Vermont, a northeastern state in the United States, is celebrated for its charming landscapes, including the iconic Green Mountains and picturesque valleys.
The Green Mountains, adorned with lush forests and pristine lakes, serve as a backdrop for exploration. From ascending scenic trails to cycling through quaint villages, the state caters to diverse interests. The Green Mountain National Forest provides a haven for camping under the stars, while Vermont’s serene lakes and rivers offer opportunities for kayaking and water-based escapades.
This webpage centers on free camping opportunities within the Green Mountain National Forest, inviting outdoor enthusiasts to immerse themselves in the region’s natural beauty. With a focus on hiking, biking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities, Vermont offers a plethora of adventures.
In Vermont, the union of nature’s wonders and outdoor pursuits promises a memorable and enriching experience for all who seek it.
I haven’t posted anything to my blog in the past day, because I had a really bad day yesterday.
I figured it not best to belabor all the things that went wrong yesterday. Plus I was tired from work, hot and sweaty and did not feel like speeding a bunch of time blogging.
I started out the morning burning my eggs that I was cooking.
I go to clock in at nine and I’m having trouble getting the website to load
My work laptop battery was totally dead and the sun was hazy so the low voltage relay kept tripping and I had to reset it
I did make it through the day and necessary work got done but itwas frustrating and nerve racking
With the heat coming and my desire to wash off I decided to get ice at the Wardsboro General Store and then go for a swim at Grout Pond
I get to the Wardsboro General Store and there was a big sign – no ice available
I drive down to Danbury VT and the 711 store there is out of ice
Big construction project there with delays
Pulling out into traffic I come very close to slamming into another car on the unfamiliar road
I go to Family Dollar in Wardsboro 15 miles out of the way, they don’t sell ice
I get two bags of ice at Shaws but I don’t realize how big they are until I’ve paid $8.
I have too much ice, end up dumping out one of the blocks I brought from home
Come back via Somerset Road which I’ve been avoiding because it’s so washboarded
Because I’m so far south, it’s no longer worth while to go to Grout Pond
I get back to camp, still hot and sweaty, decide to head back to the little brook behind camp
I brought my crocks figuring I could at least wash off my dirty shoes but find a big enough hole to go all the way in doing some skinny dipping as I left my bathing suit at camp
I get back to camp and start cooking beef and refried beans
When I put the refried beans on the store the mixture of the water and grease in the can of beans explodes into a giant fire ball, burning a big hole in one of the screen doors in my almost brand new tent, burning my arm, setting the table on fire briefly and my burned a hole in my t shirt
The burns were only first degree burns but they hurt like a mother trucker – at first I was concerned that I might wake up to blisters all over my arm but it just was very red and sore
I am very upset to see my new tent destroyed, although based on the location of the hole, I believe I can sew and overlay a piece of soft window screen from the hardware store and get a tight enough fit to keep out the bugs
The tent was only $120 including tax but I do think I can repair it adequately to keep out the bugs even if it ain’t perfectly pretty.
In some ways the location was in a pretty good place as I have the solid sides of tent where I can sew in the replacement screen
But that said, I’m still quite upset about it all
I ended up covering the hole with a tarp for now and when I get home I’ll fix it
It could have been worse, the propane exploded or even just the burns on my arm more severe and ending up in the burn unit
I soaked my arm for a while in the river today and it’s feeling better
I have a plan to patch the tent and think I can get materials locally and sew it or if necessary online
I’ve learned my lesson with grease and water, if this happened at home I would have burned down my apartment or at least did serious damage to the kitchen – it was that big of a fire ball
I’m just so disappointed on what a day of mess up it became but nothing that serious I guess
So that was my Tuesday and why I didn’t post much yesterday. Sometimes it’s better to just say nothing.
As the nurse office in my elementary school said on a sign: “If it’s not fatal, it’s not serious.”
I was listening to the radio this morning and they’re talking about police abuse. 👮
I don’t agree with the tough tactics against so called bad officers or saying that there are just some bad apples in the force that can just be rooted out. That’s terribly unfair to the individual officers and leads to zero accountability to governments they represent.
Too often institutions crucify individual actors rather than have accountability. Why reform police departments, when you can go after bad cops? It’s the perfect excuse for government agencies that are resistant to rooting out corruption.
B. F. Skinner and the behavioralists in the 1960s pointed out we are all creatures of our environment – we’re just rats in the Skinner box. Police officers are just workers in their institution, they enforce the laws and norms they are tasked to do in the way they are told to do it.
If we want to fix things, we need to look at reworking and replacing bad institutions rather than making scapegoats out of individuals.
Forest Road 71 is decidedly longer walking on foot than driving it. But either way it’s a nice route to travel with gentle but several rather long grades. And Shep Meadow is still pretty.
I spent a lot of time today working from my laptop, enjoying the cool breeze up north here in the Green Mountains. We don’t have the heat and humidity here compared back home in the city, although the weatherman says that will change come tomorrow.
I relocated the fire pit at this campsite because it was falling apart and kind of in the middle of the campsite which limited where you could park.I carefully moved the ash and brick to the new site, building the fire pit where there was a no roots and laying down a deep layer of ash on the ground. I then leveled out, removed any ash, metal and rock from the old site, restoring it down mineral soil and removing any nails I found.
I carefully moved the ash and brick to the new site, building the fire pit where there was a no roots and laying down a deep layer of ash on the ground. I then leveled out, removed any ash, metal and rock from the old site, restoring it down mineral soil and removing any nails I found.
