The New Year

Wow, I haven’t made a post in a really long time. I’ve been busy with school and work. I just finished my 1st semester at UVM in the post-bac medical laboratory science program. I only took 2 courses last semester (hematology and phlebotomy) but I’m taking a full course load this coming semester, which starts Tuesday. I’ll be taking immunology, clinical chemistry, clinical microbiology II (which I believe is a type of parasitology course), and phlebotomy II. I love the program, although I’m not horribly fond of having to draw blood when I do phlebotomy at Fletcher Allen in Burlington.

I don’t really want to get into all of my school stuff on here because this is supposed to be my Vermont adventures blog, but I might have to sometimes because I’m too busy to go on many adventures until I’m done with the program and get my board certification in summer of 2012. I have to work every weekend in order to make my loan payments, but I do try to get out and do fun outdoorsy things when I can. I haven’t been able to go snowboarding yet this season, though, which has been a bummer. It has sucked because when I have had the time I haven’t had the money to go. I’m hoping to go soon because I have President’s day off from school.

I’ve been on a few other little outtings, though. My boyfriend, Steve, got me a pair of snowshoes for Christmas, so I’ve been using those whenever I can. It makes hiking in the winter A LOT easier. I’ve been out icefishing a couple times, but haven’t had any luck yet. This weekend Steve and I are going to Silver Lake camping again. It’s going to be cold, but I learned a lot from the last trip and really know what to expect this time. We’re going to go icefishing and I’m going to do a lot of photography and it’s going to be great. We’re currently having quite the blizzard so there will even be a layer of fresh pretty snow.

I haven’t written in so long that I haven’t even posted anything about the camping adventure I went on this past summer with Steve. We canoed to Knight Island (one of the Lake Champlain islands in North Hero, VT) and spent a couple days there. It was so beautiful there and we didn’t see anybody else on the island except for the ranger and his family. We had a huge site with a leanto right on the water. I got some great photos. Speaking of photos, I’ve got to reorganize these photo galleries. Since I don’t post a whole lot anymore I’ll probably be using this blog primarily for photography.

I’ll try to make a post after camping this weekend, but with school starting the next day I’m not sure if I’ll have a whole lot of extra time. I have to really prioritize and use my extra time to study since I have classes 8am-6:30pm 5 days a week, have to drive 4 hours a day to/from school, and work long shifts on the weekends. I’m going to be a very busy girl, but it’ll all be worth it in a couple years when I FINALLY have a job that pertains to my degree and pays more than minimum wage.

Pre-Summer Updates

So, it looks like I’m going back to school in the fall. I got accepted into UVM’s post-bac medical laboratory science certification program. I’ll be taking a series of microbiology, phlebotomy, hematology, immunology, and clinical chemistry courses and will do an internship during my last semester. I’m excited but I’ve been pretty stressed trying to figure out how I’m going to pay for this and I have a lot of immunizations/blood tests to get before August. I also have to take a few courses before I start the program, such as a healthcare provider CPR course. I’ll be able to do a lot more with my biology degree once I get this certification…since there really isn’t a lot in the Rutland area that I can do without additional education. My boyfriend bought me a microscope for my birthday, so I’m already getting pumped for microbiology in the fall!

I know this post has nothing to do with the theme of my blog, but I don’t have a whole lot to update about…I really need to get out and take some photos and go camping / hiking real soon! I got a really nice frame backpack with a hydration pack in it from Cabela’s for my birthday and a hiking pole and I can’t wait to use them!

I Need to Post More Often!

I haven’t made a post in a while—sorry about that. I really wanted to post regularly. I haven’t done a whole lot of outdoorsy activities lately to write about anyways. I did go kayaking for the first time this year on Fern Lake the other day. I had never gone kayaking there before, but it was very relaxing. I tried to do a little fishing as well but wasn’t very successful.      

Kayaking on Fern Lake

 

 Recently, I started working at Branbury State Park for the summer. I worked at Half Moon State Park for 4 summers, so this will be my 5th year working for the Vermont State Parks. So far everything is going very well and I’m really enjoying working there…it’s hard work, but it really is a great job to have when you love the outdoors and camping as much as I do. I’d really like to explore more of the state parks in VT this summer.     

Also, a couple of weeks ago I went up to Norton, VT (right near the Canadian border) to visit a friend. The landscape up there is gorgeous and I really wish that I had brought my Nikon D90 with me so that I could have taken some better photos while I was there.      

