitement in the crowd as the sun went dark.  It was interesting to watch the behavior of animals (especially a nearby Siberian Husky) in the vicinity - they all acted quite skittish.  Meanwhile, the shadows lengthened until it seemed like dusk - everything I’d expected would happen.  But the effect of the sun being blocked was altogether different from what I’ve seen all my life and filled me with awe.  The best word to describe the “pseudo-night” was “eerie.”  There were planets visible in the darkened skies, solar flares shone like pinpoints in a brilliant orange and the Corona was so amazing to watch with the naked eye.  I also got to use my binoculars and the view was even better - I saw terrain (mountains, craters) on the moon!  Everyone was acutely aware that the sun would triumphantly return and we all kept watching the time.  At about 1530, it only took one, tiny bit of sunlight to nearly erase the entire effect of the eclipse.  The crowd cheered as it instantly seemed to become day again.  As things began to return to normal, I watched the sun/moon through my eclipse glasses for a little while.  The local authorities kept talking about how everyone should stay at Prouty Beach "until the traffic dies down".  They added that they had live music, food and other activities planned for the next hour (since the eclipse didn't official end until almost 1630).  This offer didn't appeal to me and I started walking towards my car.  On the way, I talked to some eclipse enthusiasts with larger telescopes and exchanged socials with one who promised to send some of his awesome photos later (he was true to his word).  By 1600, was able to quickly leave the Wendy's parking lot and make my way back towards I-91.  However, I soon found myself in a huge traffic jam.  Since I normally don't like being stuck in such "standstills", I tried several avenues to escape.  First, I tried VT-191 (which I'd used in the morning).  That didn't look good so I next tried US-5 (north).  Again, I got stuck for a long time before I was able to by surface streets.  Somehow, Mollie was able to break through the otherwise "no signal" situation and we talked until my phone lost service.  This was a common theme for the next several hours - I never really had any kind of mobile phone service until I was home.  Eventually (after several aborted attempts), I found myself on a road with less traffic: Darling Hill Road.  I took one turn, on Shattuck Hill Road, that took me up to a beautiful overlook (where I could see the whole lake).  There was too much traffic in that area too, though, so I headed back to Darling Hill Road and drove north all the way to the Canadian Border.  Just before crossing, I took Beebe Road and made my way to to US-5 (on the east side of I-91) and the town of Derby.  From there, I got on I-91.  What a relief - there wasn't any traffic and I was hopeful this boded well.  Sadly, though, this was the start of many hours of frustration...  I hit traffic as I reached VT-191 and it was horrible from there.  I listened to audiobooks to pass the time but the constant brake-gas-brake was starting to wear on me by the time I reached one hour since ignition.  Just then, my Google Maps (which hadn't been working) added ab extra hour to my journey!  Apparently, there was a huge accident near the I-91/I-93 junction - grrrr.  Fortunately, I was able to get off the Interstate at VT-16.  From there, I followed a huge line of cars (probably using the same app) south through snow covered hills and curvy roads.  Switched to VT-15 and then drove to US-2 (West Danville).  From there, though, things got really interesting as the routing took us through several miles of muddy roads (Keiser Pond Road).  We ultimately reached the (paved) Peacham Danville Road and continued south.  I had to drive on Bayley-Hazen Road, Peacham-Groton Road, Peacham Road and Minard Hill Road before I finally got to US-302.  This (finally) took me to I-91 and I then found myself in stop and go traffic the rest of the way - ugh.  As I drove, I ate "dinner" and listened to more audiobooks.  By the time I got off the Interstate in Norwich, it was already 2015.  Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic going through Hanover and I was at my condo by 2030 (4.5 hours of driving).  The long day and nasty traffic were small prices to pay in order to witness something so amazing and I’m really glad I made the trip to Newport.  Wow!

