May Travels
Left Georgia and headed North East to New Jersey, back to the Tracker School this time to help out with the standard class. I had about a week before the class started so I decided to head to North Carolina and maybe hike the Smoky Mountains. I drove straight to Gatlinburg TN and got a room. May is a great time to find cheap rooms in Gatlinburg; I got a nice room with a balcony overlooking a flowing mountain stream for $50…far out.
The forecast was crappy tho – cold and rainy for the next three days so I decided to skip the smokies and start down the road to New Jersey. I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and ended up driving pretty much the entire length of the Blue Ridge as well as the Virginia Skyline Drive camping out and hiking along the way.
The following Sunday I was at the Tracker School volunteering or the the standard class. I had not experienced the Tracker schools standard class since I had first taken it over ten years ago. It was great to revisit. There was a camera crew there; apparently Tom has allowed an independent film crew to document the Tracker experience.
The class let out around Mothers day so I figured I stop by my mother's house in New Hampshire. On the way to New Hampshire I sopped over at Harvard Square and Waldon Pond (where I learned how to swim when I was a kid). While in New Hampshire I spent a few days in the White Mountains camping in a debris hut.
white mountains camp
Spent some time in the White Mountins camping in a debris hut.
From New Hampshire I decided I’d hike Mt. Marcy – highest peak in New York. I plugged Keene Vally New York into my GPS and hit the road. One problem though…the GPS route had me taking a ferry from Burlington across the Champlain River into New York but the ferries were not running yet, too early in the season. I parked the car and decided to check out Burlington Vermont…I ended up staying for three days.
Burlington Vermont is an incredibly friendly place, one of the friendliest places I think I’ve ever been, expansive though. I was pointed to the Nectarine, a nightclub in Burlington apparently where the band Fish started out. They do a reggae DJ thing there every Sunday and the place was jam packed on a Sunday night which was a very pleasant surprise.
In Burlington I: stopped in the Outdoor Gear Exchange and picked up a OR Bevy sack sold on consignment for $40(!) which I’ll be reviewing soon and got maps and advice on the Adirondacks, met a lot of cool people, got on the Burlington local television weather report, stocked up on organic granola for my hike. All in all I have to say Burlington was really good to me and I’m looking forward to going back.
From Burlington I had my sights on climbing Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks, New York. I had to drive about 30 minutes north to catch the ferry across Lake Champlain to New York.