Lack of Speed
“A dead-end trail, but Lake Champlain views from the Green Mountain region of Lincoln VT are not to be scoffed at. They come few and far between. Now designated a “wilderness”, this area is unmarked, with no easy access. But if you do know your way around, it’s still worth the effort. All told, we need to get out of the house. Frigid temperatures have given way to rain, then ice, then a back & forth, for weeks on end, with just enough snow to justify attempts at skiing. But this trip, reverts to boots, and for me: ice cleats. We leave our trucks pulled off the road into a snow bank, but strategically, not stuck. The dogs are ecstatic. Their enthusiasm alone, will surely propel us up this elevation. We depart from the top of Bristol Notch, heading north but west of Gilmore Hill. I lead us uphill, to a glade that will be full of spring ephemerals, in a few months time. This is where the trail dips & bends, meets a wider track, but darkens. Some passages are to be endured. This basic lesson of the forest, is both anxious, and kind. With a friend, these chapters build camaraderie, and humor. But taken alone, there is little reassurance, until one is through. Soon enough, a voice cries out to alert the group to the tones & accents of a scruffy field, rising beyond the ominous tangle of winter trunks. Not a show piece hayfield or former pasture, the lumber company that sold it may have clear cut it before leaving. There’s not much left but berry bushes, birch saplings, and huge rocks, sitting in odd locations. One path we follow, indicated by the solo track of a lone snow machine, ends at a giant boulder, too steep to climb. However, we’ve caught the lake view, finding other, shorter rocks, to scale. It’s a jaw dropping moment, to see that lake from here. It’s so incongruous. I feel incongruous, frankly, all over. I don’t know what to do, with what I know. I don’t know if what I know, has any relevance, to anyone. Maybe its because I’ve been sick for a month. It’s always hard to get back up to speed. I’m just not sure what speed I’m running at now, or if speed is the exact opposite, of what I really need.”