Stowe, Wednesday, July 24, 2024
We had a bit of rain in the morning, but it soon cleared and we headed for Smugglers Notch, the narrow pass between Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. After years in which large trucks continually got stuck as they tried to make their way along the road between boulders, the state finally put in a chicane at the entrance to the notch that keeps large trucks out.
After driving to the top of the notch, we turned back for a walk along the Barnes Camp Loop Trail. The trail–a section of the Long Trail that runs the length of Vermont–starts on a walkway above a bog; it soon turns into a typical northern New England trail: rocky, rutted, and incredibly beautiful.
The boys turned out to be terrific hikers.
Even Alex walked the first half of the trail.
Nathaniel walked the entire two-mile trail, including some very steep pitches with some scrambling.
After running along a ridge for the first half, the trail descends and crosses a swift brook on stepping stones.
The pitch then turned steeply uphill. We stopped for a well deserved break at the top, where we rejoined the Long Trail.
And here’s the happy crew at the end of the walk.
Long family tradition dictates that young hikers get a badge to commemorate their first real hike, so I headed into town and found some nice ones for these two intrepid walkers.
Every good hiker deserves some ice cream at the end of the trail, so we drove to Waterbury so that the boys could do the Ben and Jerry’s factory tour. The tour was a hit, especially once we had a free sample in hand. Today’s flavor was marshmallow sky—marshmallow ice cream with some natural flavor that turned it blue. Some of us liked it, some didn’t!
Dinner was at the Trapp Bierhall. A big success except the part where I spilled an entire beer onto Nathaniel!