Out-Doors

Longing for Spring

by Elizabeth Bassett

A menu of outdoor temptations arrives daily in my mailboxes, both cyber and snail. On beige or grey recycled paper they are less colorful than those delicious garden catalogs, yet these newsletters from nonprofits celebrate the outdoors. From early spring through summer and into the fall the listings can help shape the seasons ahead. No weeding either!

Tour de farm

How cool is this? I’ve marked my calendar already! The Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition (VBPC) is organizing two bike tours through farm country that feature stops to sample locally produced food. On Sunday, September 21, participants will pedal around Shoreham tasting apples, pastries, cheese, wine and yogurt, all products of the Champlain Valley. The goal is to promote sustainable agriculture and sustainable transportation. A second farm tour in the Brattleboro area is scheduled for September 14. The coalition advocates for safety on Vermont roads for bikers, pedestrians, horseback riders and highway workers, clarifying and quantifying their rights on the road. For example, one bill in the Legislature requires a minimum distance of three feet for the passing of bicycles by cars. The VBPC also offers classes in riding skills. A one-day, hands-on course, Road I, will be offered Saturday, April 19, in the Barre-Montpelier area. For more information and registration visit vtbikeped.org or call 225-8904. Big bucks and bigger plans for the island line Walkers and bikers are a step closer to making a seamless journey from Burlington to the Islands as improvements are coming to the Colchester-South Hero Causeway and the gap. The Vermont Department of Transportation (VTrans) has awarded $300,000 to Local Motion as seed money for the $1 million that will eventually fund gangways and docks for the ferry, wave attenuators, turn-around areas on the causeway and shoulders along South Street in South Hero. The ferry currently runs only on August weekends. The eventual goal is daily service. Local Motion is also working on an on-line inventory of pedestrian and bike routes in greater Burlington. Keep an eye on its website: localmotion.org/trails/inventory.htm More good news in the ‘hood: Shelburne This column has reported many developments in Hinesburg’s trail networks. In 2003 Williston passed a $2.6 million bond for biking and walking routes. Now Shelburne Bike and Pedestrian Paths Committee, in conjunction with the Selectboard, has prioritized bike/pedestrian routes. Shelburne voters decided on Town Meeting Day to approve a $1.1 million bond to launch four projects: • shared use path on Webster Road • sidewalk along Mt. Philo Road • bike lanes on Spear Street • sidewalk along Harbor Road. Lake Champlain Bikeways A public-private partnership, Lake Champlain Bikeways coordinates more than 1,300 miles of bicycle routes in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, New York and Quebec. Its website, champlainbikeways.org celebrates a network that includes 35 loops and tours ranging from ten to 60 miles in length and the Champlain Bikeway, a 363-mile route around the lake and along the Richelieu River to Chambly, Québec. Based on a constellation of natural, cultural and historic themes, these loops meander along back roads past spectacular scenery. Lake Champlain Bikeways also serves as a clearinghouse for information that includes accommodation, shops and restaurants and other services along its routes. The Lake Champlain Region Road Map and Guide features the Champlain Bikeway and its network of connecting theme loops. It was last updated in 2004. The second edition of the Adirondack Coast Bikeways includes 14 thematic loops on paved and unpaved roads throughout Essex County, New York. A ferry ride across Lake Champlain covers more than distance. It prepares the mind for the very different landscape from that on our eastern shore of the Champlain Valley. Fields and pastures quickly give way to some of the oldest exposed mountains on earth. Just a century ago these hills were denuded, and iron mining, whose slag heaps still dot the landscape, shaped lives and filled the air with smoke. Slags, ash, sawdust and logs choked the rivers. One enormous slagheap keeps pedalers company as they puff up the long hill from the lakeshore into the mountains. In our own backyard Look no further than the Charlotte Senior Center schedule for spring walks. Marty Morrissey will lead three road hikes on successive Tuesday mornings: on April 29 at Bristol Waterworks, three miles; on May 6 about three miles near Red Rocks Park in Burlington; and Lincoln Gap on May 13, distance to be determined by the participants. Walks on dirt roads are an ideal solution in the early season long before it’s prudent to hike on muddy trails. The center also announces its 4th Annual Walking Program. Contact Sukey or Jinny (425-6345) to help plan walks that will stretch into summer. Green Mountain Club The Green Mountain Club (GMC) leads hikes through much of the year, but not during early spring and late fall, wet periods that the GMC calls Vermont’s fifth season. Rains and thawing during mud season saturate the ground. Hikers can cause irreversible erosion and damage to both trail and vegetation. GMC’s website, greenmountainclub.org, suggests mud season hiking guidelines. • Walk through the mud, not around it! If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back, and seek an alternative area to hike. • Hike in the lower-elevation hardwood forest (unless it is muddy!) with southern exposure (south facing slopes dry out first in spring). • Avoid the spruce-fir (conifer) forests at higher elevations. • The State of Vermont closes all trails on state land, including those on Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield, from mid-April until Memorial Day weekend. Please do not hike in these fragile areas. Also avoid Stratton Mountain, Killington Peak, Lincoln Ridge (Mount Ellen to Appalachian Gap) and Jay Peak. In northern Vermont GMC recommends some seasonal alternatives: • Burlington Bike Path • Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail • Stowe Bike Path • Cotton Brook Area - Moscow/Stowe • Alburg Recreation Trail • Mallets Bay Causeway. More on these options in a future Out-Doors. Meanwhile, enjoy the snow while it lasts, but think spring!