The weather has been great lately–sunny and warm, so I’m sure I’ll do a lot more kayaking, hiking, and camping soon. I’ll be sure to write a little more frequently. In the meantime, I uploaded the majority of my Australia photos to a new photo site, so feel free to look at them! http://carriesaustralia2008photos.shutterfly.com/

April Snow

The weather has been interesting this week. Two days ago there was a pretty decent snowstorm and tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 80 degrees. We’ve had snowstorms in May before, so it’s not that out of the ordinary, but there usually isn’t that much variation of temperatures within a single week. I’m not complaining though–I can’t wait for summer to get here.

I pulled a muscle in my leg a month or so ago and it has been feeling a lot better, but it hurts pretty badly when I walk for a long time or go on a steep hike, so I haven’t been able to go a lot of the places that I was planning on going to.

I’m planning on going up to the Northeast Kingdom to visit my best friend from college in 2 weeks. The forest up there looks a lot different than the forests around here and there are a lot of moose up there, so hopefully I’ll be able to get some cool shots.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of outdoorsy things now that it’s warmer out. I’ve been taking a lot of photos with my Nikon D90. I got my digital SLR at the end of May last year, so I haven’t had a chance to photograph all of the flowers that bloom in early spring. Last week I went for a hike in Rochester with my dad. I didn’t see much for wildlife, but I did find a lot of moose scat and deer tracks. I’ve also been going on some long motorcycle rides with my boyfriend, Steve. I like being on the back of a motorcycle…don’t think I want to drive one myself, though…my favorite part is being able to look all around and I feel like that would kind of be a death wish if I was the one controlling the bike. I’m just not careful enough. Also, when I have enough money someday there are a lot of places I want to go and things I want to do, so I just can’t see myself putting a lot of money into learning a new skill like that. I’ve been trying to save for years so I can go on some sort of international trip within the next few years, but I just won’t have the money for a while. Right now I need to save up for school if I get into the program. I just have to prioritize and put a few of my dreams on hold for a while. I’m not a materialistic person at all, but the majority of my ‘dreams’ cost a lot of money because they involve traveling. Oh my, I’ve gotten really off-track…

—Check out the new photo gallery on the right: Gallery: Spring 2010

Beautiful Weather

The weather has been getting really nice lately. This past weekend the temperatures got up into the high 70′s-low 80′s. I went snowboarding one last time before Pico closed and didn’t even have to wear a jacket. Actually, I was perfectly comfortable in just a T-shirt! I got a pretty bad sunburn, though…I should know better than to be slack with the sun protection since I worked at dermatology office and all.

Since the weather is getting nicer I’ll be going on a lot more hikes and photographing adventures, so keep an eye out for future posts!

Vermont State Parks Video

Falls of Lana Hike

The weather has been gorgeous lately…high 50′s-low 60′s, sunny, and clear. I’m sure it’s just a preview of spring since in Vermont you can expect low temperatures and snow into the month of May. I’ve been outside every day this week hiking or just out enjoying the sun in general. I hiked up to the Falls of Lana (which is a mile or so below where I went camping at Silver Lake a couple weekends ago) twice this week.

Most of the snow in the forest has melted, but the trail itself was still very icy and I had to walk through the woods when it started to get steep so that I wouldn’t slip. The river was running quite rapidly because of all the melted snow and I spent a few hours playing around with shutter speed on my Nikon D90 DSLR. I really should’ve brought my tripod with me, but I always hate lugging it around on hikes. I’m planning on hiking up there regularly so that I can experiment with different types of lighting on the falls at different hours of the day. Once all of the ice on the trail melts I’ll be able to hike all the way up to Silver Lake, which I’ve never seen in the spring.

The nice weather is making me really excited for summer. I’m going to work for the Vermont State Parks again this summer. It’ll be my 5th summer working for them and I absolutely love it. Last summer I even got to see a timber rattlesnake while doing some trail work! They’re pretty rare in Vermont.

Silver Lake Camping Trip

This past weekend I  went camping at Silver Lake with my boyfriend and his dog, and although we got off to a rough start (the car went off the road and got stuck in snow) we had a really great time. After we hiked in we went ice fishing…but we weren’t very successful. The ice on the lake was still very thick, but being so remote and without cell phone reception made being out on the ice a bit of an adrenaline-producing activity.

Silver Lake is a very remote area. There aren’t any roads to the area and even during the summer there aren’t any motor boats or vehicles. There are 15 or so campsites, but as you can imagine we were the only ones there. We had passed a few hikers, snowmobilers, and skiers on the trail, but we were the only people at the lake. I love being away from all the noise and commotion associated with everyday ‘civilized’ life. Up there, unlike in the city, it’s very difficult to be detached from the natural world.

