Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 17:30:22 -0400
Reply-To: Sam Conant <samcvt@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Sam Conant <samcvt@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: NVC: Friday....VERMONT!!!
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Craig,
I live in Colchester, Vermont's second largest town which also borders
Burlington and a few other communities. This is a great region of the
state, in my book. Downtown Burlington's main street (Church Street) is
closed to vehicle traffic, and is a decent outdoor walking mall-like area.
I don't know of any hostels in the area, but recall there was one in Stowe,
VT on Rt 108. That road may or may not be open when you get here - it
traverses the north end of Mount Mansfield through "Smugglers Notch" and was
closed a couple of weeks ago because of some rock slides. It is not plowed
and open during the winter season, but I don't know when it is officially
closed.
The best hiking maps can be bought either on line or in Burlington. They
are published by the Green Mountain Club which maintains the "Appalachian
Trail" Vermont section and the "Long Trail" which follows the mountain tops
from Mt. Greylock on Massachusetts north to the Canadian Border.
Don't know how physically in shape you are, so make the following hiking
recommendations if you are using Burlington as your base:
I've hiked the Long Train end-to-end a couple of times, and hope to do it
again. I had thought seriously of doing the Appalachian Trail from Georgia
to Maine
Drive east on RT 15 to Underhill and bear right at the Exxon station as you
approach the town. You'll drive across a flatland for approximately 2-4
miles. At the stop sign next, bear left (there will be a church in front of
you and a store on your left at the stop. Drive approximately 1/8th of a
mile and turn right onto the "Stevens Brook." That road heads onto Mt.
Mansfield and dead-ends at the foot of two nice hiking trails which will
lead you (after a few miles) to a sleeping lodge. The trail up onto Mt.
Mansfield Straight ahead from the road's end small parking lot takes you
past Butler Lodge which is about 1/2 mile below the southern end of the
mountain. It is a moderate to difficult trail. If you head south from the
parking lot, you will follow an easy to moderate trail for a few miles and
can stay at Taylor Lodge which overlooks Lake Mansfield (owned by a private
trout fishing club). If you want to do both lodges for a couple of nights.
I'd head to Taylor for the first night, then back-track to where the "Long
Trail" continues northward and departs the access trail you began with.
That too will get you to Butler Lodge below the southern summit.
If you just want a day hike to a mountain top fairly near Burlington, I'd
drive U.S. Rt 2 to Jonesville and, in what passes for a village, turn right
and cross the Winooski River to the first left onto a dirt road which runs
parallel to the river. Follow that until you see signs for the Long Trail.
Camels Hump summit is a long hike up from there. An alternative to the
summit would have you taking I-89 to US Rt 2 east at Waterbury. Follow VT
Rt 100 south through the town to Duxbury. Somewhere along there is another
road which takes one up onto the lower slopes of Camels Hump and a fairly
decent moderate to rugged access trail to the top of Vermont's second
highest mountain. Just below the mountain, hidden amongst the shrubs and
trees there is what is left of a WW II bomber which crashed up there when
its squadron was heading out of the U.S. to Europe. If you decide to do
this hike, I'd leave Burlington early in the AM and plan to be back here
perhaps after dark. But, on a clear day, that is a decent trek with great
views from the top.
Ben and Jerry's first large production facility is sited just north of the
Waterbury I-89 exit on VT Rt 100, and they give away ice cream there. {;?)
I remember Ben and Jerry from their very first venture in a former downtown
Burlington Gulf gasoline station. Their machinery was made up of one, small
electric motor, belt driven piece of equipment which attached to their
contents filled "vat" and turned the paddle or some such thing. They served
soup and ice cream to homeless folks out the back door and showed no-fee
movies in their outdoor eating area for folks who stopped by and wanted to
spend an evening with them. Burlington has many decent restaurants, and I
wouldn't recommend one over another. Some are pricey though.
If you're into folk lore museums, Shelburne Museum is an 8 mile drive south
of Burlington on US Rt 7. It is a worthwhile visit. As soon as you arrive
in Burlington pick up the weekly (free) newspaper, "Seven Days." You can
also access it on the www. That is, in my opinion, one of the best "what's
happening" (including entertainment) sources in the state - and it always
has some really decent articles of political and other interests.
Where are driving in from, and are you at all familiar with how to save time
getting here if coming in via the Albany, NY area?
SamC
----- Original Message ----- From: "craig cowan" <phishman068@GMAIL.COM> To:
<vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 4:15 PM Subject:
NVC: Friday....VERMONT!!!
Hello world. My brother and i are planning a trip to vermont over our
thanksgiving break to spend about a week sight seeing, going to places Phish
has been/grown up, and hopefully doing some backpacking/hiking/climb a
mountain or two. It is friday, and this list is so overly useful for this
kind of thing.....so...... Anyone who lives in or around, or has been
through vermont (anywhere in vermont), what do you recommend? We're looking
to plan a trip involving plenty of outdoors, small towns, microbreweries and
wineries, cheap lodging
(hostels), some good places to eat (sandwich shops maybe?), and some sights
to see. I'm sure some of you have some awesome ideas, so lets hear them! The
trip will be made in a 1985 volvo 240DL in amazing shape, as sadly our
vanagon will not be close to making this trip (no vanagons will be harmed in
the making of this trip).
What would two college students with a love for adventure want to do in
vermont? The simple answer is "i've always wanted to go to Nectars in
Burlington". So, that accounts for about 5 hours of our week.....other than
that we're mostly out of ideas.
Thanks again. Sorry for keeping you from debating who's got the best
engine. -Craig '85gl '85 240DL (Volvo) '86 300E (Mercedes)
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