A Walk in the Woods

 For Vermont adventure #2, we left Moss Glens Falls trail in the Putnam State Forest area and drove to another forest area to walk the Sterling Falls  Gorge trail. This was on my bucket list because there's signage along the gorge trail and to our surprise, there was also a stream trail that took us to directly to some of the small falls and cascades.  On this adventure, we learned the differences between cascades and falls.  (who knew?!)  I found it very interesting and joked with Dave that if my high school earth science class had involved actual trips in nature, maybe I would have done better on the regents exam! (yes, in my high school days, a NYS resident had to take the Regents (standardized state exam) as well as the final for the course). 

Here are a few fave pics from the Gorge Hike (which again, was more like a walk in places). 

After walking down a dirt road from the parking area, we had to cross a bridge and then find stairs leading down to this sign.  Beyond this sign is where the actual gorge trail begins:

Steps down to gorge trail
29 June

we wore rain coats but the rain held off for the hike!
Dave leads the way on the upper trail

Sterling Falls Gorge 

Most of the trail was just a flat woods walk along the top of the gorge. There were many look out spots and probably about 10 different cascades and falls.  I didn't take a lot of photos as I was so focused on spending time with Dave and reading the various signs explaining the geological history of the place. It was a very easy trail and we wished it continued but it was a short out and back.  In the same area there was a small mountain to climb but it started to rain as soon as we got back to the car, so we headed back towards town and finding lunch. 

We discovered that Stowe has an upper and lower village. We decided to have lunch at this place where I also grabbed a coffee to go after we explored the bookstore/gift shop next  door to the cafe. The coffee was fantastic and the maple flavoring just made me smile. It was SO good. 

image is courtesy of tripadvisor

After lunch, we went back to the Inn via a different route to do some exploring and discovered an out of the way BBQ place where Dave wanted to eat dinner. After showering and changing out of our hiking gear, we spent some time relaxing and reading at the Inn on the porch in the shade. The sun was coming out and it was a bit humid but there was also a nice breeze. I wrote some postcards to send to family and friends and then we went to the BBQ place. 

Oh my.  I'm not a huge fan of BBQ and since I don't eat pork, beef, or lamb, there was only 1 item on the menu for me unless I wanted a black bean burger which I didn't.  So I ordered the BBQ turkey and baked beans.  Dave ordered the BBQ ribs which came with a huge dish of Mac and Cheese that we shared. I ended up giving him my baked beans.  I didn't care for their coleslaw but the pickles on the side were very different from anything we've had and were actually very good.  I ended up only eating half the BBQ turkey. I'm not used to eating a lot of meat and that was a HUGE portion. Dave tried a local hard cider and I had a rum and coke. 

Faith's dinner. SO MUCH FOOD!

The service was impeccable and although it looked like a dumpy dive, it was amazing food although the ambience was a bit loud as the bar is right in the middle of the restaurant. We  could have eaten on the porch but it was very humid and looked like it might rain again.  Thankfully, it didn't rain and some cooler air moved into the mountains once we were back in the village proper so we ended the day with a nice sunset walk along the Stowe Path. 

Dave on the Stowe Path bridge

The trail before it leads to the woods

the Stream through Stowe at dusk

After our walk out to the end and back, we were tired. We still had to climb the mountain road to get back to the Inn as we had gone back to change into walking shoes after dinner. I think we walked about 3 miles after dinner!

Once we were back at the Inn, it was dark so we hung out in the great room.  We had met another couple who had just turned 40 and we got to know them a little. Turns out we had lots in common with them!  They were up from PA and had passed through our hometown region. (Albany NY). She's a 2nd grade teacher and he's an accountant. Both love to hike and in fact we met them on the summit of the highest peak the very next day! That adventure will have to wait....I'll post more tomorrow. 

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our 2nd day of our Vermont vacation!