Top O' The Hill Farm: Many Hours in the Saddle

We've been anticipating this trip for days.. the weather has been unpredictable all week. We woke up to this.. and decided -- we're going no matter what !

Zoe and I try to make sensible choices about what to wear- we actually ended up being cold for much of the trip - we traveled briskly in more ways than one.

This post has a LOT of photo's - this trip was more a compilation of 3 trips in one - We visited and trotted so many different places and areas.. down so many trails and roads - traversed two mountain ridges... I told Zoe as we were near the end of the voyage, without the photo's- I would be confused about how we maneuvered ourselves from beginning to end... because we traveled a LOT of miles !

Teasel had the pleasure of wearing the pockets today - with water, etc..
Keri had her brand new Skito pad (which we both like).

We were transported to the beginning of Wyman Falls Road - to save the riding time to the location. We planned to spend all our riding exploring the area thoroughly and then trotting home.

Wyman Falls Road - bordered by a lovely brook, dark and forested. This road is a "dead end" - as it turns into this eventually.

This is the start of the trail we took last week for our quest for the Falls. This time we are going to trot the 'high' road- in order to avoid the tricky brook crossing where poor Teasel fell. Today the water is quite high as rain has fallen every day since.

The falls and the brook are way down there - Keri and I stay away from the edge.

The trail came out onto a 'four-way' intersection- to the left is this road through the woods that looks like a boulevard--
We trotted this for awhile to see where it went-- came upon some people working with excavators and decided not to intrude and headed back. Didn't want to inadvertently make anyone cranky at us. It kind of seemed a bit private - especially after we spotted the Totem Pole.

And the same 'road' to the right -
Pretty view from here.

This is the general direction we want to go. We are eventually going to come down into Cavendish.

The small wet trail directly across the intersection, we trotted down that one to see where it went for future reference. Down into Chester, on the far outskirts of town. This will definitly make up a nice loop for another trip. It also forked off to the right- which will make a interesting exploration for another day.

Finding a trail running somewhat parallel to this 'boulevard' - we head off to our original destination. Half way down, that path merges with this one- and I am glad we chose to trot the trail - big gate with a sign-- No Horses -subject to Arrest ! Yikes - I hope they don't call in a crime team to track Keri's hoofprints. Teasel trots like a ballerina- he leaves no prints at all.. he's the stealth man.

I think we are back on the old Wyman Falls Road.

Here's an old 'cellar hole' . We saw evidence of quite a few cabins as we traveled along this old road.

In Vermont, the stone walls are everywhere. I am always interested to see the difference in type of rocks and stones on the walls as we pass through changing geological areas.

We exit the forest- and find beautiful pasture.

I turn into a touristy leaf peeper- and snap loads of photo's.

Even the milkweed is pretty today ! If the sun had been out, this scene would have been dazzling .

Here's where we came from. When you are in the woods, you surely don't see the palette of jewel colors like you do when looking back.

Even for a bad "leaf" year this is pretty spectacular.

According to Native American myth, fall leaf colors resulted from the slaying of the Great Bear in the sky, whose blood dripped to the Earth and painted some leaves red. As the hunters cooked the bear meat, the splattering fat colored other leaves yellow. when I was young- my mom told me it was the artistry of Jack Frost--- pinching each leaf with his chilly fingers. This sight each fall becomes so natural to me, I tend to forget that only a mere 14% of the world's forests are made up of deciduous trees which turn color.

Continuing through the pasture- on this little old road- we come to what must have been the old entrance.

Here is another quintessential Vermont scene- a maple lined lane.

We are going to forge ahead down into the valley - and up over another mountain to get home.

Cold wind here trotting down this lane. We are starting to think of cutting the trip short... just momentarily.

More leaf peeping :)

Another pasture/hayfield further down the lane.

with a very tidy rock pile in the middle.

We reach a crest and look across the valley-- which is what's called Proctorsville Gulf- or The Gulf to natives. It's marked by a road with extremely steep ledge sides.. always cold and icy there in winter and lined with signs warning of falling rock.

We linger for the view - and trot on down the hill.. to Route 103- cross that onto a dirt road sometimes known as Cavendish Road. This will take us towards home. We'll be traveling more in the valley on that dirt road.

Trotting along this road- we conference on changing routes. This dirt road will take us out onto Route 131... which is one of my favorite roads to travel. From there we can access the other side of Hawk's Mountain and come that way-- But we are not sure just how long that will take so we decide to continue on to Dean Brook Road and home. We've been in the saddle well over 3 hours now with many more miles to cover yet.

Pass by the remnants of an old farm- a few buildings still stand but no farmhouse in sight.

Dean Brook Road follows a lovely brook into the Baltimore Section of Chester. Once we are there, we decide-- what the heck... the last time we crossed over Hawk's Mountain we said we'd want to return for the fall view and we are already over here-- let's trot fast and we can manage the detour ! We pass by the Llamas on the corner- which our horses do not like and head out toward the entrance to Hawk's Mountain.

We pass by the quaint Town Hall of Baltimore.

We canter up the rocky steep mountain side of Hawk's Mountain and are rewarded with the view - again.. I metaphorse into tourist mode and snap away. We can see in so many different directions, with varying weather in the distance depending on the compass points.

If I had any directional sense I could describe what we are viewing -- the only landmark here I know is the white buildings to the bottom right of this photo- we will be trotting past that later on the way home through North Springfield.

I think it's raining on that far mountain. We are traveling with cold mist and a few intermittent drops.

a spot of clearing and sunshine over there.

But seems for the most part- the mountain top is a bit gloomy.. you can see the rain hitting my lens.

Glancing at our watches- it is time to head back down the steep mountain side trail.

About half way on this roadway is a secure gate which we had to bypass by bushwacking through thick saplings to get here. On the return trip down-- I tried to guide Keri through the same bush-- but with a little driver error, we ended up up against a bent over ash. Now sometimes I will ask Keri to push a tree such as this one with her chest to move it aside. She went to do this without my asking--- BUT the tree was not against her chest-- it was clotheslining me. Before I knew it-- whoooosh.. I slide out of the saddle and right off her haunches like a circus rodeo trick- which would not have been so bad except my horse- the little puke.. keeps walking not even noticing she is riderless. Well, so much for the bonding I thought had been taking place between us all this time.

She is sauntering on down the trail probably thinking.. I wish Betsy could ride this lightly in the saddle all the time ! Zoe and Teasel walk quickly on ahead to catch her... what a goof. The first thought I had was the mass e-mail I had recieved last week about a horse who lost its rider and galloped away on an endurance ride in Woodstock. Last they saw the horse, he was speeding toward Bridgewater- which is rough primitive country. (I'd love to ride there someday) The horse was finally found using bloodhounds ! Now, I doubt Keri would get lost- she would know the route home.. but I was not looking forward to the walk or the worry.

We back tracked a bit to reach Baltimore Road again. Right near where the Town Hall is-- now there are cows out. We did not see those cows on our way in.. but now there are 30 or so in the pasture - and several making their way out. Thankfully, there was no stampede-- just a few crossing into what seemed to them better grazing... or perhaps heading home to the Thomas farm right around the corner.