Pictures: Lyle Such
Camera: Canon 5d Mkiii
Trail Details: Sterling Pond Hike
Distance: 2.6 Miles Round Trip
Difficulty: Strenuous uphill over rocky steep terrain.
Elevation Gain: 960 feet
Our first destination once we reached Stowe was a hike up to a place called Sterling Pond. The weather was grey, but the leaves were at their peak so even if it started to rain, we were determined to get out and experience the colors. The drive up through Smuggler's Notch from Stowe was easily one of the best drives throughout our trip, and highlighted Vermont's predominantly yellow and orange foliage.
The hike was relatively short, but steep. The rocky, slippery terrain made for a slow climb, but that gave us more chances to admire the vibrant color and numerous waterfalls that surrounded us.
As we climbed higher and higher, the yellow leaves slowly disappeared and we were surrounded by green pines. Being up in the clouds the pond seemed even more isolated and quiet than it normally would. Even if we were disappointed that we didn't see the fall leaves reflected in the water, it was still a nice finish to the hike.
There is the option of hiking around the pond which adds another 1.5 miles, but it was cold and it looked like rain was coming, so we headed back down without much exploration.
Most of the hike we were completely surrounded by thick forest, so we could only see a short distance. Every once in a while though, we would get a peak through the canopy into the surrounding mountains. The views were spectacular, and we could see how far the color stretched off into the distance.
The road near the trailhead is called Smuggler's Notch, named after the route created during prohibition that allowed booze to be transported through this area. Easily one of the best drives I've ever taken, this is the postcard road that we traveled to the East Coast to see.
We were surprised at how few other leaf tourists there were. After reading about this area, we expected there to be a constant stream of traffic. Although we had to dodge an occasional car, we could easily get pictures standing in the most beautiful stretches of road.
The church in downtown Stowe.
Double rainbow as we were leaving Stowe.
To get the true "East Coast Experience," we decided we needed to see several specific things. Covered bridges were at the top of our list, and we found our first one just outside of Stowe. They make it convenient to find, in this case it was actually on a road called Covered Bridge Road.
That afternoon we had planned on driving straight through Vermont all the way to Connecticut. On our was was the Ben & Jerry's factory, so we had to stop. We took the short tour, and decided to skip the line for the ice cream.
They have a flavor graveyard, where they retire, or bury, their dead flavors. Some were interesting, some sounded awful.
