Moist - possibly the most hated word in English language
Murphy's Law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. In my case it was the perfect alignment between the time I planned my PTO for, booked a couple of places in Vermont, a series of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area. Let's just say that this was my wettest bike tour to date.
At very least once per year I try to go somewhere by bike. And I don't mean a local grocery store, but more like the neighboring state. This year it was Vermont (again). I only visited Green Mountain NF once so far and I felt like repeating it. Last week Wednesday the bike was packed, I was ready, just the forecast looked... uninspiring. This entire summer, starting in early June, has been pretty terrible - sort of like a mini monsoon season. Very, very humid, hot and heavy rain just about every other day or so. Sure, everything is green and there is no risk of wildfires but it's just difficult to enjoy this kind of weather.
Day 1 - Springfield to Grout Pond (104km/65mi)
On Thursday morning I left my house around 7am and drove to Springfield, VT. Left the car on a Park&Ride lot and by 9:20am I was in the saddle. The morning was very cloudy and humid. At least it didn't rain. Yet. The first climb on Meany Rd wasn't the hardest of the day, but not that much fun either given a very high humidity. At least the downhill ride was great and rewarding.
I reached Bellows Falls, although I had to sort of go around as the footbridge connecting the island with Rt12 on the east side was closed to all traffic. The town has a nice vibe and revolves around all things trains, which I actually liked a lot. Basically, Bellows Falls is trains, train yards, hydroelectric power plant and a small center square that should definitely be pedestrianized.
I continued along the Saxtons River and somewhere past Athens I found two guys on Crust bikes finishing the "Brattleboro Loop" around the mountains. Their bikes were well covered in dirt and mud - a signs of things to come. We biked together for some time until I had to take a turn towards West River. At that point the sky opened and poured for at least 2 hours. Grassy Brook Rd we were on is actually a very nice gravel road to bike - wide and flat with some views. It's also probably more enjoyable when dry.
This forced me to adjust my setup a bit - place a trash bag over the handlebar bag and put my Cleverhood poncho on. Little I knew this would be my default setup for the next 2 days.
The good thing was the as I was climbing up West Jamaica Rd the sun started peeking out between the clouds around 3:30pm. I made it to my reserved campsite at Grout Pond around 5pm and given the partially blue sky, no rain and few bugs, I could actually enjoy the evening, especially a visit from an unexpected guest. As I was sitting at the edge of the lake I heard a buzzing sound behind me, which turned out to be a hummingbird eating from the nearby flowers.
Then I noticed one minor setback - packed the wrong cable for my phone to connect to a portable battery. This means I was carrying the battery for nothing - without the cable it couldn't be used to charge my phone so I had to rely on finding wall outlets somewhere for the rest of my trip.
I like Grout Pond for its remoteness, waterfront campsites, peace and solitude, and decent infrastructure (which basically means just a flat spot to pitch your tent and a porta potty nearby). It's a popular place though, hence reservations are recommended in season. What I don't like about it is... its remoteness. You really need to bring everything in and out with you. No place nearby to go for an evening dinner or booze, I suppose.
When sun came down I slipped into the sleeping bag to get some sleep. I planned on getting up early next day to pack up my camp, as rain was forecasted for 7am.
Day 2 - Grout Pond to Frog Hollow Farm (121km/75mi)
The next day I got up at 6:20am, which turned out to be too late. That's because when I had about 90% of my stuff packed, it started pouring. I quickly jammed the remaining things in the bags, covered them with plastic and left the campground to find some roof. Fortunately, there was a maintenance building nearby that had a small roofed section. I could repack my bags and make a quick oatmeal for breakfast.
By 7:30am I was on road. Rain didn't pause for a moment and I could hear a distant thunderstorm. The next 15km (9mi) were all downhill, which in regular circumstances would be lots of fun, but doing that in a heavy downpour hits somewhat differently.
