DAY 49 - JUS' HANGIN'

AUGUST 18, 2012

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY ON ASCUTNEY

Today was probably the most beautiful day we’ve had this summer …. Cool, dry and clear skies.  Our campground is not full but feels that way as people cram their family time into the remaining few weekends of summer before school starts.  There really is only this weekend because next weekend we are full for the BMW Motorcycle Hill Climb and the following weekend is Labor Day and then summer is over!   Where did it go?????

We had lots of hikers, bikers and motorists coming into the Park to enjoy the clear, clear day at the summit of Mt Ascutney.  And then…..about four hang gliders with their “crew” came in to go off the top! 

Mt Ascutney is a premier hang gliding spot in New England and there haven’t been that many this summer. 

Around 1:30 we took off for the top to watch the gliders jump off the mountain!  Back in our Day 2 update I described our attempt to get up the Hang Gliders’ trail.  It was not pretty!!!!  It was tough!  It was hot, it was rocky and I wasn’t at all prepared for this kind of hike.   

What a difference a summer makes!! First of all instead of being 90 degrees, it was 69 degrees.  Instead of being 80% humidity it was down around 40% humidity.  Instead of being still, it was breezy.  Instead of being out of shape, we were at least in better shape than we were when we got here.

So……the hike wasn’t any easier.  The rocks hadn’t been rearranged or the slope flattened out, but somehow it was not as much of a big “f’ing” deal as it was in  July!!!!    We picked our way to the top and came out to a clearing that was stacked with four hang gliders.

The website for the Hang Glider’s Association described the climb (with their 100 lbs of gear) as: 

The hike in is not for the weak or faint-hearted.  The trail is mostly level, but does has several descents and climbs, stream crossings, rocks scrambles, and clustered trees.   Most pilots hike in once with all their gear, other pilots make two trips, once with the glider and then again with their harness, and yet other pilots pair up and make two trips with a person on both ends of the glider.  The hike is not bad after a little "conditioning", but the first few hikes of the season can be long!  Some of the more experienced pilots view the hike as a way of putting the world behind them, a pathway  to "flying mode".  Porcupines like to chew on tires.  If you leave your vehicle on the mountain overnight, you might have chunks of rubber (and air) missing from your tires when you return the next morning. 

Slowly I made my way to the side to look down and over and it wasn’t that bad.    We could see Killington Mountain off in the distance and looked down on Mt Ascutney Resort and the town of Brownsville.   Interesting note:  Charles Bronson (the actor) had a horse farm at the base of Ascutney and is buried down at the base.  We were probably looking down on that farm from the top.

  I could see the potential landing sites for the gliders; Africa, Kansas ….. don’t know why named them those names.  Some of the gliders keep going and going and going all the way to the coast.

We got up in time for the first glider to go off the mountain.  

The other gliders watched him for about an hour to see if he was able to catch any good thermals and increase altitude.  The afternoon was just starting to warm up so the thermals hadn’t really kicked in yet.  They said if they all went up now, there would be four hang gliders vying for the same space so they wanted to wait and see how the first one fared.

He flew around and around the top of Ascutney circling back over us.  While up there the hawks were flying around and the glider was trying to catch the hawks’ thermals.  The glider was scaring off the hawks so it was a battle for airspace!

The pilots are put in a sling that is suspended from the glider and wear what ultimately looks like a mummy bag with their feet zipped in.  When they get to within 1000’ of landing, they unzip the bag to free their feet or else they’d be hopping along the field in a rather ungraceful landing!

The reason Mt Ascutney is the premier hang gliding spot in New England is because of Monadnock in New Hampshire.  I think the winds and thermals come down off Monadnock across the Connecticut Valley and swoop up Ascutney creating the updrafts required to keep the glider’s afloat.

WHERE'S HE GO?  IS HE GETTING AN UPDRAFT??

