August 3, 2021 – Up at 6:30am after reading email and social media for a while. I needed to finish up packing, go to the post office to stop mail, clean so Gina would be appalled, and pack some more.
Already I can tell I’ve taken too much. That’s a habit beyond The Rig, I suppose. Over the past few days I’ve felt both elation and fear about this first trip. Everyone I spoke to heard the same line: I may be gone 3 days or 3 weeks. I’ve also had dreams of head on collisions and getting t-boned. I made it onto US Route 2 and immediately got behind a log truck that went slow and slower. I didn’t mind. But then the driver sped up and slowed down and sped up again. Never did the driver go as fast as the speed limit until we came to an uphill where two lanes appeared. He floored it as I was attempting to pass on the outside lane. The lanes merged and I was just barely by him. What a way to end this trip at the beginning, trying to pass a driver who was messing with those of us following him. Must have been having a bad Tuesday. Once I got by, I flashed my flashers just to let him know … click-click... FU, FU, FU. And that’s how I felt.
Bailey wandered from the front seat to the floor. He seemed pooped from his day at Sharon’s. He also seemed nervous last night and this morning while I packed: “Am I going to be left behind?”
Lunch and a pee break in Lancaster NH and then onto to Vermont.
We made it to the trailhead of the Long Trail on Route 125. My plan was to hike to the summit of the Middlebury Snowbowl or farther on Long depending on when we arrived. Well, we got there at 3:30pm and just did the Snowbowl summit. About ½ mile into the hike, we happened up a family of day hikers not equipped for the muddy trail. I called up “Is everyone OK with dogs.” Hands went up but I wasn’t sure what that meant, and before I could say another word, Bailey sprinted up to greet the crew. Two 10 years old screamed as Bailey approached. I felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” I said as I crept by. Bailey thought he’d missed out on treats.
On the way back down, I ran into the same family who had walked to a small pond on the mountain. I called out, “Here we are again! Humble, leashed, and so very sorry.” They laughed it off but when we first passed them, one woman gave me the stink eye. I apologized again. I did screw up. Not everyone likes an unleashed dog, even goofy Bailey.
I made my first ever meal using the stove this evening. I heated up chicken and diced potatoes. But, I used the propane. Naturally, the smoke alarm went off. I flipped on the exhaust fan and turned on the generator to charge the batteries.
I’ve just made Bailey’s bed, turning the kitchen table into a bed. He seems to like it.
We’re off the grid tonight parking in National Forrest Service land. We stayed here two years ago, and I think we’ll be ok tonight. Middlebury College’s mountain campus, the Bread Loaf School of English, where I went to graduate school, is just a mile or so up the road. We may pull in tomorrow if we’re up and out early enough. Tomorrow, I’m eyeing Waterford, NY or the southern Adirondacks. (We ended up going south toward Albany and climbing a small ski area in the southern Adirondacks).
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| Forest Service land. |
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| Stealth camping. |
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| Next time I may explore these roads. |
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| View of a bog from our camping spot. |
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| Bailey appreciating his bed. |
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| Summit views |
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| Snowbowl lift |
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| Lodge |
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| We climbed up the Long Trail to the summit |
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| The Middlebury Snowbowl |
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| The Long Trail |
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| This is my space. |
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| I collapsed the table to create Bailey's bed. |
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| Such a chef. |
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| I wondered whether this was Breadloaf Mountain, but once I got looking at a map, I knew it wasn't. |
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| Lancaster NH |
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