Walktober

In a modern suburban world of parking lots and gym memberships, it seems like no one walks anymore. But The Last Green Valley is trying to get everyone out to play. The Last Green Valley, a Connecticut and Massachusetts non-profit organization, is in the middle of it's annual Walktober event, which is a month-long series of walks in 35 towns stretching from East Brookfield, MA to Norwich, CT.

How is it that after growing up in Connecticut for 15 years, I have never heard of the Last Green Valley or this 21-year-old walking event? Looks like I've been missing out.

This is the part of Connecticut and Massachusetts where I never get off the highway.  I-84 runs through the northeast corner of the region on its way out of Sturbridge, and I-395 runs through the Green Valley from north to south. This makes the walks convenient for drivers coming from central Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. And it looks like it's worth the trip, since The Last Green Valley, Inc. describes the area as 78% farmland and forest, with more than 130 miles of trails and 118 historic sites and museums. This is my kind of walking, a mix of tamed and wild land with some history thrown in for good measure.

Looking at the pictures from last year's Walktober - which had a turnout of 25,000 walkers, according the Hartford Courant - I think I'll wait until another time of year when these trails aren't so crowded. I learned that lesson (once again) at Purgatory Chasm this September. I'll pass on crowded walks with great foliage and wait until it gets cold and quiet, or lush and green in the spring.

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.