Stowe, Hike and Hill Farmstead Brewery
A long but fun day in Northern Vermont.
The trip started with an hour and 45 minute drive to Smuggler’s Notch State park for a hike up the Sterling Lake trail. I thought this was going to be an interesting drive when Google presented the first turn as “Logging Road”. The road was paved, but the signs of logging were everywhere. A moose warning sign appeared, and I thought it would be really cool to see one as long as it wasn’t on the road.
Getting to the Stowe Area
I took 18 N for a few miles and passed a huge dam (I believe Moore Dam). Turning onto US 2 west there were beautiful waterways to the right. There were three crows sitting in the middle of my lane as I came down the hill. As I approached, I had to swerve to keep from hitting them. They never budged.
I’ve learned that when the gas tank gets to half empty, I should start looking for a gas station. Up here, one is never quit sure if there will be a stretch with no gas stations. At the intersection of VT 18, US 2 and Rt 59 I came upon Petty Co Junction Country Store with Gulf gas.
I passed through many small towns along the way. The largest was Saint John’s with a quaint downtown shopping center. I wanted to stop at the Saint John’s Atheneum Art Gallery that looked like it was in an old bank building. There was also the Saint John’s Distillery that seemed to be closed.
Traveling this way is much like picking up your phone to do a Google search and you get a notification that points you to something interesting which makes you think of checking your messages and 15 minutes later you wonder what you were going to search for with Google. As I travel, I see signs that say something like “Emerson Falls” three miles. I’ve been tempted to go. Each town has something that is fascinating or sparks some interest.
Sterling Pond Trail
The trail I was taking was highly rated on AllTrails for the views (on a sunny day), but today it was anything but sunny. The weather forecast called for rain, and it had lightly rained on my way to the mountain. A little fog still hung in the valleys as I entered the park. The drive from the base of the Stowe ski lodge to the hiking trail was steep, winding and very narrow at times.
There were some interesting signs on the way up the mountain, such as, “Your GPS is wrong”, “No TT (tractor trailers) allowed”, or “Tractor trailers will get stuck, turn around”. I’m not sure how they keep the roads cleared in winter, because there were a few places where only one car could get between the rocks, and you can’t see oncoming traffic.
I was near the entrance to the trail and realized I needed to find a restroom. I went to turn around and noticed another larger parking lot about 200 feet further. There was a very clean five stall restroom that must be cleaned several times a day. A large group of men and one energetic woman was in the parking lot. They were crossing the road and, on their way, when I got my car parked at the upper parking lot. I would meet up with them later.
I’ve been trying to carry all the right gear in case there’s an accident or I get lost. I realized I was way over packed when a young woman in white sneakers carrying a coach bag passed me with a tiny dog in hand. Her male friend said to me, “How’s it going?” “Well, thank you” was my response as I continued to practice my yogic breathing.
This trail was rated “Moderate”, but it was 1.5 miles up to the lake over big wet rocks and it never flattened out. I met a woman on her way down, and she gave me some encouraging words, “you will make it”. I guess I looked like I might not. She told me she was the area trail keeper. Her job seemed to be making sure everyone was doing OK.
I’m not sure how long it took me to get to the top. I wasn’t in a race with anyone anyway. I took some time to sit and enjoy the clear, cold water of a pond surrounded by trees and mountain tops. A guy near me told his girlfriend that he was going for a swim. He quickly changed his mind when he put his foot in.
After sitting for about 15 minutes, I was about to leave when a man approached and asked if I would mind taking a picture of the group. I asked if they would mind if I took a picture of them for my blog and then they suggested taking a picture with me in it.
Analog Device Team
The group was from Analog Devices near Burlington, VT. I asked them if they were out on a team building event. They said they were. One of the upper management members was in town from Ireland. There are generally two types of team building events, community service and team activities. I think both have their place and it seemed that Analog Devices encourages both.
On the way down the mountain, I shared my plans for my trip, and we discussed a wide range of topics from music, medical support dogs, history of computers, travel, food, beer, etc. One of them told me I should add the Hill Farmstead Brewery to my list of things to see in Vermont (see below).
Thank you, guys, it was such a pleasure to meet all of you. Great Team!!!
The Town of Stowe
This is the quintessential New England town with a perfect white steeple church in the center. I checked out the ski area with the thought of returning sometime in the future to go skiing. I then scored one of the precious few parking spots on main street (it just appeared). I had three hours to have fun in Stowe. By the looks of the town, I knew there must be a good coffee shop. I found the Black Cap Coffee & Beer Store across from the Community church with the white steeple. It was nice to relax with a good cup of coffee and read Stowe Magazine.
It’s a fun town to spend time in if you have money. There are very nice accommodations, restaurants, and many things to do for everyone.
The Hill Farmstead Brewery
To be honest I had never heard of The Hill Farmsted Brewery, but I listened to the recommendation of the Analog Devices Team member and decided to take a detour on the way back to my campsite.
Apparently, this brewery was ranked as the number one brewery in the World. There are a lot of breweries in the world now. So, this is a mighty big acknowledgement. Getting to the brewery isn’t a drive on a main street to some downtown area. Google told me to turn onto this very narrow and obscure bridge. After doing so, I pulled over to verify that “yes I was on the right road”. After a few moments, the town’s streets led onto dirt roads. It was dirt roads the entire way.
When I got to the entrance to the bar, there was a sign that said reservations required. It seems that on busy days there is a line of 300 people waiting to get to the bar for a “pour” or cheese. Someone told me to just go in and order (e.g. be a rebel and ignore that sign). I ordered a “Mary” which was a German style pilsner and a cheese platter; one of two. I then ordered an “Edward” which was an American style IPA. Most of the beers are named after family members of the Hill farm. I was told by a staff members that they are buried on the property.
There were a lot of families outside at picnic table or on the grass sipping beer, playing games with the kids or trying to calm their dogs.
I couldn’t help noticing that all the male staff had beards. One of bearded pourers told me I lucked out today, because it was Friday afternoon, and normally it is packed. As I was leaving, I went to the building where they sell cans and growlers. There was a line of about 40 people, and I turned around. I’d never make it through a line of 300 people.
I left thinking the beer was good but wondering how the brewery got ranked as numero uno in the world.
I returned to my tent exhausted but happy with how things played.
