Quechee Gorge

OK, it hardly counts as a hike because Kevin and I got out of the car, walked halfway across the bridge that crosses the gorge, walked a quarter-mile of the trail to the bottom of the gorge, got stopped by an orange plastic fence and a "Keep Out" sign, and dragged ourselves back to the top and got back in the car. A good portion of the trail, and a noticeable amount of soil along the banks of the river, had been washed away by the recent flooding. Everything was generally damp and muddy and not very pretty.

I would love to go back on a) a day cooler than 85 degrees, b) a day that is not the beginning of a foliage season holiday weekend and c) a time when we could wander all the trails. This weekend it was just one stop on a long apple-picking and family-visiting adventure.

Nonetheless, Quechee Gorge is very impressive. Or maybe I'm just a nerd for rocks. When I was a kid, my uncle got me a rock tumbler, so my dad bought me a full-sized rock hammer. (I say that as if someone makes rock hammers specially sized for 9-year-old girls with purple backpacks, but I do not believe those are currently available.) We used to take walks through various trails and parks near home and I would collect a bag full of rocks, or chisel out bits that looked interesting.

I managed to do this for several years without learning anything about geology, except how to identify quartz. The best way to identify quartz is to go outside in New England and point at a rock. There is about an 80% chance you are pointing to some kind of quartz. At least that's how I remember it.

So, considering the views obstructed by tourists and the fact that my ample common sense (read: fear of heights) prevented me from seeing much over the bridge railing, I have to take the state of Vermont's word for it that the gorge was formed by glacial activity.

Even as a quick road-trip stop, the gorge was worth seeing, but it definitely deserves more time on another trip.