DAY 2 IN THE LIFE...COVERED BRIDGES & ALL

June 30, 2012 ......It’s hot up here…..but cools down at night so shouldn't complain!  Not that anyone would be sympathetic, I’m sure.  Spent the afternoon learning the computer in the Ranger’s Walk-Up and will be meeting and greeting everyone.    

We had lots of cyclists coming through.  This mountain is used for training for the Mt Washington (NH) bike race.  It also has it’s own bike races, car races and foot races.  There were several guys looked to be in their mid-to-late 50’s cycling here.  It’s a great environment to be around …. Lots of healthy people!  Hopefully by the end of the summer we’ll be fit---ter!  We walk everywhere in the campground which has different elevations so we’re getting aerobic exercise all day.  Only drive the car to leave the campground.

BREWERY.....OH YEAH!

We took a drive down to Windsor to the Harpoon Brewery to try their beers and get dinner.  It is one of their two breweries; one is in Boston and the other here alongside the Connecticut River.  We ordered a sampler and my favorite ended up being the IPA Rye.  There are so many beers here, we’ll definitely be coming back throughout the summer for more try-outs and great sandwiches.  Our waitress graduated from UCF and lived in Orlando for seven years.  She’s working at a school in Windsor and at the Brewery.  We had a great time talking about Florida; she was excited to connect with the ole’ state again.  We’ll definitely be back.

From here we drove down to the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge.  Immediately upon entering the bridge, you’re in NH.  The border is the western shore of the Connecticut River. 

There are lots and lots of covered bridges in the area so this won’t be the first to land on the blog!

CORNISH-WINDSOR COVERED TOLL BRIDGE

WINDSOR CORNISH COVERED TOLL BRIDGE

 TOLL- Walk your horses or pay two dollars fine!

LATTICE TRUSSES ON CORNISH BRIDGE

LATTICE TRUSS

Built in 1866 at a cost of $9,000, this is the longest wooden bridge in the US and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world.  The fourth bridge at this site…1796, 1824 and 1828.  The previous bridges were destroyed by floods.  The current  460’ structure was built in 1866 by Bela J.Fletcher (1811 – 1877) of Claremont and James F. Tasker (1826 – 1903) of Cornish, using a lattice truss.   

Built as a toll bridge by a private corporation, the span was purchased by the State of New Hampshire in 1936 and made toll-free in 1943. The bridge was renovated in 1954 and suffered damage in 1977 from ice and flood water.  It was repaired again for $25,000 but was closed to traffic in 1987.  In 1989 it was reconstructed by the state at a cost of $4,450,000 and opened to traffic.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

MT ASCUTNEY FROM BROWNSVILLE 

 MOUNT ASCUTNEY FROM BROWNSVILLE

Then we drove to Brownsville to find the trailheads to some of the Ascutney trails.  Had a great view of Ascutney from this side of the mountain.

July 1, 2012 .....The campground is about half full and Sunday everyone was leaving.  I placed by box fan on the table under the awning, turned it on and read my book in front of the breeze it created.  It helps with the stillness and also with the bugs!  Dave went down the hill to find work!

This afternoon our mission was to check out the hang-gliders at the top of the mountain and to find a septic tank at one of the old CCC bathrooms.

BEAUTIFUL STONEWORK DONE BY CCC

The stonework those kids did back in the 1930’s is phenomenal.  These buildings will stand for hundreds of years.

RANGERS HOUSE IN BEAUTIFUL STONE

RANGER'S HOUSE

We took the camp truck up to the top of the mountain and then hiked up from there.  I was not particularly prepared for this hike, not having my walking stick/trekking poles and regretted it immediately.  These trails are rugged, over roots and boulders, straight up and straight down …. which means you go straight down and then straight up to get down!!  We hiked about a mile up and met a guy coming down who said the hang gliders had already left the mountain.  We could have seen them if we’d stayed in the top parking lot!  Asked if he got to the top and he said no, it was too rugged and he started to have chest pains!  That’ll stop ya! 

TRAILS IS STRAIGHT UP AND ROOTY

At times it was hard to figure out where the trail was, especially when you're climbing over roots, rocks and around boulders.  Imagine hauling 100 lbs of hang gliding stuff up here!

HIKING OVER BOULDERS AND ROCKS 

 I cannot emphasize enough how glad I am there are no poisonous snakes here!  Takes the pressure off watching where you put your hands to brace yourself!  Of course, there are ticks which carry Lime Disease .... something I'd truly, truly, truly love to avoid!

BOULDERS, ROCKS AND ROOTS 

We picked our way through and managed to stay on some sort of a trail!

Well, considering there weren’t any hang gliders to watch and heights aren’t my friend so standing on a precipice 3,000+ feet up didn’t appeal to me, we decided to climb another day more prepared.  So, we hiked, slid, climbed and trekked a mile back to the parking lot!

History of Mt Ascutney

Ascutney is an Algonquin-derived name.  In August 1824 General Lafayette visited the US to begin a 13 month Grand Tour of the 24 states.  By June 1825 he was in New England at Bunker Hill Monument laying a cornerstone and was making a quick trip to Maine, NH and VT to lay the cornerstone of the College building at UVM. Area residents decided to build a road on Mt Ascutney so that LaFayette, no longer young, could be driven up to enjoy the view. LaFayette was running late and could only spend a short time in Windsor VT so had to forego the tour.    Not to be undauted ….the claim is made that Mt Ascutney was the first American mountain to have a “proper” hiking trail.

