VERMONT & GREEN MOUNTAIN -4-

We take our bodies for granted for so long until we do something out of the ordinary when, all of a sudden, we discover a multitude of muscles we never knew existed. That's what I am amazed with as I lower my achy body into the bathtub in the evening after returning from Hell Brook trailhead at Stowe Inn. I can feel the Musculus Gracilis, extending from the medial (inner) side of the knee join toward the hip, all four heads of my quadriceps, the muscles underneath the Musculus Gluteus deep in my buttocks, on and on. From my waist down, a muscular orchestra is playing a cacophony, beyond the sweet soreness of having worked out. I do love that sensation coming from my muscles after a good work-out, that, which is right at the brink between pain and pleasure, that "sweet ache", as I call it. But, I murmur to myself “this is way beyond that sweet soreness. I also must confess that night, I wake up multiple times with that sensation around my knees looking for pillows to make them a bit more comfortable to be able to go back to sleep. I know from experience, though, that this shall, too, pass, in couple of days having worked out all these now-achy muscles to their full capacity, they will reach a new level of strength and I will no longer feel their existence, a new level of taking for granted…

Young people enjoying the altitudes of Vermont

After being reborn with that long bath followed with shower, I find enough energy to go to Blue Moon Cafe on School Street. I head read about it in a book titled “Off the beaten path” for Vermont. It indeed turns out to be an adorable place where they have designated the enclosed porch area of an old house to small tables, thus, to couples. Dictated by the size of the table (more reasonable for one person to occupy a table for two), I am shown to the area of romantics, albeit without a partner. The couples around me are anywhere from their 40s to 60s and perhaps as varied in terms of geography as age. Understandably so, since most young people who can to afford coming to Stowe for a vacation are probably backpacking up on the mountains not interested both mentally and financially in enjoying urban pleasures in the middle of the mountains. They are all up in the mountains in one of the lodges or leantos enjoying themselves with kindred spirited people. All of the people around me look like upper middle class people, who are likely to come to a place like Stowe to stroll around during the day for a few hours, swim at their resort's swimming pool, the more adventurous ones perhaps would take a horse ride and in the evening top it off with a dinner at a place like Blue Moon Cafe. I smile to myself for being judgmental: How could I know that any or all of these people did not do The Chin, or Madonna's Peak, or Camel's Hump today? How could they tell that I was on top of Mount Mansfield today looking at me in my red fancy dress? I send an affectionate look to each couple and wish them well for whatever they find enjoyable and doable at their own age.


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 Every time I wake up in the night, I question myself about whether I will be able to do another hike tomorrow. But after finding a comfortable position for my achy knees, I drift back into a peaceful sleep and have a delightful sleep after all until 8:30 am. When I leave the bed, I am as stiff as can be, but after moving around a bit, I feel I can at least give it a try one more time. I fix my lunch box with bread, olives, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers and an avocado and head toward the trailhead of Sterling Pond. My goal is to go up to Madonna Peak, but, I also know my knees will dictate how far I will be able to go. Sterling Pond apparently is a favorite destination for many. The trail, relatively moderate terrain, is like a highway with people of all colors, ages, sizes going up and down, some at a running pace. Ah, youth…




Sterling Pond, lovely lake to swim in



The pond has crystal clear water, in which some of the visitors are swimming. I regret that I forgot to bring my swimming suit. I can only dream of the sizzle I would have felt upon touching the water with this heated up body, had I had my swimming suit on. After enjoying myself on top of a boulder by the shore under the sun for ten minutes, I head up toward Madonna Peak on the trail meandering around the lake over a cliff with lovely views of the lake from up above. On the way to Madonna, half way up to the summit, I bump into a backpacker in his 60s. He does look worn out and asks me about the leanto I just left behind. Feeling elated with the information that the leanto is just around the corner, we start chatting. He is a gentleman from Ohio, living near Erie Lake. He took an Amtrak train from Erie to the beginning of Long Trail near Canadian border and had been hiking for the last 6 days. He has been hiking from hut to hut along Long Trail and is planning to stay at Sterling Pond leanto tonight. He is visibly happy to hear that he is just a mile away from the hut. My heart goes to him, he has many more days to go, yet, to catch another train back to Ohio from the Massachusetts end of the trail. I wish him well and head up to Madonna to find two more backpackers at the peak in another mile.

Steve and Mark resting at the platform

We are all tired, they from backpacking and apparently forging many streams, and I climbing up for the last two hours, I from forcing another challenging upstream hike on my already exhausted knees. We greet one another and sit at the platform for the chair lift for skiers to have our lunch, looking west. The scenery is beautiful, Steve, who I will learn later, works at a company that produces laboratory goods, points out that we can see as far as Lake Champlain. His friend Mark is a science teacher in high school, they are long-time friends. One lives in Pittsburgh, the other in Maine. We have a lovely chat together after I disclose that I am Turkey. They want to know what is happening in Turkey lately with Gezi Park. I tell them all I know along with my interpretations. With this fulfilling conversation, we have lunch savoring the beauty down below, which we all know, sometimes may be difficult to appreciate when within. I feel for them when they take off their shoes and empty a few ounces of water out of each shoe followed with removing their socks and wringing off equal amount of water. They indeed had to forge some body of water on the way to. They are planning to do 38 miles of hiking and this is only their second day. I take their picture, they take mine to exchange when we return home.



As we head down toward the leanto, it is a pleasant surprise to bump into the trio of backpackers that I left at Taft Lodge last night on the trail heading to Bear Lodge. This comforts Steve and Mark since I told them the trio was planning to stay at Sterling Pond tonight. The trio heads up and Steve and Mark down, ahead of me to secure their comfortable space at Sterling Pond leanto. I take my time, enjoy the beauty thoroughly with no rush.


By Sterling Pond