Back in New England again! Since I still had my rental car, I decided to take it out into the wilds of Vermont in the afternoon - hoping to find some groomed skiing trails at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. In the morning, I cleaned, did laundry and unpacked from my trip. It felt good to get organized! At 1145, I was ready to leave the house. The drive to Craftsbury was pretty long (1+45) and required I-91 and lots of back roads (including dirt). Somehow, I made it there by 1330. It took me some time to find the place to pay but the people were nice (they mentioned that all of the fun was run "on the honor system" but were glad I paid). After I had my trails pass (1445), I found it easy to get started on the trails. Temps were in the low 30s and it was partly cloudy. Along the way, I explored the northeast side of the complex (mostly, Ruthie's Run). I made it up to one really high point (with good views) and then returned to the Lodge by way of the Lakeside Trail. For most of the afternoon, I saw no people at all... As I was thinking about finishing, I noticed some lights had just been turned on for night time skiing! I then used groomed tracks in that area until I'd reached the three hour mark (1340 to 1640) and six miles on skis. When I was back in my car (1645), I decided I'd truly found my bliss in the woods... As it got darker, I headed towards home, using the same dirt roads. Eventually made it to I-91 OK and then made good time as I went south. I stopped for gas at Exxon in Wells River (1745). From there, it was easy to reach home and I was in my condo by 1830 - I had just enough time to clean up before my dad called me. Finding this fun today required a long drive, deep into the NEK, but was well worth the effort!