The pilots wear variometers which beep to the updrafts.  The faster the beep, the more centered you are to the cone of the thermal; if the beep slows down you need to adjust your direction to find that thermal again.  The variometer works the same way as the bones in a bird, resonating as they get closer to the thermal in more perfect positions.

IT'S AN EXCITING COUPLE OF MINUTES UNTIL HE'S LAUNCHED

Finally the first  glider was making some altitude and the air got excited with activity as the other two gliders got their gear on and climbed to the top of the rock.  Once up there, when they feel its right, they run off the wooden platform, hit two boulders sitting on the side of the mountain and launch. 

It is a beautiful sight to see.

ONE, TWO, THREE & YOU ARE AIRBORNE!!!!

I THINK I CAN FLY......DO I NEED WINGS??????

ZIPPING UP THE HARNESS AND SUIT!

While up there we had many hikers stopping by on their way to and from the summit.  Lots of families with young children getting up close to the activity.

AND HE'S OFF THE MOUNTAIN

The fourth and final hang glider took off around 3:30 with help from his friends who had never assisted before.  It was a little tense but they did a good job and he jumped off the mountain heading for a landing area in one of the farms below.

It was a beautiful day on the mountain and we headed down around 4:00 having spent several hours watching and enjoying the views.

BROWNIES ARE HERE

Earlier this summer, a local Brownie (Girl Scout) Troop came over to do some raking and cleaning up and earned a free weekend of camping …. So this was their weekend.  About six little girls from 1^st grade to 4^th grade were camping with their Leader.  As we came down the mountain, Mark was busy explaining the herbs and flowers growing in the garden next to our Ranger’s Hut.  The girls were fascinated.  It was a picture-taking moment.

Earlier in the day Mark went for a conditioning bike ride as he is participating in a 50 mile bike ride in September.  Kinda like the Endurance Race on mountain bikes.  When he came back he had a strange thing on his backpack.  It was a chicken mushroom which, I guess, when fried up tastes just like chicken!  The Scouts were fascinated by this strange looking vegetable.

WEATHERSFIELD INN

Speaking of mushrooms, Mark and Lucy collect mushrooms off the mountain and deliver them to the Weathersfield Inn where the chef uses them in his dishes.  We’d been hearing about the Weathersfield Inn all summer; how wonderful the food was, how talented the chef so after Mark and Lucy’s latest mushroom delivery, we made reservations for dinner (to be sure the mushrooms were on the menu).

It was a beautiful,  romantic  historic inn featuring farm to table cuisine so everything is fresh, fresh, fresh.  Their ingredients are procured within 20 miles of the restaurant.  It was build in 1792 and is considered a gourmet getaway.   

 The Inn is set back from the road in Perkinsville so that we passed the driveway on the first shot.  If you can picture a perfect Vermont Inn and Tavern, this would be the one.  The dining room is a beautiful post and beam with a working fireplace and windows that actually opened to the cool night air.  They also have a Tavern and a patio around an open fire pit.

 The menu is interesting and varied.  There are dinner entrees, a cheese flight plate of local farmstead cheeses, appetizers that could be entrees, Lucy's Tavern (named after their dog Lucy) with Tavern fare and a special menu celebrating the food of the season.  

We chose that route ... the Verterra Cuisine which is a fixed menu of five courses and tonight’s menu featured corn.  We started with a corn chowder that was so good I could have had it simply as the entree.  Unlike most corn chowders that are heavy with cream, this one was lightly “creamed” with the freshest of fresh ingredients.  Next came a grilled eggplant and tomato stacked with a balsamic glaze.  Our main entree was veal, fork tender, with peach salsa.  

Because of our association with Mark and Lucy, the Chef included in our meal the mushroom compote he had made to go with another veal dish.  Yes, the Chef did use your mushrooms and they were delicious.

Our dessert was totally unexpected and delicious … a cold corn soup with marinated cherries and a scoop of cream cheese ice cream and corn brioches floating.  It was delightful.  The entire meal was a memory maker and it is my “birthday” dinner for the month of August.

ANOTHER GREAT DAY IN VERMONT!!!!