It was a gorgeous day- sunny and in the upper 40′s, but at night it still went down into the 20′s, which isn’t very cold for a winter night in the mountains of Vermont, but still is quite cold when you’re in a tent. I dressed appropriately, but once the sun went down it definitely got a bit uncomfortable temperature-wise, which I had expected would happen. At night we walked along the edge of the lake, which helped warm me up a bit before bed. The skies were clear and I really can’t describe how beautiful the stars looked.

I didn’t get much sleep, but I was still having fun because one of the coolest parts of the trip happened in the middle of the night. A pack of coyotes started howling and yelping while they were out hunting. I’ve heard these types of howls before, but never that close. It was exciting (and kind of eerie) to hear them all howling at once. Instead of hearing them while I was inside my house, I was in a tent and was in their world. I wasn’t afraid of them or anything, though…they just sounded really neat and added to the excitement of the camping trip. I listened to them all night as they got further and further away from the lake. My boyfriend saw 3 of them on the ice the next morning though. There is a huge population of coyotes in Vermont, but I haven’t managed to see very many at all. They’re seen as pests, but I’d still like to get some good photographs of some because they are beautiful animals.

I was undeniably excited to see daylight and it didn’t take long to warm up once the sun rose. We had freeze-dried eggs and bacon for breakfast (it’s actually pretty good!), packed up camp, and hiked back to the car. My legs were really sore and I could barely walk (that’s never happened to me before but it might just have been from walking through the snow for so long) and the hike back to the car was mostly uphill, so it took a lot longer than it did to hike in. We needed some help pulling out the car, but it didn’t take long and we were on our way back to town.

I had a great time and really felt that I got the whole ’roughing it’ experience.  Summer camping is still my favorite, but I’d definitely go again…and plus, in the winter there aren’t any mosquitoes! After this weekend I appreciate hot showers and my own bed a bit more, though.

Pre-Camping Trip

I haven’t forgotten about my blog…just haven’t gone on a lot of adventures lately. I’m going hiking and camping this weekend though, so that’ll definitely be the topic of my next post! I’ve never tried camping during the winter before, so it’ll be an interesting experience and hopefully the tag on my sleeping bag is correct when it claims that it is ‘comfortable down to 10 degrees’!

Shrewsbury in Winter

This past weekend I went for a short hike in Shrewsbury. There’s something so peaceful about being in the forest this time of year.  Two feet of snow covered the forest floor and the brooks were frozen, so the sound of rustling leaves, snapping branches, and running water was non-existent. When I stood still I heard probably the closest thing to pure silence that I will ever hear. It was so quiet that the occasional tree creaking or bird chirping actually startled me. During any other season I would quickly drown out these types of background noises. 

The silence is eerie at times because in today’s world a person is almost never in complete silence. It takes some getting used to. I took a friend that was from a big city hiking a few years ago. She literally had a panic attack because it was ‘too’ quiet and we had to break the silence by singing so that she wouldn’t be afraid. Sometimes if I’m all by myself in the forest it is often a little eerie, but I’m always reassured by animal tracks because it reminds me that there are lots of other forms of life out there, even if I can’t see them. After writing that I can see how some people might be put-off by the fact that they can’t see critters that might be watching them, but I love animals and that thought comforts me. There isn’t too much to worry about in Vermont predator-wise. Black bears can get aggressive, especially when they have cubs, but with all animals if you keep your distance and your wits you should be just fine. Larger predators like the wolf and catamount have started to make a comeback in certain areas of Vermont, so safety issues may change in the future I suppose, but I can guarantee you that if I saw a catamount or wolf on one of my hikes I would be far too excited to worry about being attacked. 

Sometimes it’s difficult to really appreciate winter’s beauty. It gets relentlessly cold and the weather can be extremely hazardous for those trying to travel. I’ll admit that I’ve cursed winter more than a few times when I’ve had to dig my car out from under a mound of snow or have been unable to open my car doors until I chip away at the thick layer of ice. When trying to go about your everyday activities, it’s difficult to appreciate anything besides 70-degree sunny weather. It’s important to me to be able to get out away from the hustle and bustle of daily life during Vermont’s harshest season and focus on the beautiful aspects that make winter so unique. 

A powdery fine layer of snow covered the more dense crunchy layer, making it a bit exhausting to walk off the trail. My favorite type of snow is the kind where you can see the detail of every single snowflake for a few hours or so until they all stick together and become ‘the snow.’ I’ll never tire of examining each snowflake as it falls on my jacket. Even after the individual snowflakes disappear and everything is just covered in white, it’s still beautiful. With the majority of the foliage gone, I was able to see the mountains that surrounded the patch of forest and they were similarly covered in white, which really made them stand out against the sky. 

As beautiful as winter may be, a hot cup of cocoa and a pair of fuzzy slippers always seem to work their way into my thoughts after a couple of hours. 

The forest in Shrewsbury not long before sunset