Occasional Musings by Kevin Russell
March 2022 On a loverly Saturday morning in March, the Mad River Valley Backcountry Coalition (MRVBC) led a successful tour into the Phen Basin Wilderness of the Camel’s Hump State Park on the Catamount Trail. Our destination on Section 19S from the trailhead parking area at the Battlegrounds on Mill Brook Road was Hemlock Hill for some exploration of Vermont’s natural backcountry. This section … Continue Reading →
October 17, 2021 Kevin Russell Back in the autumn of 2005, a window of opportunity opened for me to walk across Vermont. At the time, I was serving as the Chairman of the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council (VT&GC) and I had been hearing about the Lamoille Valley Railroad and the plan by the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) to convert it into … Continue Reading →
July 24, 2021 Today is Saturday, and I gave my feet the pleasure of a walk around the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market and a short stretch of the sidewalk, crossing Main Street twice. The past week, they have propelled me along roughly forty-six miles of hiking in the Green Mountains and the Champlain Valley. Not accustomed to that much confinement in my waterproof boots, I … Continue Reading →
July 18, 2021 It was a day in the Green Mountain National Rain Forest. Intermittent, sometimes strong and steady, the rain did not deter our progress along the Oak Ridge and Moosalamoo Trails. Long-distance hiker Denali (trail name) and I were off on her 4,700-mile mission to complete the North Country Trail. We were traversing the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, near Ripton, Vermont, a proposed route … Continue Reading →
September 13, 2020 I’m a little behind in my putting down some words here along the Mill Brook, so it is time to catch up a little. This is the time of year that we enjoy the crack between the seasons here in the Mad River Valley. That is, the time when we get the Valley back to ourselves, with visitors and second homeowners … Continue Reading →
August 1, 2020 On this day, I and hiking partner, Lisa explored Hoffman Notch Wilderness in the eastern section of the Adirondack Park. The mid-point of our hike being Jones Hill for the prominent views into the wilderness area. Lisa is a member of the Adirondack Club (ADK), Onondaga Chapter and avid hiker in the north country. We chose a oneway route that traverses … Continue Reading →
July 26, 2020 What an energetic, healthy and fun crew of trail workers are the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) members from Central New York State. On this day, I had the pleasure of joining five of them for a work party on the North Country Trail (NCT). Members of the Onondaga (Syracuse) and Iroquois (Utica) Chapters of the ADK met up in Speculator for … Continue Reading →
July 21, 2020 Continuing my New York State adventures along the North Country Trail, I did further exploration of the Black River area in the southern Adirondacks. This river is very similar to Vermont’s Mad River in size and the fact that it runs north. It is however, far longer at 125 miles, flowing from North Lake to Lake Ontario. The river lives up … Continue Reading →
Since there is no youth music education for me to tour with this summer, I decided instead to explore the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) in my native state of New York, one of eight states that hosts the nations longest NST. Born out of the National Trails Act of 1968, the NST system has grown to 11 recognized NST systems. Last summer … Continue Reading →
By Kevin Russell I recently returned from two days immersed in Vermont’s forests, though I spent most of my time indoors, seated at a conference table. I attended the Vermont Forest Industry Summit, a Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund conference held at the Burke Hotel and Conference Center at the venerable ski area in the Northeast Kingdom. This was the second annual gathering of representatives … Continue Reading →