Adventures from Home
From Running Director Heidi Caldwell.
Vermont’s “stay home, stay safe” order called us to slow down and stay put. Confined to a substantially smaller daily radius, we have become much more intimate with our immediate surroundings. For outdoor recreators, the peak-hungry, trail-loving fanatics among us are faced with a new sort of adventure: those from home. As someone who frequently hops in the car and drives to recreation destinations, the shelter-in-place restrictions finally forced me to pause, look around, and discover new-to-me roads right out my front door. Constraints foster creativity, and the current limitations successfully inspired a two-month personal mission to venture on as many new running routes as I could this spring, all reachable by foot and by bike.
The Northeast Kingdom is an exceptional backyard playground to be quarantining in. Remote and sparsely populated with lightly trafficked dirt roads, we are still able to get out and run the roads and backwoods with ease. Quickly tiring of the increased screen time, I eagerly took to the maps to seek out those roads that had been right there waiting, within reach, all this time. My route planning was driven by one key motivator: to cover the roads I had long put off for future explorations. Through the oscillating snow squalls and bluebird sunshine of a Vermont spring, this quest led to a handful of ambitious long runs, a few mud-socked class IVs, a number of dog chases, a couple of near-bonks, and many beautiful local roads traveled. Here I share my top four adventure runs, with favorite new roads highlighted.
Cow pastures along East Daniels Road.
To Daniels & Chamberlin Hill: Pitkin - Daniels - Barton - Kingdom - Chamberlin Hill.
Strava Map. 18.6 miles, 1968’ elevation gain.
New road spotlight: Daniels Road and Chamberlin Hill.
Daniels Road: Daniels Road is a Class IV road connecting Center and Creek Roads in Albany. West Daniels Road, accessed from Center Road, quickly turns to Class IV logging roads as it climbs the southern ridge of Chamberlin Hill. The road then sharply descends into a gnarly, rocky stretch of road to reach Lord’s Creek and connect with East Daniels Road. East Daniels is home to two beautiful farms, with one particularly striking large red barn, and sprawling cow pastures.
Chamberlin Hill: Chamberlin Hill is a lightly traveled dirt road connecting Center and Creek Roads. From Creek Road, Chamberlin Hill begins with a steep initial ascent followed by continuous gradual climbing for nearly two miles. The top of Chamberlin Hill boasts beautiful views to east towards the Willoughby region.
Near the top of Beach Hill Road looking east towards Willoughby region.
To Beach Hill: Hartwell Pond - Andersonville - Beach Hill - Bear Call - Daniels Pond.
Strava Map. 19.4 miles, 1,997’ elevation gain.
New road spotlight: Bear Call Road.
Bear Call: Bear Call Road is a steep steady road connecting Daniels Pond Road to Beach Hill Road, making for excellent loop and lollipop route options near Daniels Pond. The alluring name alone is reason enough to venture to it! The roads in this area are some of my all-time favorites, offering hefty climbs and sweeping views of Mansfield, Jay, and beyond. Andersonville Road and Beach Hill are must-dos, whether biking or running.
Views of the Lowell Mountain Ridge windmills from Albany Road.
To the Lowells: Pitkin - Center Hill - Eden - Albany - Square - Collinsville - Post.
Strava Map. 19.5 miles, 1839’ elevation gain.
New road spotlight: Albany Road.
Albany Road: Albany Road is a Class IV road traversing just below the height of the Lowell Mountain Range to connect Eden Road in Albany to Square Road in Eden. The road offers stunning up-close views of the ridge and the windmills, with highland swamps and ponds. The footing and terrain is highly variable, only trafficked by backwoods ATVs. Gazing across to the windmills daily from my kitchen window, this was perhaps my most highly anticipated new-to-me road, and did not disappoint.
Open fields along Keeler Pond Road heading towards Wolcott.
To Lake Wapanaki: West Hill - East Hill - Keeler Pond - Tucker Brook - Town Farm..
Strava Map. 19.9 miles, 1,975’ elevation gain.
New roads spotlight: Keeler Pond and Town Farm Road.
Keeler Pond: Keeler Pond Road winds between East Hill Road and Lake Wapanaki Road in Wolcott. The road sits high, with the actual Keeler Pond at 1400’, boasting beautiful high plateau-like views and some significant rolling climbs.
Town Farm: Town Farm Road is a steep, grueling Class IV road connecting Route 14 to Bridgman Hill in Hardwick. Accessed from the low point on Route 14, the road climbs steadily for two miles, with little respite. The road runs by the campus of Heartbeet Farm before turning to loose, rocky Class IV terrain.
During the stress and uncertainty of the shutdown, these weekly adventures from home have provided a sense of freedom and escape. There is something immensely satisfying about running over the hills or traversing along the hillsides you look out to daily. I finished each long run on new-to-me roads with the same satisfying sense of a morning spent outside moving in new places. On every run I found myself thinking - we really do live in one of the most beautiful places! These adventures left me with a deepened appreciation for what I have and for where I am. So long as I have healthy legs for a run or a ride, this place holds no shortage of “newness” waiting to be discovered.
These runs also left me wondering why many of us are so ready and eager to drive away in order to satisfy our adventure itch. Even here, in running and gravel riding paradise, a place that other people travel to adventure in, I am often looking for something bigger, more epic, or simply different. Exploring new places has purpose and meaning, to be sure - offering fresh experiences and a reset from the monotony of the norm. Yet the constant lure of traveling for adventures can also remove us in a way that I now see as somewhat limiting - leaving us less in touch with the place we call home.
As our radius of travel expands and quarantine restrictions eventually lift, I will undoubtedly join the masses of trail-deprived adrenaline seekers flocking to trails and summits in the Whites and Greens. While I know I will rejoice in such outings, I also plan to be purposeful about making more room for home-based, local adventures as well.
