Morning up to 2 miles on a moderate hike; afternoon up to 1 mile on an easy hike; gravel trails.
In the dining room of the inn, breakfast will be cooked to order and served with options including a variety of eggs, pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausage and home fries plus juices, coffee, tea, and water.
We will travel via school bus to the Hogback Mountain Conservation Area for a walk through the forested preserve to the historic Bishop Farmstead. This 1770’s colonial farmstead remains primarily as a complex of cellar holes that we will spend some time exploring as we discuss early settlement in Vermont with our Group Leader. The walk back to the parking area will focus on how Vermont has changed over the centuries and how that has impacted wildlife distribution. We will take special note of clues that still exist on the landscape that can tell us a great deal about what happened here in the past.
We will drive back to the Inn for lunch.
We will continue to explore the trail system to get to know the habits of bears. We will also delve into tree behavior and forest communities with discussion. We will then return to the inn via school bus.
At the Inn, a plated dinner will be served with selections made from the first night.
At the Inn, a VT Wildlife live animal program will present some of the varied live animals from the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum and provide an overview of the themes that we will explore throughout the week.