Busch Gardens Trip - Day 1

My daughters and I have been planning our annual pilgrimage to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the last few months and the week finally arrived for the trip.  I worked a full day today (through 1600), with a short lunch break used to pick up my rental car from Enterprise in White River Junction (thanks for the ride, Monte!).  After wrapping up my business tasks, I packed up my car (everything had been waiting in the entryway) and was able to leave Hanover by 1615.  Did I mention it was BLAZING HOT (close to 100F)?  Fortunately, the AC in my Nissan Sentra was very effective and I never really noticed the heat for the rest of the day.  Wanting to check out some parts of the North Country Trail near Middlebury (VT) and Crown Point (NY), I actually drove north (continued on I-89 to South Royalton) instead of the usual route I take to Virginia.  Following the track I've often used to reach the Long Trail at Middlebury Gap (VT-107, VT-12, Camp Brook Road, Bethel Mountain Road, VT-100 and VT-125), I started to pick up clues for the NCT just after I passed through the town of Ripton.  I continued driving west until I reached the eastern edge of East Middlebury - this was the place where I hoped to see some blue blazes or signs for the sections that followed the road (without any dirt trail).  At the corner of VT-125 and Church Street, where the online NCT map said I should find it, there was no visible evidence that I was in the correct place.  I continued north, then west, then south and then west again after I got across US-7.  When I reached Halladay Road (driving on Middle Road), though, I finally encountered a lone blue blaze.  Unfortunately, the road I was on turned into a gravel and then dirt track and I had to turn around (no clearance on my Sentra).  However, I'd figured out the general path of the trail by then and knew I could return to walk or bike the off-road section.  Returning to US-7, I drove north and verified that the NCT trail crossed that road (from the south) at the Drop-In Brewing Company (and near the Battell Woods Trailhead).  Continuing into Middlebury, I started looking for the next location where the actual trail exited from the woods and returned to the pavement.  Before long, I picked up the NCT again in a residential neighborhood to the east of US-7 - once I reached the trailhead gate on Springside Road, I followed signs for the TAM Trail and Triangle Bike Loop towards the west.  I ended up getting stopped at the entrance to the Wright Park and had to backtrack to the Pulp Mill Covered Bridge to cross Otter Creek.  Driving north on the Morgan Horse Farm Road, I looked for another trailhead: the NCT crossing of Hamilton Road.  When I located it, I was in the middle of huge, grassy fields with a few signs and blazes.  Continuing west, I reached the little hamlet of Weybridge Hill and picked up the NCT for a short time (0.2 miles on James Street and Bittersweet Farms).  With the trail heading off to the west (into the woods), I backtracked to VT-23 and followed it until I reached a point where the NCT started a long stretch on roads again.  Starting their, I drove all the way (via gravel roads) to VT-125.  There were absolutely no markings at all and I had no cell signal - my heart went out to any hikers or bikers who got disoriented in this area...  After reaching the pavement, I traveled north and west, across the bridge, to Crown Point.  Having walked on some parts (but not all) of the NCT in this park, I continued driving south until I got to Lake Road, where the NCT resumed on the pavement.  From that point, I followed several back roads (Burdick Road, NY-22, Factoryville Road and Creek Road) to reach the little village of Ironville.  It started raining at this time and I lost track of the NCT completely as I turned on to Corduroy Road - as a result, I passed a crucial turn, on to Stoney Lonesome Road, and ended up at NY-74.  I continued west (toward I-87), I have up on trying to log more miles of the NCT...  Suddenly, though, I passed through Paradox and got cell signal - this revealed that I'd found another road section.  In the end, though, this was the last chance I had to follow the trail until I reached US-9 and the Interstate (NCT crossed, from south to north, there).  Overall, I logged over 30 miles of NCT (driving, not walking) - I hope to be back for some more trail mileage soon...  It was rainy and getting dark by this point (1900), so I took the Adirondack Northway towards Albany.  Speeds were good and traffic was light but my Google Maps anticipated that I wanted to avoid tolls.  As a result, I exited the highway north of the city and took back roads (frustrating navigation) through Schenectady and Duanesville until I was able to get on I-88.  During this part of my drive, I ended up talking to Brenna and Mollie, firming up plans for the following few days.  It got really dark as I passed through the Cooperstown area and I was actually already tired.  With this in mind, I stopped at rest area and made a reservation for a hotel - this was harder than I'd hoped (for a weekday) but my mind was soon fixed on the target of Clarke's Summit (PA).  From that point, I made good time on I-88 and some back roads east of Binghamton until I was eventually able to get on I-81.  I passed the time by listening to audio books.  Just after midnight, I reached my hotel (Econo Lodge) and was able to check into my room by 0020.  Despite being really tired, I ended up doing some reading before heading to bed (0100).  Whew!  North Country Trail Today = 33.0 miles / NCT Total = 67.2 miles