Grantham, NH (USA)

Like yesterday, I spent a lot of the day working (chores, cleanup) around the condo.  Also like yesterday, I wanted to get outside on my skis if there were any places with wintry ground cover.  Most of the snow was already gone from areas near the Connecticut River but I was confident that I could still find some.  There is a large elevation gain south of Enfield and I remembered a bike trail (following Old NH-10) that started near the Grantham line - that was my backup target then I left home at 1500.  On the way, I encountered Ann sweeping up salt in the parking lot! As I made my way towards I-89 (Hanover and Lebanon), I saw absolutely no snow.  Once on the Interstate, I was stunned at the volume of traffic going north for the Eclipse.  As I suspected, there was actually some virgin snow on the bike/skimobile trail that was definitely skiable!  Between 1530 and 1630, I logged 2 miles (one mile to the north and back).  Even better, I enjoyed the warmer temps (high 40s), some sunny blue skies and another wintry activity that won’t be possible for much longer...  The trail is so close to the highway that I'm sure a lot of people wondered "what is that guy doing?"  After finishing, I got gas at Irving in Grantham (1645) and then drove to Enfield, where I attended Mass at St. Helena (1730).  Got to see Michael and Camille - that was nice.  Felt great when I arrived at home (1830) - another fun day in the snow!

Enfield, NH (USA)

A few snowstorms ago, one of my friends mentioned that he’d seen lots of ski tracks on Whaleback Mountain, despite the fact that they closed nearly a month ago.  We agreed that people were “Skinning” to the summit (climbing up on my cross country skis) and skiing down (no lifts required).  After spending the morning taking care of chores at my condo, I decided today to try some skinning myself.  When I arrived (1530), I found that I had the whole place to myself.  It seemed like the Upper/Lower Ivory Trail would be the route for me to skin since I’ve watched the Uphill Pass folks going that way.  Temps were in the low 40s but it was overcast and there was some wind.  Someone had worn a nice track on the trail but my narrow X-C skis still dug in deeper.  The good thing about this was that I had traction all the way to the top, even in steep areas.  On the other hand, it became clear that coming back down on my EVOs was going to be REALLY difficult. Still, I kept climbing, navigating around water hazards and fallen trees - I wanted to get to the top!  About 30 minutes after I’d left the parking lot, I reached my summit goal (1800 feet, after 700 feet of vertical climb) and got some tremendous views.  Didn’t feel tired or cold - actually felt pretty pleased with the first half of the adventure.  Of course, it was now going to get more difficult and I carefully considered my options, safety-wise, for getting down.  In the end, I retraced my route and took things very slow.  It actually took me almost 45 minutes to get down - mostly, I skied (probably 80%) but there was a particularly treacherous looking area (steep, water, trees, rocks) where I walked through the snow.  Wished I’d worn my gaiters at that point because the drifts were probably nearly 12 inches up there.  During the second half of the downhill run, though, I got some manageable speed and was able to make it the rest of the way to the bottom without falling (done by 1645).  Awesome!  Afterwards, I headed back to my condo (arrived at 1700).  On the way, I saw lots of traffic on their way north for the Eclipse.  Wonder if I should join them...  Final assessment: skinning with X-C skis was definitely harder than using Downhill skis but I still am glad I performed this “experiment” at the Whale!

Woodstock, VT (USA)

Today was Opening Day at the Billings Farm!  After starting my telework day early in the morning, I had to do some snow shoveling before I was able to use my car.  At 0730, I departed my condo and drove into Lebanon so I could get a haircut.  Finished by 0800, I made my way into Vermont (on I-89) and was just exiting onto US-4 when Eileen called.  We'd been trying to coordinate a meet-up so I pulled over at a gas station to avoid losing cell signal.  I'd earlier thought about stopping for breakfast at the Skinny Pancake but used up all the extra time with the call.  Instead, I next drove directly to Billings Farm for my volunteer session - I arrived in Woodstock by 0930.  When they opened (1000), I got to work the cheese sampling station again.  It’s always great to give away slices of the delicious butter cheddar and smoked cheddar! I’m also getting better at my “our cows made this cheese” shtick. Enjoyed seeing the cool “barn quilts” on the sides of the outbuildings.  Got rewarded during my break with some maple ice cream and then got an hour of cross country skiing (1310 to 1410) in one of the big fields.  The draft horses thought I was crazy...  Awesome day on "The Farm".  I had an afternoon Physical Therapy appointment at 1430 and cut my arrival to the VA Medical Center in White River Junction VERY close...  Had good hour with Baron there and then headed towards home, arriving by 1600.  Continued teleworking until 1830.  Overall, a good day!

White River Junction, VT (USA)

[started teleworking very early - at 1145, I left my condo and made dropped off some donations at LISTEN on Miracle Mile - after that, I drove to White River Junction (UVAC) and spent 45 minutes swimming (50 lengths) - afterwards, I did some errands in West Lebanon (finished at 1330) - drove home (arrived 1345) and continued teleworking (late meetings) - rode my stationary bike (18 minutes / 3 miles) before bed]