Vermont Goes Wild: The Hike

Hiking in Vermont was a great pleasure. Especially in the spring, before the trees budded and leaves formed, it provided great views along the Appalachian Trail (AT) from mountain peaks like Glastenbury, Bromley, and Killington. In addition, there were other aspects of Vermont that caught my attention such as the surrounding flora and fauna.

Flora

I hiked to Vermont in April and the spectacular spectacle of the forest wildflowers was truly amazing. I mean, the seas of yellow trout lilies and red trilliums alone were just stellar while hiking the AT.

Yellow trout lilies.

It was truly magical to be in the middle of a forest with so much color as well as seeing the bees doing their things of collecting nectar and pollen. In addition to the yellow trout lily and red trillium, I also identified nine other species of wildflowers blooming along the trail: Painted Trillium, Carolina Springbeauty, Virginia Springbeauty, Azure Bluet, Early Saxifrage, Downy Yellow Violet, Blue Violet, Rue Anemone, and Wakerobin (a trillium).

Painted trillium.

Virginia and Carolina (pink) Springbeauties.

Fauna

My welcome to Vermont, less than an hour into walking across the state, was a busy beaver watching me from his pond at home chewing on a piece of wood. We looked at each other for many minutes until the beaver got bored of me, slapped the water with his tail, and then went off to do other things.

Welcome beaver.

I also saw ample evidence of moose activity throughout the state through their droppings. A porcupine stood on the trail, like the beaver in the pond, chewing on a branch and staring at me for a long time until it, too, moved on to bigger and better things.

Hello, porcupine!

On my last day of hiking in Vermont, I was admiring the intricate system of connecting tubes used to extract sap from maple trees and then distill it into maple syrup when, about 20 yards in front of me, a large black bear ran across the trail and ran into the woods. I think we were both caught off guard by each other’s presence and screamed in surprise when the interaction happened so quickly and then ended. This was the first time I saw a bear on the hike, probably because I started very early in the season in late January, and for safety reasons for both the bear and me, that’s okay.

Maple tree harvesting operation.

wild vermont

Vermont truly put on a show as I hiked through its stunning landscape. Spring had truly arrived with beautiful, colorful wildflowers all over the forest and animals hanging around, eating, and just being. For me, this part of my hike in Vermont wasn’t so much about the mountain views or the beautiful ponds and waterfalls or the personal interactions, although those are all important, but rather about the flora and fauna experienced. And what set of experiences they provided.

The sun rising over the magical forest.

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