Memorial Day Weekend: Coolidge State Park

This Memorial Day was the first camping trip for our youngest at 8 months old. Having experienced camping with a baby once, we knew we could do it again. We had tired of camping in Massachusetts and wanted to get back up into the northern states. I knew the White Mountains would be too cold so we opted for Coolidge State Park since it was just a little over two hours away in Plymouth, VT. We also booked a lean-to site for the first time, which proved pretty useful with several toddlers running around. They loved the "stage" and it was convenient to store some of our extraneous gear in that we found necessary with little ones.

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we did quite a bit of standing around saying, "Do you want to do something?" Someone came up with the brilliant idea to go on a hike. Eight months post baby and one major hike behind me I was game. Coolidge SP is part of the Coolidge Range and has tons of hiking trails in the surrounding area. We didn't go crazy but picked a short nature walk to get the blood flowing and enjoy the park. We followed the Slack Hill Trail which started near our tent sites and cut back into the sites by the CCC Trail. 

Heading to the trail head

Lil Dude following Zazu up hill

We started out just fine. It was warm and there was a slight breeze. The first night we camped it was below freezing so the warmer temps were greatly appreciated. I would guess that we had barely hiked a quarter mile and Lil Dude decided to bail because he was "tired" and wanted "to nap." Big Dude was okay with this because he thought he would get to try out his new hammock. So back down the trail they went and the rest of us traveled on. I was carrying Little in my Ergo and she was dozing.

Signage to head to the "Contact" Station a.k.a Ranger Station

 We strolled through a lovely deciduous forest with slight hills and pretty mild grades. We did meet up with several other hikers and families. One family warned us of a blow down ahead. It seemed to be a long time coming but honestly was only about a half mile away. It blocked the entire trail and was one of those that you could not go under or over but had to go around.

Nate sizing up the situation

Once we hiked around the tree we continued along the established path. The leaves were starting to fill in the trees and there were some neat items along the trail. 

Huge quartz

Trillium

After approximately a mile and a half we descended to a vista. It was the only vista on the trail and had been manually cleared to provide the view. There was a group there ahead of us so we stayed to the side and snacked some. It was clear and Mount Ascutney could easily be seen. Ben and I had hiked that one in 2007 and assisted some hang gliders with take off. It was pretty cool!

View of Mount Ascutney from the Vista point

After some time, we moved on down the trail. It rose and fell nicely through the woods. There was little wildlife to be found, most likely because there were so many people on the trail.

Ferns

Wood Nymph Melanie

Pretty wildflowers that I really should learn the name of

We reached the picnic area of the state park and crossed the parking lot. We could have hiked back down the road but opted to continue to explore. We found a terrific shelter in a large field. There were two huge stone fireplaces on each end inside. The view was awesome! You could see Killington Ski area across the field. There were still traces of snow on it and someone said there was still some skiing taking place.

View from the Bradley Hill Picnic Shelter

We hiked down behind the tent sites by the CCC Trail for approximately a half mile. Then we turned at the sign post directing us to the tent area. We weren't entirely certain where it would come out but we weren't too worried.

CCC Sign Post

The short trail had a few little stream crossings. Everything was so dry that they hardly moistened our shoes. 

Sad little stream

Bridge over mud

We re-entered the tent area and easily hiked up the road to our sites. Being Sunday afternoon on Memorial Day weekend, many campers had already packed up and ventured home. We stayed on another night and went home early enough that traffic wasn't too crazy. 

The hike itself was a nice little stroll. Little slept through most of it. I definitely appreciated the vista on Slack Hill and then the bonus of the view from Bradley Hill. Looking at the website, I see that there are letterboxing opportunities at the campground as well. If I had had some time to plan I think I would have tried to do some of that.

Coolidge State Park was a good one for those who want to camp quietly. There were very few generators and RV's. It was mainly tents and the like. It's convenient to some historic sites (Cal Coolidge's Birthplace) and tourist attractions (a.k.a. breweries for Big Dude). Before we left the campground we drove through the Lean-To site area, some of the views were fantastic. Scary sites for those of us with children due to the drop off but awesome views of the Green Mountains and Black River Valley.

Where: Slack Hill Trail and CCC Trail, Coolidge State Park, Plymouth, Vermont

On the Web: http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/coolidge.htm

Directions: From Jct. Hwy 100 and Hwy. 100A: Go 2 mi. N on Hwy. 100A.

Leaf Peeping at Vermont's Little Grand Canyon

I've been having some issues with Picasa lately and this post is long over due. Hopefully, Google will fix the problem and I can post a bit more this year. Last fall, the Dudes and I went up to Vermont for a weekend away. We stayed at a lovely resort and day tripped out to local sites. It was rainy most of the weekend but there was one cloudy/misty/drizzly day so we went over to Quechee Gorge (so fun to say!).

One of those new QR codes

Quechee Gorge is a lovely gorge carved by the Ottauquechee River after the ice age. It is 165 feet deep and over a mile in length. It is a major attraction in Quechee, VT and is part of the Vermont State Park system. We pulled up and noticed that there was a new visitors' center.

Visitors' Center

There were quite a few people about as it was prime leaf peeping time. We gathered up the Lil' Dude from the back of the car and loaded up to cross to the Visitors' Center. Inside we used the restrooms, chatted with the center volunteers, and gathered maps and brochures for local things to do. Then we went out the back door to the trails. 

