Monday there was a total eclipse! I was originally going to just watch it from Boston and enjoy the 92% eclipse, but a friend of mine convinced me that it would be so much better to be in the Path of Totality, and she was completely right. I'm so glad I went.
It seemed like Vermont was the best place to go to for viewing in terms of full effect and distance to drive. My friends reserved an airbnb about a year ago, but since I was so late to the game I wound up choosing a hipcamp camping site, which worked out really well. A couple friends joined me for the adventure, and we met up at the airbnb for the big event.
One way to get up to that part of Vermont is to drive through Franconia Notch, which seemed like a perfect opportunity to stop and hike Mt. Pemigewasset - a hike that I've wanted to do for a while, but since it's 3 miles, not a hike I would just drive up for. It was the perfect hike to stop and do on the way, though. I forgot how much I love spring hiking - there was a solid monorail on the trail and I wore my microspikes for the top half. Because of the snow, though, the rockiness of the trail is smoothed out, and there aren't big steps up and down. The woods are so peaceful with the snow, and there was a great view of some of the big mountains on the way up. The hike had 1260 feet of elevation gain, which is respectable but not killer, and had some nice switchbacks, which were delightful. Near the top was a ledge and a really pretty view. I tagged the summit and sat and ate an egg salad sandwich that I got at the rest stop, and it was delicious.
After, I headed up to the camping site. The place we stayed is in someone's yard - I think it was her first weekend hosting, and so they had some figuring out to do. For starters, it's Mud season in VT, so the place that we were meant to go wasn't really inhabitable. She was able to put us in a different area, which wound up pretty full. I think the place had pretty much every type of sleeping setup. My friends and I set up our tents. There was also a couple from NYC who were tenting. There were two brothers from MA who had a really cute dog - one had this pop up tent on the roof of his SUV and the other had a tent. Then someone came in a converted school bus (it turned out that he was in the middle of a one week fast, and had all sorts of weird ideas of what his body was doing). Then, there was a family of four who had a pop up trailer. We had one just like it when I was a kid, and it brought back memories! There was a 92 year old man and his wife in a diesel truck with a trailer in the bed (they had been from Belize to Alaska in it!), a family in a big trailer that was dragged behind a truck, a winabego, and a woman with a sprinter van. There was also a couple that stayed in an RV that they had on the property. Aside from the guy who was fasting, there was also a conspiracy theorist who thought the moon was hollow and did not believe in vaccination. The couple from NYC cooked cinnamon buns in orange peels in the fire, which looked delicious.
I got a new tent because I'm also going to go camping later this summer, and thought it was worth the expense to be comfortable. I also think that I could camp before some of the big hikes, and save myself from having to get up at 6 am by driving up the night before. We knew it was going to be cold, and especially the first night it was! I had 3 sleeping bags, 2 pairs of long underware, my heated socks and vest, and I was still a bit chilly. The second night wasn't as bad, or maybe I was just exhausted because I hadn't slept? Anyhow, after we set up we went to Smugglers Notch ski area where there was a "Fire Circus" which was really cool - there was a fire juggler, a woman hoola hooping with fire things on the outside of the hoops, and some fire spitting. After, they had fireworks.
The big day, though, was the eclipse. I'd read about what to expect, but of course it didn't really prepare me for it. We started sitting in the yard at the airbnb. It was a warm day, so I was wearing a tshirt and pants, and I was so warm I rolled up the legs of my pants. It was so cool seeing the moon cover just a little bit of the sun, and then watch it move over, but the most amazing part was totality. As it got closer to totality, it got colder and colder, so I had to unroll my pants and put on a jacket. The air got still and the light was weird and eiree. Everything started to look like it normally does at dusk, but the sun was still above. Watching the last bit of sun disappear, everything felt strange and exciting, and then it was gone and we could take off our eclipse glasses and look at the corona. It was really amazing - there was a bright pink solar spot at the bottom, and the light of the corona went out a pretty good way, we could see the other planets. I meant to do all sorts of things, like look to see if there was a sunset all around us, and look for stars and listen for animals freaking out, but instead I just stared at it in awe. So cool. And then, really fast, the sun was back and we had to put our glasses back on. It's pretty amazing that with all the technology we have, and all the shiny things, so many people were still out, watching the moon and sun in awe. I'm so glad I went, 10 out of 10, would do again.
I drove home today and there definitely was some traffic, but not as much as after the eclipse. Apparently some folks were at such a standstill that they would leave their cars to walk the dog. My friend say that she knew someone who spent about 12 hours doing a 4 hour drive! So glad we stayed an extra day.
No comments:
Post a Comment