I’m up at 6:00 before the family wakes up, time limited today because I want to get a ride in before I start work at 9:00 with a 2 hour call. I make it as quick as I can and I’m out the door by 6:45 with the intention of climbing up the hill part of the way then going down and back up and down again. I wasn’t sure how it would work out but that was the plan.
The climb was about 400 feet up on road then it dumped into the woods and followed the access road that climbs all the way to the top. Going all the way to the left side lift was another 200+ on gravel that was probably the hardest pitch of the climb. Since I was essentially poaching the mountain I was worried someone might say something to me but the only people I see are 2 guys on a quad going up the pavement, 1 of which looks at me and nods. In NJ, the same situation would have these guys more than likely yelling at me. Vermont is so much more relaxed than back home.
I do Step It Up for the first run down and it’s an excellent blue trail. This is labelled as a freeride trail which I’m unsure the meaning of. Later I would realize that there is freeride and jump line, which makes more sense. At the bottom I turn back onto the road and make my way up again. This time I am passed by an older guy on a quad on the gravel climb and he just says good morning. Really, hard to believe that people are so chill here. It’s refreshing.
I then take the jump line, called Jump Start, for my second run. Also good but I’m a little cautious on some of these jumps because they’re a bit above my pay grade in spots. Plus I’m alone on a hill and if I eat it, I’ll lay here for the next few hours until the hill opens. Not a great way to start the day.
I then roll around at the bottom a bit to get my hour of riding in.
Strava link can be found here.
Went back to the house and grabbed a shower, as I was soaking wet and wanted to feel clean for the next few hours while I worked. I drove down to the village to check out Liquid Art Coffee but it was closed so I settled on the Sunup Bakery. Not the best espresso ever but it was pretty good.
Did my work call from 9-11 while D took the boys to the Sherbourne trails which we had done the day before. The call was painless and that was all I had specifically scheduled in terms of meetings today. After the call, Julia and I went for a short walk around the pond at the base of the short downhill run just to get out of the condo for a bit.
Then we went home to wait for lunch while they rode the Cairn Trail plus a few more. Here are some pics of their adventure.
When they came back we sat down for lunch and towards the end, the rain started pouring down but didn’t last long. The nature of this massive hill seems to be one that is susceptible to random flashes of rain like this. Towards the end the boys ran over to jump in the pool and were back in 10 minutes. Then we geared up to hike to the top of the big mountain in the late afternoon.
We decided to follow a route up that was the C route, which ended up being the gravel road almost all the way up. Probably not the best scenery but it was constant and got us there relatively directly without going literally straight up the hill. Julia was huffing a bit and took a few puffs of the inhaler to try to help her lungs hurt less. This was a huge hike for her so it was a challenge for sure.
As some point towards the top, there was a porcupine in the trail slowly lumbering up the hill. I didn’t get a picture as it was too far away, just a blob. We hiked a bit more and made it to the end of C, at the top of one of the lifts. Here we took a break and sat down for a bit.
From there we took a built up walkway that went from this lift to the gondola lift. I’m still not sure why this is here.
At the gondola we picked up the J trail which is the little loop at the top, the goal of this hike.
And then we got to the payoff. Pictures don’t do it justice but here are a few.
We then headed down the hill on the E trail, which started and ended in fields but went through actual woods in the middle. About halfway down or so, the rain started coming which is, again, one of the realities of this hill. It went from light to heavy, with lightning sounding off several times but not too close, thankfully. Towards the end Julia’s feet started to hurt but she marched through it all to the end. I was pretty proud of her today.
Strava link can be found here.
Then we went to the Mad Hatter for ice cream, which was well-earned today.
After all that, we were all pretty beat. We had some snacks while we took turns showering up. D made dinner and I did some laundry. The meal is a yummy pesto chicken with potatoes and a salad. After dinner the condo is quiet, as everyone has used up all their energy for the day. We’re just saving up for tomorrow, which is a bit of an adventure day.
Day 2 of 12 in the books. Pretty solid stack of things done today.
Traveling Normandy 