Most people start the hike down the gorge over by the bridge and in the past that is where I have hiked. However, the new center brought new trails. After a quick stop to adjust the kid carrier we entered the woods.

View from the trail

The woods were damp and smelled lovely. I like that earthy post-rain smell. Occasionally, there would be the cotton candy smell of decaying foliage. The trail had some step portions but for the most part it was an easy grade to the main trail. 

Warning Warning!

The main trail pretty much is a straight path down hill. We found all the people there. Some in flip flops and high heels. Some in crazy club appropriate get ups. Others with sensible shoes and warm cloths. It was pretty good people watching. 

Side Trail?

We passed a trail that went to the state park campground and then a new "trail" that wandered into the woods. I'm not sure if it really was a trail as it's not on the maps and not blazed. Perhaps it was for some wood clearing.

Quickly we found the bottom of the gorge and carefully went out on the rocks. The view was lovely but the overcast weather downplayed the brightness of the foliage. At the edge of the rocks we could see the bridge for Route 4. 

Looking up stream to Rt. 4

We watched a family with teenage children get soaking wet. I'm fairly certain I heard the mother tell the kids not to go in the water with their shoes on. But the older son did. The girl took off her shoes. Wonder if he had blisters. I would not want to be in the water. It was definitely cold!

Water in the rocks

View up to the bridge

We chatted with another photographer and his girlfriend. Like us, he had not been there in a few years. We remarked on the changes in the area. 

View downstream

We spent enough time taking photos and decided to venture uphill. On our way up we noticed a mother and son looking up at a tree. I dropped back and quickly spotted what they saw.  

Woodpecker

A small woodpecker was making quite a bit of noise. I managed to get a quick picture of it before it wandered up the tree. He was moving pretty quickly. A bunch of city tourists (totally stereotyping here) paused to see what we were looking at. They were unimpressed. 

Fence along the trail

Big Dude grumbled some at the wiggly load on his back. After we got far enough up the trail we let the Lil' Dude out to hike. He was so proud of himself as he went up the big hill.

Big and Lil' (my favorite picture)

He only wanted to go to Big... this picture is a lie

Romping in the leaves

Lil' Dude quickly tired and we needed to carry him. He greatly protested being back in the carrier. We made it to the top where the bridge crossed the gorge. 

trail map

Bridge Plaque

We crossed the bridge to take some photos.

View upstream from the bridge

View downstream

While on the bridge we met a man who was looking down forlornly. He lost his mono-pod over the edge of the bridge into the water below. On the bright side he said he didn't need to worry about bringing it on his flight home. 
When we were done looking around we spent time at the Quechee Gorge Village. It's an interesting mix of shops. We sampled wine, cheese, vodka and had lunch at a dinner. We went to a toy museum and checked out the antiques for sale in the yard. Of course we had to ride the small train that ran around the property.

One day I think I would like to camp there when Lil' Dude is bigger. There are quite a few trails and fun things to do in the area. Quechee Gorge is definitely a nice (but touristy) place to visit. I'm sure we'll be back.

Where:

Quechee Gorge is located along the Ottauquechee River in the western part of the town of Hartford. U.S. Route 4 passes through, just south of the village center, connecting with Woodstock and Rutland to the west and with White River Junction to the east.

Website:

Quechee State Park

Driving Directions: 

From Jct. I-89 and U.S. 4 (Exit 1): Go 3 mi. W on U.S. 4.

Vermont Views and Brew Weekend

This Memorial Day Weekend we went to camp at Woodford State Park in Vermont. I had decided on this site because of the Views and Brews hiking list I found via Peakbagger. Turns out that we've most likely completed many of the hikes in NH. So I checked out the Vermont Chapter of the Views and Brews and decided that Bennington would be easy enough for us to get to.

On Sunday, a group of us decided to hike up Harmon Hill. We found the trail head easy enough just off of Rt. 9. We started up the steep, steep trail. The "steps" were tough but not too bad for our dog. It was his first hike out with us and he was eager to go. After pulled us up to the top of the trail we came to a lovely path through the woods.

All the rain had made it a bit buggy and muddy. Fortunately, there were some planks laid out us to avoid the mud. We were glad of if, unfortunately, the dog didn't feel it was necessary.

After such a strenuous hike up, the even trail was really a nice change of pace. We enjoyed the stroll through the woods. We met up with some other campers from our campground and a thru hiker. We asked a couple that we met up with at the summit to take our photo.

It was a hot hike and we all needed a rest. We snacked and had some water while we looked out over Bennington and the Taconic Range. As you can see the sky was a bit hazy.

We wandered our way back down the trail. Along the way we took some photos of the fungi and vegetation that we saw.

We found the "steps" down the path that we took slowly. The end of the hike came up quickly and we carefully crossed Rt. 9 to the car.

When we got back to our campsite and found the rest of our group had completed the second hike that was connected with this checklist. They said it was easy, so we thought about it for a second and decided to go. The trail was quite buggy and muddy but the view of the reservoir was pretty.

We returned to the campsite with one very muddy pawed dog. He was so tired that he plopped down and napped for hours.

We went to dinner at the Madison Brewing Co. that evening. Despite calling ahead with a reservation, they seemed extremely unprepared for us. The beer was okay, the food was pretty good, but the service was not so good. They did have a knight though.