Vermont Hike - Bear In The Woods

In 1983 I was introduced to a group of guys that liked hunting and fishing. We called our group "Sportsman's Fellowship". We started out hunting, fishing, and having Bible studies together. Over the years we have become the best of friends. Some of our group have come and gone because of jobs, moving, etc. but our core group hasn't changed. Our siblings were also included at a very young age and some are now adults carrying on the hunting and fishing traditions. Years ago we thought we would have a wild game dinner with bear, venison, caribou, salmon, trout, etc. Great idea but a bit unprepared when 95 guys showed up. Needless to say we ran out of everything.

We have loads of stories about our experiences in camp, in the woods, on the water, and on the ice.

Here is a true Doug story.

A few years ago there were several of us staying in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. We were scouting for deer season.

Doug decided he was going to hike to the top of Gore Mountain just north of Island Pond. I do believe there is a trail to the top that is 4 miles or so but Doug wasn't going to take the trail.

Gore Mountain is one of the highest mountains in the Northeast Kingdom at 3,330 feet. Coming from Rt. 114 (around 1350 feet) it's a steep climb. If you hike to the back side it is a bit easier but much longer.  Doug is pretty strong and in good shape.  I remember Doug helped Pam and I move to a condo. I was in the condo and heard a loud bang. It was Doug. He had taken our queen size pull out couch, mattress and all, off of the truck and proceeded to carry it on his back to the second floor by himself. He got hung up in the stairwell going through the door hence the bang.

Anyway, anyone who knows Doug will tell you he can cover more distance, rough terrain, and hills than most men in a very short amount of time. (i.e. South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Phantom Ranch and back in 6 hours.)

It was raining on the Saturday he asked me to hike Gore with him. With bad memories of past hikes and having good common sense I declined. Rain + a steep climb + a long distance + a very fast pace + average conditioning on my part + DOUG = A BAD EXPERIENCE. I dropped him off on Rt. 114 for his climb.

Doug said he hiked for a long time and stopped at one point as the rain let up. He said "I was tired!" This meant I would have been hobbling a half mile back most likely trying to get back to Rt. 114 and probably lost (pre GPS).

Because of the rain, walking was very quiet in the woods. As he stood there he heard a noise Shhhhhh ... Shhhhhhhhh ... Shhhhhh ... Shhhhhhh ... He looked around and thought "What in the world is that noise" ... Just then he caught a quick glimpse of black in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a black bear run straight away from him crashing through the brush.

It was black bear season but it happened so fast Doug said his .44 pistol (named Bertha) never cleared his holster.

It turned out Doug stopped in the middle of a beechnut grove. Doug didn't realize it but there was a black bear up in a beechnut tree eating beechnuts.  The bear didn't see Doug, and because of the rain, the bear didn't smell Doug or hear him walking. As Doug took a break, the bear must have spotted or smelled him and became nervous. The Shhhhhhhhh ... Shhhhhhhh ... noise was the sound of the bear sliding down the tree to escape. 

I took a picture of this beechnut tree with bear claw marks on it when I was hunting.  It's one of my favorite trees in the woods.

Doug continued to the top then down again to Rt. 114. I got a call to pick him up. He was so hungry we headed straight to the store for some food.

A black bears senses are so good they typically smell or hear a person coming and move off. The odds of seeing a bear in the woods is rare. The odds of keeping up with Doug on a hike is also rare.

Foliage Run - Northeast Kingdom of Vermont - 2021

With foliage descending on New England, I decided to drive to the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) of Vermont to take pictures.  I had planned to go the prior Saturday, but the weather report said rain all day Saturday and Sunday.  That put a damper on taking pictures, so I postponed my adventure. 

With the weather looking good the following week I thought I would avoid the weekend traffic by going up and back on Friday, October 8.  Here are a couple overhead pictures I took.

My plan was to be on the road by 4:00AM to get to Lake Willoughby by sunrise.  I woke up at 3:00AM. Yes, with no alarm clock.  It was earlier than planned.  In any case, I was driving by 3:40AM. 

I started on Rt3N to I93N.  No traffic but there was fog in some spots.  I stopped after an hour of driving and the Dunkin’s wasn’t open.  NUTS.  The fog continued to slow me down as I headed North.  With the windshield wipers going I couldn’t see much other than the road lines for much of the drive.  I93 through Franconia Notch then the merge with I91N.  From there I got off in Lyndonville, Rt 5.

