Closed Roads and Black Ice

Business meetings the first Monday in December took my sweetheart Marilyn and me to Stowe, Vermont. But all work and no play makes for a very dull life, so we decided to make an outdoor getaway of it.

Stowe has dozens of restaurants and varied lodging opportunities to explore. It is one of our favorite outdoor spots at any time of year.

Early December is often a quiet time and this year especially so because the cursed warm weather and rain had shut down the ski area after its successful Thanksgiving weekend opening.

Last minute, we had no trouble at all finding a wonderful place to stay: Hob Knob Inn, the oldest ski lodge in Stowe, though you’d never know it for the modern amenities. We also found open tables for dinner at The Restaurant Swisspot (wonderful fondue!), and Miguels Stoweaway (my favorite Mexican restaurant east of the Mississippi), both of which can be crowded at times.

Even with downhill skiing and snowboarding on hold, Stowe has many, many great places to play outdoors. There’s an outstanding trail system for everything from serious high-mountain hiking, to leisurely strolling, to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing when there’s snow, mountain biking when there’s not. They’ve got a wonderful sledding hill behind the elementary school in town. There’s year ‘round horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing in the summer, skating in the winter. Busy place.

It had snowed several inches overnight but the late-morning sun was working hard, the wind had died to a gentle breeze. It was, in other words, a beautiful afternoon to be outdoors. So we decided to talk a long walk.

Climbing Mount Mansfield was certainly an option. But at this time of year, I won’t head out into the high hills -- even on the nicest of days — without full winter survival gear. There’s just too much of a chance that something could go wrong: a slip of the foot, a twist of the ankle, or the weather could turn severe in a heartbeat. I don’t ever want to be one of the people the selfless folks who make up the Stowe Mountain Rescue Team have to haul off the mountain -- I’d never hear the end of it.

There were two obvious choice for a walk: the Stowe Recreation Path which runs a nearly-flat 5 miles from the village to the Top Notch Resort and Route 108, beyond Stowe Mountain Resort up and over Smuggler’s Notch.

This section of road is not maintained for winter driving, which means it’s a perfect place to walk. That’s where we headed

Good choice. Most of the snow was melting off the roadway in the early afternoon sun as we climbed up toward the top of the notch. But there was still enough snow in the woods to make the landscape look like early winter.

I had to laugh because, where the snow still lingered along the road you could see a single set of cross-country ski tracks where some kindred soul who just couldn’t wait for winter had gotten out early (probably on an old pair of boards) and skied up the road and back down. I can relate.

Our expedition was a little less fanatic but still fun. We reached the top of the notch in good time, working up a pleasant sweat in the process, savoring the fact that every calorie burned meant one more we could eat guilt-free at dinner. The views were lovely, the wind was fresh, the people we met were smiling, as were we.

It wasn’t a huge expedition, just enough to remind us that there are always options for getting outdoors and having fun, even if the primary purpose of the trip was something as mundane as business.

Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

Mother Nature's Warped Sense of Humor

By the time we reached the high point of our little hike, the sun had disappeared behind the shoulder of Mount Mansfield, and the wind carried a real chill to it. No surprise there, it’s December.

But the quick chill meant the melting snow along the road surface quickly re-froze into a thin skim of super-slick black ice; the same kind of black ice that can send your car spinning out of control. Black ice is no kinder to hikers.

We had on hiking boots which provide great traction on everything but ice. Marilyn had hiking poles; I hadn’t bothered with mine. Of course we hadn’t brought traction creepers. This wasn’t a hike, just an afternoon stroll along a road, right?

After the first couple of slips (no falls, thank goodness,) we got smart and stepped off the road for our hike down. The gravel road edge hadn’t heated up like the blacktop road, so the snow hadn’t melted and refrozen. And the texture of the gravel underneath meant we’d have had traction even if it had.

We were glad for our hiking boots, however. The ditches were uneven and in running shoes, it would have been pretty easy to twist an ankle, We’d have had to be more careful with different footwear.

Unprepared as we were, we weren’t in any danger or discomfort. We just had to adapt to changing circumstances and be a little careful. It was a nice reminder that, no matter what your plans are, Mother Nature can have other ones, and you’d better be ready for whatever She sends your way.