When I reached Arlington on the other side of the mountain I was actually a bit chilled. The morning air temperature was low, it was cloudy, rainy and I had wet clothes on. All this meant that I could really use something to warm up. I found a country store in the village and stopped for a cup of hot tea and a hot egg + bacon + cheddar sandwich, both of which really improved my overall mood.
Then it got even better because once I was done with my sandwich the rain stopped. When I was leaving Arlington and by the time I reached NY state border the sun was out and I could see some clear sky for the first time that day. The sun was most welcome as it would finally dry up the trails and my wet clothes. Or so I hoped, at least. Unfortunately, all it did was to turn everything into a sauna. I rode up the Tate Hill Rd, deep in the forest and with humidity this high everything felt like being coated with a film of water. My gloves, hat and the shirt on my back did not want to dry out at all, even in direct sunlight. The downhill towards Rupert brought a brief relief. There, I hopped on the Delaware And Hudson Rail Trail, which meant no climbing, at least for a while.
The trail is actually really nice - hardpacked gravel, well maintained, with great views, and flat. I rolled to Granville, NY, where I did no stop, as I planned to take a longer break in Poultney. On the way I discovered one major problem - due to high heat and humidity, the camera I had in my bag started fogging up from heavy condensation. I had no other choice but to take it out of the bag and strap it on top of the handlebar bag with a bungee cord. This allowed the sun and airflow to keep it dry.
The good weather ended too soon. I was about a mile away from Poultney when the sky opened and it started pouring heavily. The only good thing about these heavy showers is that they don't last long so by the time I arrived at Analog Cycles in Poultney, the rain stopped.
At this point I decided I needed a break and I treated myself to a burger and beer at Poultney Pub, where I also had a chance to charge my phone (remember the wrong battery cable?). The weather forecast looked surprisingly good for the rest of the day, but I learned already not to trust it at all.
I was moving north when somewhere on the way to Half Moon State Park I got caught in yet another heavy downpour - the last one of that day. I finally reached Frog Hollow Farm in Hubbardton at around 5:30pm. I booked this place through hipcamp.com as an alternative to staying at the state park. The Half Moon State Park had a silly requirement to book 2 nights minimum, which did not make sense to me, hence my decision to try the farm instead.
The campsites at the farm are all located at the top of the hill, which is good because you don't share your tent with farm animals, and it's bad because you have to carry all your stuff up a steep hill. On the other hand though, views from the campsite were awesome and my hosts provided me with a delicious focaccia/pizza for dinner.
Day 3 - Frog Hollow Farm to Springfield (102km/64mi)
The day didn't start well, all because it started raining at night and a heavy rain woke me up around 4am, I think. Fortunately, the rain was much lighter at 7am and I could pack my wet tent and keep going. The rain continued until 8:30am and as such I made a decision to skip going off-road, over the mountain tops, as this would mean climbing hills just for the sake of it - something I certainly didn't feel like doing in a wet and humid weather. I opted to stay on the main road - Rt103, especially that it had a decent, wide shoulder. After the last climb on the Old Turnpike Rd it was all downhill all the way to Ludlow, where I arrived earlier than expected, at 11:45am. Some of the severe damage from heavy floods in mid-July was still noticeable in the area. This part of Vermont was hit hard by heavy rains and local rivers and streams flooded towns and cities, leaving many roads damaged and houses ruined.
I stayed in Ludlow for a about half an hour having a panini lunch at Johnny's Kitchen, then I continued to Proctorsville. I didn't take any major stops on the way until Springfield, finally enjoying decent weather - mostly sunny with noticeably lower humidity and around 75F (24C). In Springfield I briefly stopped at the Food Co-Op to get a few snacks and I was back at the car at 2:15pm.
Overall, this was for sure the rainiest, wettest, and most humid bike trip I have ever done and I certainly don't feel like trying it again. It's just not enjoyable in such conditions, but unfortunately this summer didn't create many better opportunities. There were good moments though and a some miles of nice weather and great roads or trails to explore. I'm trying to think where I would like to go next...
