We're getting some weird weather again this weekend in northern Vermont. We decided to get some cross-country striding in before the mixed precipitation started.
The Skimeister and I clicked into our waxless skinny skis and did a healthy tour around the trails at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. We started out before 9 a.m. and came back to the car three hours later.
Let's see if I can remember how we zigzagged around. Up Russell Knoll to Chris' Run and Slayton Pasture Trail to the cabin. There we shared some hot soup despite it being mid-morning! It was nice to be at the cabin when it wasn't stuffed with people. The fire made things very cozy.
We continued our tour: Starting down Haul Road, up Hare Line, down Bobcat, up Oslo and partway down Parizo. There we picked up Old County Road (which was an ungroomed, challenging downhill) then up the Morrison Trail. The Telemark trail brought us back to the lodge.
We enjoyed a rather leisurely pace and looked for signs of wildlife. We saw lots of deer tracks. They had been busy digging through the snow on the sides of the trails looking for food. And a bobcat had pooped right in a freshly groomed classic track! We saw from his tracks that he had run up the ski trail. Cool!
The snow conditions were quite good, but we do need more snow. We avoided dirty or grassy spots here and there, including in the tracks. The higher we were, the better the snow coverage. (Our highest elevation today was 2,100 feet at the Slayton Cabin.)
An excellent way to spend part of a Saturday in Vermont!
