50K in 50 States by 50 Years Old
Vermont— 61.15Km, November 2022
- Nov 19–23: 30.21Km walking and jogging in and around Stowe Village.
- Nov 20: 16.64Km on the Stowe Recreation Path, out and back with a detour onto Mountain Road around the 9 mile mark (photos).
- Nov 24: up route 108 toward Smugglers Notch and climbing up to Sunset Rock (photos).
I didn’t plan my first trip to Vermont very well. I keep forgetting that a decade in the Boston area after a lifetime in the south doesn’t qualify me for real winter stuff. The late fall cycle of snow/melt/slush/ice makes it difficult for people like me to hike in the places I want to hike. Local children scamper through these places like frolicking reindeer and their parents move surefooted across the same ice patches that have me inching along like I’m 100 years old with vertigo and a broken hip. I just haven’t learned to deal with slippery footing yet, and at this late date I probably never will.
So I didn’t see anywhere close to what I wanted to see. But I saw enough to know that my long neglect of my neighboring state is over, and I’ll be visiting and updating this frequently in the coming years.
Where to get some distance in Vermont
Vermont is famous for the Long Trail and I can’t wait to spend some summer days exploring it. The Cross Vermont Trail is also high on my list. More to come on this list for sure.
- The Stowe Recreation Path is a 5.5 mile (in one direction) mostly flat, mostly paved trail that winds through some beautiful scenery. It largely follows the Little River’s west branch, meandering near fields and farmland, and as a bonus it takes you directly past Stowe Cider with a very short detour to Idletyme and The Alchemist breweries. It’s got a gentle uphill as you go from the village to the base of the mountain. A couple of parking areas have bathrooms, and the terrain is mostly paved but not kept clear from snow in the winter.
- The road to Smuggler’s Notch closes in the winter and is a nice uphill pull through some beautiful mountain country. Plenty of people practicing their cross-country skills on the uphills on the day that I went out, but walking through the fresh snowfall was workout enough for me. No bathrooms that were open in the winter, and it’s a state road in the summer so you’re walking on asphalt or whatever snow has fallen to cover it.
Celebrating Vermont’s Indigenous Voices
The Vermont Abenaki — including the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Elnu, Koasek Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation, and the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi — are still fighting to recover from decades of erasure, despite finally achieving state recognition in 2011. Historically, the Abenaki people’s lands extended throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and south-eastern Canada. Until 2002, the state of Vermont itself maintained as its official position that the original inhabitants of the state had not been in the state for centuries. In 2022, new attacks on legitimacy from a Canadian academic reopened the wounds of erasure.
I would encourage you to read this exceptional and thorough response to the 2022 controversy. It covers so many critical ideas about identity, politics, laws, and the history in this region.
There are several initiatives rising out of the battle for recognition that are actively balancing the need to preserve history and culture while forging a path for the future. Some of these indigenous or BIPOC led organizations:
- Atowi is a community initiative that creates language, culture, and education opportunities
- Alnôbaiwi and the Vermont Indigenous Heritage Center seeks to preserve the Abenaki cultural heritage and educate those in and around Burlington on the 13,000 years of Indigenous history in the region
- The Vermont Releaf Collective works toward racial equity in land, environment, agriculture, and food for all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Vermont
I have set myself a goal of completing at least 50Km in all 50 states by the time I’m 50. To acknowledge that I’m traveling on land that was stolen from others, I am donating $500 to the First Nations Development Institute for each state I complete.
Thank you for reading and supporting me on this journey. If you’re able to chip in — for your state, or for all 50 states — you’ll help me double the impact I’m able to make on my own.
If you’re from Vermont or living there right now, please consider supporting The Vermont Releaf Collective, or donating to another local and indigenous-led organization.
