Rock Point Trails Rambling
The act of rambling is meant to be spontaneous, as is the act of finding a place to ramble. Such was the case when Rita and I visited my friend Carl in Vermont during the month of December. While Carl planned the bike route, the ramble was fortuitously wrought from a regular hike at Rock Point Trails.
We initially planned to snorkel around shipwrecks in Lake Champlain, but those plans fell through when we lost communication with our guide due to cell phone issues. As an alternative decided to hike. Although hikes are point A to point B, you can ramble along the trail, no problem.
Carl, his wife Poppy, Rita, and I piled into their Toyota Camry and drove to the Rock Point Trails. As part of his job Carl worked on these trails. While we walked, he gave us a tour of all his accomplishments. There were sections he helped clear, trees he marked, and maps that he made. His handiwork was embedded in those woods.
Into the great wide open
We continued walking along when to my great delight we emerged from the forest into a wide-open field. It was time to ramble! I broke from our single file march and ambled across the grass, this way and that. There was a spade lying out, and I took the opportunity to stake it into the ground, marking the spot where I first rambled in Vermont.
Prior to arriving in Burlington Carl mentioned that we could ramble at the Shelburne Farms. It is an active farm that allows tourists to wander around and look at the animal handling. We shelved those plans due to muddy conditions, but the hike opened up an even better opportunity, forest clearings. Vermont is full of forests, and what better place to ramble than in the clearings one encounters while walking in them.
I rambled a bit more in the first clearing while the rest of my group looked on with bemusement from a distance. Then we hiked on to an overlook on a cliff above Lake Champlain. There were no mountain views due to the clouds, but the waves were huge and crashed against the rock walls below. We took photos and continued. To even greater delight, we encountered not one, but three more forest clearings to ramble in.
Dead man and dead grass
The next clearing was small and cozy. It was in the vicinity of Samuel Babcock Booth’s tomb. He was the fourth bishop of Vermont, and he had a stone pavilion with a large cross to honor his memory. Leaves covered every inch of ground. This time the rambling bug infected us all, and together we wandered joyfully around the area, kicking up leaves and pondering why the city built such an elaborate memorial for the fourth bishop of Vermont.
Our hike turned downhill, and we made it to the shores of Lake Champlain on North Beach. We rambled a bit, but mostly our attention was set on a man out in the lake. He was kitesurfing, in one of the most frigid months of the year. The wind was whipping, and he put on a show, sometimes getting big air and other times wiping out. I thought about taking pictures of him and pretending it was me so I could get a wicked water voyage on my site. Not being one to risk my integrity, I decided to stick with the rambling story.
Before moving on Carl showed us the famous Champlain Beachgrass. It is an endangered plant that grows in small pockets along the shores of Lake Champlain. I should write to David Attenborough and request that it be filmed it before it all dies or gets mowed down. Fortunately, the City of Burlington is fighting hard to keep it alive.
Rock Point Trails eco-paradise
The final rambling zone of the day was the best. Just past the beach there is an array of solar panels standing in a grassy field, operated by the Rock Point Episcopal Boarding School. I was surprised at how large they were when standing next to them. In addition, it was another surprise when they randomly rotated. I’m assuming it’s to track the sun, but it might also be a way of scaring off intruders.
The ground was muddy, which made the rambling a bit of a slog. Nevertheless, it was enchanting to walk around amidst the future of energy generation. When the snow falls, the school grooms cross country ski trails through the arrays, and it’s a shame I couldn’t stick around for that. In the future, it’s also going to be a hot bed for bee pollination, further upping both its rambling and its eco cred.
They built a medieval tower just for fun
That was all the rambling for the day but not for the trip. By chance, again, I encountered one more forest clearing. We traveled to Montpelier to see the Capitol, and while walking around the outside I found a trail in the woods behind the rotunda. Rita was working in a cafe, so by myself I hiked to the top.
On the hilltop the forest opens up into a small clearing with a stone tower by the name of Hubbard. It looks like something transplanted from medieval Europe. While I would love it if its history included the Green Mountain Boys using it as a battle lookout, that’s not the case. The city built it to be a conspicuous attraction for onlookers as well as something fun for hikers to climb.
I partook in the fun and climbed to the top where I saw spectacular views of the surrounding Green Mountains. The politicians in the state house below are lucky they have a place like this they can unwind in after a hard day debating whether or not to repaint the covered bridges. Afterward I climbed back down, went out into the clearing, and rambled. Seeing the medieval tower from below was even better than seeing the mountains from above.
One comment