Labor Day and Time in Vermont

Quechee River Gorge from bridge near White River Junction, VT

The Thursday before Labor Day we left the White Mountains in New Hampshire to meet a friend near Poultney, Vermont for the holiday.  On the way, we spent one night in the very lovely Quechee Gorge State Park on the eastern border of Vermont near White River Junction.  The focal point of the park is Vermont’s deepest gorge, formed by glacial activity more than 13,000 years ago.  We walked the gorge trail along the Ottauquechee River enjoying views of the gorge from river level to the bridge more than 165 feet above.  The campground at the state park was one of the best we’ve experienced and we could see why it won first place in last year’s contest for best Vermont State Park.

 

The forest is full of fantastic fungi this time of year

 

 

Just a few hours’ drive on Friday and we arrived at our campground near Poultney.  The campground on Lake Bomoseen was packed with Labor Day campers – I don’t think there was an empty site.  Labor Day is the last summer camping opportunity for most families and in the northern states especially, cold weather is not far away.  We were glad we made reservations.

An old marble quarry we passed while touring

 

The weather was cool with many rainy days but it was excellent during the time we spent with our friend Sasha.  Labor Day Monday was our first day together and we went on a tour of the area with a mission of finding Sasha’s favorite maple syrup.  Spoiler alert:  if you are friend or family of Sasha’s you might be getting maple syrup for Christmas.  I bought some more Vermont Green Mountain Coffee - the breakfast blend is so good.  We also toured Green Mountain College where Sasha will be earning her graduate degree.

Tuesday we all had a nice hike on a short section of the Appalachian Trail.  Sasha and her husband, KC, were ‘thru-hikers’ on the AT in 1999 and the trail is very special to them.  It was so much fun to hike with Sasha and hear some of her adventures on the AT.  We all had a grand time playing 'naturalist' and trying to identify the plants and fungi all the way. 

 

Maya, Sasha & David on the AT near Little Pond

 

Sasha had graduate school orientation to attend for the next several days. While she was doing that, David and I moved about 30 miles away to Gifford Woods State Park so we could explore another beautiful place in Vermont.  The Appalachian Trail went through the park and we hiked north one day and then south the next.  Both were great hikes, the northbound section went around a lake and then along a river with many cascades and the southbound section climbed Sherburne pass and gave us some great views of the Green Mountains.

Cascades along the AT north of Gifford Woods State Park

On Saturday we met Sasha again to hear all about her orientation at Green Mountain College.  We had dinner at a local diner and talked and talked.  Sasha’s will be working towards an on-line Master’s in Environmental Science and her emphasis will be on science writing.  It sounds like a great program and it was good to see her so excited.

 

The 'Birdseye' Diner - pretty good burgers...

 

Sasha headed back to Texas on Sunday and on Tuesday we left Vermont for the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  We have a few weeks before the leaves really start to turn, so we thought we would check out the Finger Lakes and then go to Niagara Falls.  We’ve always wanted to visit Niagara Falls…  

 

Waiting on Cindy as usual...

          


David’s Stats:

Days Hiked    5

Rain Days      7

Total Miles Hiked    24.22

Ave. Miles per Day      4.84
Total Elevation Gain       4,072
Ave. Elevation Gain per day   814