We decided to camp for two nights at the state park so we could explore the surrounding area and attractions. Being a weekend, the park was packed with families camping. Luckily, we were able to get one of the few sights still available. The heat wave that had been plaguing most of the nation had finally found its way to Vermont and temperatures were in the 90's for several days.
After setting up our camp sight we drove to nearby Bridgewater Corners and the home of Long Trail Brewing for a tour and some tasting. Long Trail Brewing is a neat company. All of their products are themed around the Long Trail, and the brewery is located just a few miles from where the trail crosses US 4. We sampled some of their products, and then purchased some to take home with us. Long Trail is only distributed in the East, meaning this would be our only chance to buy it for a while. Their feature brew is Long Trail Ale, a very drinkable beer. They also had a number of pale ales and IPA's on draft for the summer. This was one of the more interesting breweries I have been to thus far.
Next we drove back to the campsite, changed into our swim wear and took the self-guided interpretive trail to the base of the gorge, looking to cool off. Just below the last set of rapids the river mellowed out, forming several large pools suitable for swimming. Reaching the river required carefully climbing over some unusual rock formations formed by the river at higher levels. The hillside above the rock walls was littered with evidence of Hurricane Irene. I could imagine this gorge would have been an amazing, and terrifying place to be during last year's storm. We swam in the cool waters and enjoyed being out of the heat for a while. The canyon's steep walls blocked the sun most of the day, so the water was surprisingly cold and refreshing.
That night we fried up some veggie burgers that we had purchased at the whole foods store in Burlington on our backcountry stove while listening to the Tigers game on my IPhone. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful summer night. The skies were clear, meaning we were able to leave the rain fly off our tent so we could enjoy the night skies. In the middle of the night we were awoken by the sound of something large romping through the forest behind our campsite. Later we heard crashing sounds coming from the dumpster at the entrance of the park. The nighttime visitor stayed away from our tent, so we were content to go back to sleep for the night.
In the morning a park employee came around to inform everyone that a black bear had visited the campground the previous night, and that it was imperative we take care of all of our food and food scraps each night. It was somewhat surprising that this campsite would have bear problems, as it was not exactly wilderness! We were careful with out food, but secretly we were both hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear if it came back.
After breakfast we filled our day packs with snacks and water and took a scenic drive to the Ludlow area in order to climb Mt. Okemo. A ski hill that sits across the valley from Killington, Okemo is a moderate climb with a fire tower at the summit. By the time we were on the trail, temperatures had climbed into the 80's. The climb was only 3 miles, but it did go up 1900 feet, and the heat was stifling. We huffed and puffed our way along the trail as it used a series of switch backs to climb up the steep hillside. For climbing almost 2000 feet the trail was surprisingly easy. I would recommend this hike for most people on a cooler day, especially in the fall when the trees change. Almost all of the hike was through a deciduous forest that would make for spectacular fall colors.
Upon reaching the summit we climbed the fire tower and enjoyed our lunch along with a hiker from Massachusetts who was already at the top. The views were pretty good, although most of the mountains in the distance were cloaked in a thick haze. It was almost as if the heat was visible in the skies. After a lengthy lunch break we headed back down the trail. The downhill went quickly and easily, and we enjoyed the forest scenery much more on the way down.
When we arrived at the Jeep we found that it was even warmer out of the forest. The thermometer on the dash read 95 as we drove through Ludlow. Not ready to head back to our campsite yet on such as hot day we found a coffee shop with air-conditioning in town. We escaped the heat for a couple of hours while catching up on some reading.
Once it had cooled down a bit we drove back to the campsite, taking a different scenic route this time. Driving around Vermont is an activity in of itself, as all of the roads are required to climb up, over, around and down mountains to get anywhere. The countryside here is very much like it is portrayed in popular culture. I couldn't help but think of Bob Newheart's place, or perhaps the town of Redbud in the Chevy Chase film "Funnyfarm," rickety, covered bridge and all!
That night we listening to the bear digging through the dumpster for a while before falling to sleep. We still did not get a look at our nighttime visitor, but judging by the sounds of his or her search for food, I'm guessing this bear isn't going anywhere until they put in some bear-proof garbage containers, or relocate it.
The next morning we paid a visit to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), located less than a mile from the campsite and the gorge. VINS is a natural science center that specializes in housing and rehabilitating birds of prey that become injured. We arrived just in time to catch the last half of a live show. The employees brought out a number of birds to show the audience. Some of them were even trained, and could fly from one employee's glove to another on command. After the live show we walked the grounds and saw the large collection of birds housed there. Included were Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, a variety of hawks and falcons, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Barn Owls, Screech Owls, Great Gray Owls, and my favorite, Snowy Owls. VINS does some pretty fascinating work to help injured birds, and this was definitely worth the visit.
After leavin the Quechee Gorge area we are planning to pay a visit to the nearby White Mountains in New Hampshire. The opressive heat is making camping difficult, but it is nice to visit some of these places while we are so close! We'll contine to hope for a cool down in the weather.