I got gas and my first cup of coffee in Lyndonville.   I took Rt5 to Rt 5A to the south end of Lake Willoughby.  Because of my early departure, I arrived before sunrise.

Lake Willoughby has Mount Pisgah on the Eastside and Mount Hor on the Westside.  As it started to get light the colors didn’t really pop until the sun hit Mount Hor.  The North end of the lake was fogged in.   The colors were bright.  I took some pictures and wish I could have stayed longer but I had other plans.  

Rt5A is at the base of Mount Pisgah so I continued North.  From there I turned toward Island Pond and Rt105.

Off Rt105 I started down some dirt roads to the big woods.  I ended up driving 40 miles on dirt roads deep in the woods.  Fun with a Jeep as usual.  

In all that dirt road driving I only saw 7 other vehicles including 3 hunters and 1 logging truck.  I am glad I didn’t break down.  Being so far North I was on Canadian cell service.  Even more remote, my cell didn’t work most of the time as I was far removed from the Canadian towers too.

The foliage was outstanding.  Everywhere I look there was color.  Here are a couple overhead pictures looking down on the dirt roads I was driving on.

I stopped Mollie Beattie Bog.  I walked to the end of the wheelchair-accessible path and took pictures.  They say it is one of the most significant black spruce woodland bogs in Vermont and contains one of the largest populations of bog sedge, which is a rare plant in Vermont.  When taking these pictures, I noticed some unusual spider webs on some trees.  Interesting with the condensation on the web.  Couldn’t see the spiders though.

I went to Lewis Pond.  It was beautiful and so peaceful.  They built a wheelchair-accessible path through the woods to the pond.  I wish I could have stayed there longer but I wanted to keep exploring.

I continued to the Lewis Pond overlook.  Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of day as the sun wasn't in a very good location for pictures from the overlook.  If I was staying over, I would be getting up early enough to get to this overlook for a sunrise.  It has a great view of multiple mountains in the distance.

I continued exploring the dirt roads and eventually headed back to Island Pond.  I took Rt114N toward Norton to the Hurricane Brook area.  More dirt roads and trails.

From there, back South to Rt111 toward Morgan.  I took several barn pictures along the way.  I saw some horses and seemed to make a friend with this one.

I decided at that point to head toward Holland Pond.  On my way, there were trucks, combines, and tractors busy with cutting corn and hay.  I stopped to take a few pictures cutting the corn.   It was fun to watch.  Reminded me of the family farm in Iowa I would visit when I was younger.

I continued to Holland Pond.  The road went right to the Canadian border before turning east.  Going east there were posted signs marking the Canadian border along the edge of several fields.  I took several pictures of Holland Pond. 

I decided mid-afternoon to head to Peacham, VT.  My GPS sent me West along the border to I91S.  As I approached the main border crossing at I91, I saw multiple border patrol agents on the roads.  I made sure I didn’t accidentally turn North and go over the border to cause an international incident.  Hehe …

I took I91S to Rt2W toward Peacham.  Peacham has a pretty church and Barn in the center of town.  When I arrived, there were 4 or 5 cars parked and people on the hill taking pictures.  That seems to be a picture hot spot.  While taking a few pictures with my drone I could see a couple other farms in the distance, so I drove to them and took a few more pictures.

From Peacham, I decided to start to head toward home.  Making my way to Rt5S, I headed toward I89.  I stopped at a round barn in Woodsville and took a couple pictures.  After Woodsville it was starting to get dark, so I decided to jump on I91S to I89S for a quick drive home. 

Once on I89S, I stopped for Gas in Lebanon.  When I merged on to I93S in Concord, NH, the traffic going northbound was all backed up and slow-moving.  They were heading North to leaf peep.  I made the right call doing the Friday thing.  Home just after 9:00PM.

I had to take a couple Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) pictures.  I like them.  Pam doesn't.  Oh well.

I love taking pictures but several times while driving I regretted not having anyone with me to share the experience.  Over 500 miles, lots of pictures, spectacular views while driving the back roads in the Northeast Kingdom, and the foliage … OH MY …

Click on the pictures to enlarge.