Welcome to my Blog

This is the first time I have ever blogged so mistakes will likely be the order of the day! This past winter I committed myself to hiking the Vermont Long Trail (LT) in a series of day and overnight hikes over the course of hopefully no more than two summers. I have decided to create a blog to document my adventures and to provide a chance for any photos I take to be viewed by anyone interested in hiking in general or the LT specifically. I am a novice hiker whose prior experience basically consists of earning the hiking merit badge as a 12 year old. My father and I took five 10-mile hikes and one 20-mile hike as a part of earning the badge in 1974. Since that time I have hiked occasionally but never seriously. I was a long distance runner for many years and am in better than typical shape though in recent years my focus has been on weight lifting more than on endurance activity. I expect the trek to be challenging but manageable.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Chittenden Brook Trail Day Hike - Can you see the Orb that I saw in the Woods?


On Saturday, August 23, 2008 I was able to slip away and take a shorter than usual hike. I chose to hike about 8 miles on the Chittenden Brook Trail. I have been busy the past couple of weeks and have not been able to get out like I would like to. I took my youngest son, Beau, to college at Western Kentucky University last week and, while there, was able to get out on a 14 mile day hike on the Millenium Trail in Burnheim Forest near Louisville, KY. I only had shorts and. since the hike, I have been enduring a nasty Poison Ivy rash on both of my lower legs.

The Chittenden Brook Trail is located just outside Rochester, VT off of Rt. 73. It is named after the first Governor of Vermont - Thomas Chittenden. The trail head is at 1,395 ft. and for the first 1.8 miles follows a gentle incline along the banks of Chittenden Brook. It is a beautiful stream and I have included several pictures in this post. If anyone from outside VT visits me here and wishes to go on a hike - this would be a nice representative hike with great scenery and not too demanding a trail. At 1.8 miles I come to a 0.1 mile spur leading down to a relaxing Beaver Pond. I pause here to sit on a bench and look out over the pond. Back on the trail I quickly come to the Ruth Johnston spur that leads 0.4 miles down to a campground run by the US Forest Service. I decide to hike this if I feel good on the way back.
After crossing the Brook I begin a lengthy and, at times, steep climb up to the trail's intersection with the Long Trail. I arrive at this point, 3.9 miles into the hike and 2,951 ft above sea level, after 1 hour and 45 minutes of trekking, so I have made very good time even though I have climbed over 1,600 ft in elevation.
The trip down is a piece of cake and I arrive back at the Johnston Trail intersection ready to hike over to the campground. The campground has 17 primitive campsites with no running water and two outhouses it appears. Only about five sites are being used probably because none of them are right on the water. It would be okay for an overnight camping trip but no place to spend a week. The road that I parked on to start the hike is the same as the road that leads to the campsite (USFS 45) so I decide to hike the 1.7 miles back to my car along the gravel road rather than re-hike the same route I've already followed. I arrive at my car at 3:45 pm meaning it has taken me 3.5 hours to hike 8 miles.


This would be a good hike for someone wanting to get a feel for hiking in VT. You could start where I did and go to the Beaver Pond, follow that by going to the campground, and then return to your car by the gravel road. The total distance would be about 4.2 miles and you would avoid the rugged climb up to the LT.
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