During the New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corp cut roads up the mountain in 1934.  This stonework is from the CCC.  This is where the Ranger lived during the CCC days.  The back of the building was a bunk house for the workers.

CCC RANGERS HOUSE 

 These are restrooms from CCC days.  Stone buildings will outlast plumbing!

On our way back down the mountain,  we drove down to the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) bathrooms where Dave climbed down into the woods looking for anything that looked like a septic tank.  He found a concrete cover that may lead to a septic tank.

The CCC is going to work on these facilities and put some cabins up here on the mountain since the campground is somewhat underutilized.

Got back to our campsite, soaking wet from sweat!  I sat in front of the fan to cool down and read some more.  

It was a very nice day!
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JULY 2, 2012 ---- MORE COVERED BRIDGES

HISTORIC COVERED BRIDGES

After working some hours in the Ranger’s Hut, we took a short drive around Windsor area to view three covered bridges that I identified.  This covered bridge quest probably should be held off until fall as the colors framing these bridges must be magnificent but we wanted to get out for a while and it’s fun to explore this  beautiful countryside.

WHY COVER THE BRIDGES??

Mostly built in the 19^th century, bridges were covered to protect their wooden skeletons the hefty trusses that hold them together and bear the weight.    Covered bridge builders used several different types of truss frames in their constructions.  Bridges with more than half their original trusses intact are labeled as historic.  If more than half the timber has been replaced, preservationists call the bridge a No 2.  The trusses are the antique part.

TOLLS ON CORNISH BRIDGE

Noted on the Windsor Cornish bridge there was a sign at a covered bridge entrance asking horsemen to have their horses cross the bridge at a walk. The reason was not so much to avoid accidents as to keep the bridge from bouncing up and down causing even more damage than an overweight load might do.

 Vermont has many historic covered bridges.  Hurricane Irene completely destroyed two covered bridges and damaged eight more in Vermont.   We saw the effects of one of those bridges damaged in the flood and in the process of being repaired and placed back on its foundation.

BOWERS OR BROWNSVILLE COVERED BRIDGE

BOWERS BRIDGE BEFORE DAMAGED BY THE TS IRENE

Bowers Bridge before TS Irene severely damaged the bridge.

NEW BOWERS BRIDGE TO BE RESET JULY 14TH 

Bowers Bridge being rebuilt and replaced on its foundation.

The first bridge we looked for is called Bowers or Brownsville Covered Bridge located in Brownsville VT.  This bridge is reported to be 45 feet long, tied arch carrying Bible Hill Road over the Mill Brook.  The original bridge was built in 1919. In 2011 when Tropical Storm Irene hit Vermont many of the roads and covered bridges were destroyed and this bridge was not spared.  The Town of Windsor is rebuilding the historic bridge by dismantling the top and moving the bridge back.   It is being rebuilt and will be placed, on the river, July 14^th.   This bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places.

BEST COVERED BRIDGE

BEST COVERED BRIDGE 

BEST COVERED BRIDGE,BROWNSVILLE VT

Our next stop was the Best covered bridge built in 1889, strengthened in 1973 and refurbished in 1991.  It is a single-span Tied Arch truss 37’ 4” over Mill Brook west of Brownsville Vermont.  It is structurally similar to the Bowers Covered Bridge.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

UPPER FALLS/DOWNERS  COVERED BRIDGE

UPPER FALLS COVERED BRIDGE VT

Our final bridge…to find…was the Upper Falls Covered Bridge in Weathersfield, VT.  This bridge was built in 1840 by James Tasker (same builder as the Windsor-Cornish Covered Bridge)  restored in 1975.  It is a single-span Town lattice truss 120’ over the Black River.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

CONNECTICUT RIVER  WILGUS STATE PARK

 We decided to make one more stop before heading home and that was to Wilgus State Park just about five miles from Mt Ascutney.  Wilgus State Park sits right along the Connecticut River which I understand is much cleaner here than in Connecticut. It was developed by the CCC in the 1930's originally and improved in 1960.  It is very popular with canoeists and kayakers located right on the river.    It is a very, very nice campground.  Smaller than Ascutney with sites that overlook the river.  We met the hosts there, Maggie and Bud and will come back over some afternoon for a visit and probably will use their kayaks to explore the river....a perk of hosting in the State Parks!

I hold strong memories of the Connecticut River as the property I grew up on bordered the Connecticut River down to where the Farmington River emptied into it.  My Dad and I would ride our horses down along the Farmington River and then the Connecticut River.  


During the spring I would ride my bike down to the Farmington River every day after school to see how high the river was going to get.  Many, many springs the Connecticut River and Farmington River flooded the corn fields and our low lands behind our house.  When the water receded it was a mess with my mother warning me there may be dead animals around.  


In the summer and fall we'd sit alongside the river and read our books at an old remnant of an Indian Fort that sat right at the Connecticut River/Farmington River intersect.  


So my memories of the Connecticut River are mixed.  But one thing we'd never do is swim in it!  I'll try it up here - it looks a lot more benign!