We went to scout a place for a Rainbow council. We had been told that the road to the chosen location (Branch Pond VT) was washed out. Here is our report.
We went there Friday afternoon. As we went west on Arlington-Stratton road, all was normal until we got to the place where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road. There was a large sign that said
Road ClosedI was puzzled, because I think a GPS is a device that tells you where you are. How could it be bad to know where you are? And "stuck" means hubcap deep in the mud. Then I thought that nowadays a GPS computes shortest routes and tells you where to turn, and stuck may just mean that you drove 10 miles for nothing and must turn around an go back. No matter, we had no GPS, just a thirty-year-old magnetic compass that leaked its fluid filling years ago.
Do not use GPS
You will get stuck
We went onward. The turn off to FS.71, which is the north end of Somerset Rd, also had a Road Closed sign.
The road was mostly same as always, but there were a few places that had dried out tire ruts; easy to drive around. We turned onto Branch Pond access road, which also had a "Road Closed" sign, this one just spray painted onto the back of a stop sign.
We parked at the end of the road and looked around. There was a pickup truck with VT license plates parked at the Lye Brook trail head.
We went back to the turn-off a few hundred yards from the end. We put on packs and went looking for the little plateau where we had councils and regionals many years ago. In my memory it was just up the hill from parking, and easy to find. We missed it, of course. There are few landmarks.
We pitched the tent and ate. There was snow in some places. We put a snowball near the tent and it was still there in the morning. It was very quiet. Not just no car traffic, but no insects, birds, critters, or wind. The stars through the tree branches were amazing.
In the morning, we started back to the car, but came to a swamp. We went around to the end of it, where we heard running water. The water was running the opposite direction from what I expected. Not only does Branch Pond have two outlets, but the streams near it are goofy. We went to the other end, about a quarter mile, walking between the deep mud and the brambles.
I began to wish for a GPS. I knew the road was to the west, but it dead-ends on the north and I began to worry about walking past the end. We started going west, but going to the south of all obstacles. I fell down a lot.
We crossed several streams, though we had crossed none on the way up. At one we stopped to filter some water and drink. At one I fell in. I wound up on my hands and knees in the water. My pant legs were soaked, and there was water in my boots. I was glad because the pack on my back did not get wet. I was starting to think we might spend another night there.
Despite the cold night, it was a warm sunny day. My pants were dry in a few minutes. Even though the road was closed, I think we saw more cars than clouds the whole time.
We went over the next hill and Diane saw the road. It was a mile and a half walk back north to the car. It was stupid to get lost, but I am proud and happy to have walked out. About five years ago I could not walk two blocks from home without leaning on a walker.
We drove out. We went back to Rt.9 and up Somerset road. We went as far as the Somerset Airfield Campground. We have had councils there before. I always wondered why Rainbow people called it the "airfield", but now there is a professionally painted road sign that says just that, so I guess that's its name.
At one time we had thought of camping there, if we could reach it, but there were eight to ten huge mobile home campers and RVs parked there, and we were tired. We drove to a diner, had a hot dinner and a lot of cold drinks, and then went home to sleep in our own bed.