Wildlife, Walking & Hiking in the Green Mountain State

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 2:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, and to learn when and where the Orientation session will take place. If your arrival is delayed, please ask for your packet when you check in. Welcome reception starts at 5:30 p.m. Meet your fellow attendees. Bring your own beer and wine to accompany the fruit and cheese platter provided.

Dinner: In the hotel dining room at 6:30, we’ll have a three course plated meal plus coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have. At dinner on the first night, participants will review the menu and select their dinner entrees for the week. Unless specified otherwise, vehicular transfers will be typically be under one hour and provided by a school bus. The Group Leader, Michael Clough, who is also our primary instructor, will lead all field trips, sometimes with the aid of other local experts. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

Activity note: Morning up to 2 miles on a moderate hike; afternoon up to 1 mile on an easy hike; gravel trails.

Breakfast: 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.

Morning: 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.

Lunch: We will drive back to the Inn for lunch.

Afternoon: 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.

Dinner: At the Inn, a plated dinner will be served with selections made from the first night.

Evening: 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.

Activity note: Morning up to 1 mile on an easy hike; afternoon up to 4.8 miles on a moderate mountain hike; gravel trails.

Breakfast: At the Inn.

Morning: We will visit the Crosstown Trail in Dover, VT to look at one or two beaver ponds. With many years of beaver activity at the site there will be plenty of material to discuss. True environmental engineers, beavers are a recently recovered force in shaping Vermont with a variety of issues surrounding that return. We will be dropped off at the Mount Snow Golf Course and walk an easy mile past two beaver ponds to be picked up at the other end of the trail to return to the Inn.

Lunch: At the Inn, we’ll have sandwiches, a sweet, plus coffee, tea, water.

Afternoon: Participants who are looking for a more challenging hike will have the opportunity to walk to the top of Haystack Mountain for some spectacular views of southern Vermont and a nice cross section of New England habitat types. Those who prefer not to join this expedition are invited to take the MooVer public transport for an afternoon of exploring historic Wilmington, VT.

Dinner: At the Inn.

Evening: Musical entertainment.

Activity note: Morning up to 2 miles on an easy-to-moderate hike along the lake gravel trails; bus transfer is approximately 10 miles; about ½ hour.

Breakfast: At the Inn.

Morning: We will travel to Grout Pond in the Green Mountain National Forest for a leisurely waterside walk through prime moose habitat. We will look at signs of moose activity and watch for the various waterside wildlife that uses this area under the guidance of our Group Leader.

Lunch: At the Inn.

Afternoon: We will travel to historic Harriman's Reservoir to join Tim Lawrence for a history of the Hoot Toot and Whistle Trail

Dinner: At the Inn.

Activity note: Morning up to 1.5 miles on an easy hike with a short rocky stretch. Afternoon up to 1 mile on an easy hike.

Breakfast: At the Inn.

Morning: We will take a short drive to the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum for a guided tour.

Lunch: A picnic lunch at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook.

Afternoon: We will meet a member of Wolfgard Northeast, a not-for-profit organization devoted to protecting, teaching and learning about wolves in the northeast, to explore the North section of the Hogback Mountain Conservation area through “the eyes of a predator”. Mr. Katrick will share a unique way of looking at the world around us and up-to-date news about the state of predator conservation and wolves.

Dinner: At the Inn.

Evening: Live Birds of Prey will join us at the Gray Ghost Inn for an evening with raptors. We’ll explore the adaptations that make these animals so unique and get an up close look at some of the birds we may have seen in the field that morning. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the Inn.

Morning: Free passes will be distributed to the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. The Group Leader will be available for informal field trips for those interested. This concludes our program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!