Exposed Rail Trail vs. Ankle Deep Water

June 17, 2024

mile 197.5-210.3

Hyped ourselves up this morning with speaker music while we got ready and started our portage. Henry had found a route that follows a rail trail so we could avoid the slow, mind numbing process of walking upstream through the river.

Messy morning campsite

The hype music worked for awhile and we danced and sang and laughed as we portaged up a steep, grassy path full of muddy ditches and holes up to the road. I sat with our gear at the rail trail while Henry walked to the store to get us water, Body Armour and some much needed caffeine.

I sat and talked to Mom on the phone until he came back and when I stood up to start our portage I felt nauseous and terrible. We started our walk down the rail trail, it was shady to begin with and I was grateful. I undid the hipbelt of my backpack so it wouldn't press on my stomach and fought the urges to throw up. I figured I was dehydrated and downed my Body Armour and then some water, ate some super salty pretzels and after a few miles I began to feel better.

Our portage on the rail trail wasn't nearly as as easy as we thought it would be. The portage cart was failing and flattening, causing the canoe to rub on the wheels and making it very, very difficult to pull.

Our poor wheels ☠️

The temperature climbed as the morning went on and became deathly hot and humid. The rail trail became exposed with no shade whatsoever and I cursed the creator under my breath. I thought rail trails were supposed to be beautifully flat and shaded. Fuckers.

We started to wish we were back down on the water- we could see it far below us with no way to get to it until the next boat launch in a few miles. I pulled the canoe the last half mile because Henry's arm was numb and it was maybe the hardest thing I've ever done. Sweat dripped down my face and back, my pack was heavy and the canoe was heavier. I collapsed in a tiny spot of shade as we reached the road to the boat launch. At least we were back at the river.

Henry took over and pulled it downhill to the river. I had been imagining a nice rocky beach where I could dip into the water and swim before we continued on. That wasn't the case. The bank was steep and slippery on both sides and we had to drag all of our gear and the canoe over a guardrail and then descend down to the river which was deep and muddy. I was pretty sure if I jumped in I wouldn't be able to climb back out because of the layer of slime covering every surface of rock. I dipped in as much as I could and splashed my face and neck and then we were off paddling upstream once more. Of course there were more shallow spots where we got up and walked through the river.

We got out at Giddings Brook to avoid some class one rapids closer to town and walked into the town of Enosburg Falls.

I googled to see if we could get some takeout but every restaurant in town was closed even though it was only 5 pm. We decided to walk down to Dollar General to buy water and I switched my day dream from takeout to an ice cream sandwich. We were about a hundred yards away when I saw an empty parking lot and suspiciously dark windows. We walked up to the front door where there was a sign taped "Closed, sorry for the inconvenience". Are you actually kidding me.

We turned around to head back to the river and came across a gas station where I bought some Cabot popcorn and a pint of Ben & Jerrys ice cream which saved the day. We walked out of town and put back in above the dam.

Leaving Enosburg Falls

Henry paddled the 0.6 miles to the campsite and fished while I ate my ice cream with my feet up.

Mood lifter

We reached Brownway Campsite to find quite a few homeless people hanging out, one of them telling us he's lived there for 5 years now in a tent. There weren't any other campsites for miles so we just set up in as private of a spot as we could in the grassy field. The mosquitoes came out at dusk and I was hot, tired and getting eaten alive. Tried to eat some mac n cheese but lost my appetite after 3 bites and just wanted to lay in the tent naked and go to sleep. Everything feels sticky. Ugh.