Spain’s thousand-year-old pilgrimage trail will be the focus of an online presentation on January 31 at 7:00 pm. Camino guides Betsy Bates of Dummerston and Bob Lawson of Putney will talk about what it’s like to walk the varied sections of the pilgrimage path while sharing the best of their photos, taken over many years.
There’s a beautiful, unknown 3-mile loop trail on Wantastiquet. I discovered it a few years ago. I’ve pushed fallen branches to the side, so now it’s sort of possible to follow it. I’ve posted a GPS track “kmz” file here that can be used on a smartphone to help stay on the trail, www.danaxtell.com/Wantastiquet_Flank_Loop.kmz . Google Earth will show this track as an overlay.
The trail goes nowhere near the summit, but does visit the best panoramic lookouts on the mountain—the ones that photographers have been using for 170 years. The loop is possible only because there is a carefully graded trail and retaining wall through the rockslides on the steepest section. I have never seen a mention of this stretch of trail. I found it while exploring the various lookout points in the area. It’s a mystery.
The experience of walking Spain’s thousand-year-old pilgrimage trail will be the focus of a talk and slideshow at Brattleboro’s Books Memorial Library on November 12, 2019, at 7:00 pm. The library is at 224 Main Street in Brattleboro, VT.
The slideshow and discussion will be led by Betsy Bates, Cicely Carroll, and Bob Lawson of Dummerston and Putney.
Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association (WHPA) will be leading a walk to the historic sites on WHPA properties in Athens and Grafton on Saturday, Nov.2 from 12:30-3:30.
These historic sites connected with the mining of soapstone include the remains of a mill, slag heap, boarding house for the workers, barn for the oxen, and multiple quarries cuts in the land. While mining there ceased in the early 1900s, there is interesting evidence remaining of this historic industry. Early Grafton pioneers first discovered and quarried this deposit of soapstone in 1784, carving pieces into household items such as foot and hand warmers, ink wells, and hearthstones.
