This was one of our longest hikes on this section of the Vermont Appalachian Trail. It was just my Dad, my Husband and me. We had worn my girls out so they decided to go with my Mom to the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Hist. Park, which was all about nature, conservation and farming. They loved learning about the different kinds of farm animals and seeing all the spring babies.
We hiked about seven miles and climbed about 1200 feet. This was our rainy day, so we donned our rain jackets and put our pack covers on. The temperature was in the upper 60s and we were hot from hiking, so the rain didn’t bother us too much. We just kept plodding on up the hills and through the overcast rainy weather.
The Lookout was really cool. You could reach it on a short side-trail. The sign said it was only .1 mile, but we think it was closer to a quarter mile. Of course the fact that it was more up hill may have made it feel longer! This led to a private cabin which the owners allow the hikers to use. There was a platform built on the top of the cabin, which you could reach by (again!) climbing up a ladder to the top. But once at the top, the view was spectacular! We stopped here and had our lunch.
The rest of the hike was very surreal. We passed so many very old rock walls, all that remains of past families and farms who lived in the area. At one point I had hiked ahead of the guys and found a dry place to rest on a rock, when I was surprised to meet an older gentleman. He told us he hikes on the Appalachian trail 3/4 of the year! Apparently he felt quite at home on the trail and had decided to make it his regular lifestyle.
Many of the forests we hike through looked like rain-forests, covered in ferns and moss and often very damp. This day was so wet there weren’t many places you wanted to stop and sit down. But occasionally we’d come to an evergreen grove. Under these not much else seemed to grow and it would be covered in a thick layer of soft, mostly dry needles, which made perfect resting points. I would often hike ahead of my hiking companions and then find one of these unique evergreen groves and sit and rest.
Another tiring day on the Appalachian trail, but looking back, such sweet memories. I feel so blessed that we got to go! I hope you enjoy the pics!
Hiking adventures! Including backpacking with my Dad and assisting him with his decade long pursuit of section hiking the entire Appalachian Trail.
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