After leaving the Unencumbered Festival in New York, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to head. I was thinking possibly Vermont for camping, but had no real plan. I started driving toward Vermont and eventually came to a split in the road where I could go east or west. East felt right. I followed the signs pointing east, and kept going. Eventually I ended up in Plattsburgh, where I hit a large lake. Not knowing quite how to get around it, I decided that was the perfect time to figure out where I might want to head. I got on my laptop and looked up free camping sights, finding a nice looking one a few hours away in Vermont. It was at the trailhead of Emily Proctor Trail.
I drove in the rain as the day faded into night, and eventually came to the small town of Lincoln, which led to a dirt road. I followed the long bumpy road through the woods to a small dirt parking lot with a few other cars. I grabbed my headlamp and raincoat and went out to explore. I found a path leading to a rushing creek. There were some fire pits and open areas where I could pitch a tent. I decided to venture on, thinking there might be more camping spots. There had been about five other cars in the lot, but I didn’t see any other tents. I followed the path into the woods. It twisted and turned, splitting off in different parts. After walking for a bit I came to a metal blockade on the path that I hadn’t seen before. I went past it, venturing on. I started to get the feeling that I was lost. My feeling was confirmed once I hit that same metal blockade again. Navigating unfamiliar woods in the dark and rain was harder than I thought it would be. That’s when I said screw the trail, and headed to the creek through the woods, following the sound of the rushing water. Once I made it to the creek, I followed it along until it opened up to the original camping spot. I was relieved. I decided to pitch my tent there in the pouring rain. When I awoke the next morning the rain had stopped, but the air was still damp and cold. I stepped out of my tent and was able to take in all the beauty of the land. I was in a clearing in the woods, which was muddy from all the rain, right next to the large creek. I had my own stone fire pit with a large log next to it to sit on. There was a steep hill nearby that led to the parking lot where my car was. I heated water for coffee on my little propane burner and used a coffee filter placed over my cup to brew coffee.
I enjoyed my coffee on the log in my campsite. As I was sitting there, a cute little dog came through with a man who looked about my age. I said hello and we introduced ourselves. His name was Justin and his dog Fasfu. Justin traveled around the states tenting. He collected mushrooms along his way to eat. Often he would find too many mushrooms to eat and would sell them to restaurants for cash. He told me that the main mushrooms he collected were called chanterelle mushrooms. He had some with him and took the time to show me how to differentiate them from other mushrooms, explaining that with this specific mushroom, you should look for false gills.
It just so happened that there were some near my tent. We went over, picking only the large ones. He took some for himself and left me with some to prepare with my own dinner. Right near them was another patch of mushrooms that he identified as hedgehog mushrooms. He explained that these were also edible and showed me how to tell this type by the under part of the mushroom. A lot of mushrooms have gills, whereas these had little prickly looking parts instead. He let me keep this mushroom as well, and told me he would not pick the mushrooms around my campsite so I could forage them myself.
He stayed and chatted a while, sharing his knowledge with me of living off the land, and giving me multiple pointers I knew would come in handy for the future. Before he went to venture on, I asked him for a hug, explaining that I think it’s important to get at least one hug a day, which can be hard while you're camping in the woods alone. He gave me a hug, telling me that he would stop back through to see if I had found any more mushrooms. I explored around the woods, looking for different mushrooms. I found a few that I was not confident with, but thought they possibly could be the chanterelle mushrooms, and I gathered them hoping I would catch Justin on his way back through to ask about them. I found one mushroom that I was easily able to identify as a hedgehog mushroom. Eventually I saw Justin and Fasfu coming back my way. He showed me all the mushrooms he collected, helping me learn to identify them. I then showed him my gathering. Most of the ones I had originally thought might be chanterelle were not, but I had already figured that out. I was correct on the hedgehog mushrooms though, and I felt proud. Justin then told me he was going to go drive to town to find a picnic spot and explore out there. He invited me join him and I gladly accepted. We took his car into the very small town and found a pull-off with a little picnic area next to a river. We chatted while we sat there and ate. Afterwards we went down to the river and he got his fishing pole and threw the line in a few times. We drove down the road stopping at every opening in the woods, getting out to explore and fish. One area had a beautiful waterfall that spilled over a giant rock. After a while Justin took me back to my campsite and returned back to his own.
It was getting near dark so I figured I’d better start a fire. I gathered sticks and logs from the forest. All the wood was wet but I was confident I could get a fire started. Using matches and a mini BIC lighter I eventually got one started, noting that I better get a grill lighter after burning my fingers a few times. The fire was nice, but small, so I decided I’d better cook my dinner over the propane grill. I chopped up the mushrooms I gathered along with tomatoes, peppers and squash that I got from a friend's garden, and added it all to rice. It was a lovely dinner. With the sun having set, and the fire starting to die, I headed off to bed. The next morning after coffee and breakfast, I went out into the woods to look around. I crossed over the river and went about exploring the other side. I brought a bag with me in hopes of finding mushrooms to harvest, especially since this side of the river seemed to be left alone by people. There were mushrooms everywhere! I found some cool looking ones, but I didn’t know what they were so I left them alone. But then I found a large patch of mushrooms that looked like the hedgehog mushrooms I had learned I could eat. Once I flipped them over and examined them, I realized they were! I took some of the larger ones that looked like they would be good to eat, and explored on.
Once back at my camp I decided to go check out the little village nearby, Bristol. It was adorable. There were multiple different locally owned shops. I went into every one, getting a few Christmas presents, and I even found a little mushroom guide book that I bought. Back at my campsite I made dinner, again using the mushrooms I had gathered that day, and the rest of my veggies. I got a little campfire started again. I only sat by the fire for a short bit before I decided that it was too much of a hassle to keep a wet fire burning. I retreated to my tent and used a lamp I had so I could read my mushroom book. The next morning when I woke up, the thought came to me that I should leave that day. I wasn’t sure why, but I just had a feeling. Shaking off the thought, I went back into town to check out a little cafe that had been closed the day before. I got a cup of coffee and used my laptop to write a little of my blog. It was nice sitting in the little cafe surrounded by people. When I went to leave, there was a group of bikers next to my car. One kind looking man came over and started talking to me. He asked where I was from and what had brought me here. I told him I was traveling and told him about some of my travels. It turned out that when he was in his twenties, he hit the road and lived that way for years. After chatting for a while, he wished me the best on my travels, told me that my aura lit up the room, and I was a beautiful soul. I asked him if I could give him a hug before I left. He gladly agreed and gave me a hug. When I was driving back, I pulled off to a picnic area on the side of the road. It had a little path that led down to a creek. I grabbed my swim suit and took the opportunity to wash my hair in the water. It was freezing so I didn’t go all the way in; I just tipped my head over into the ice cold water. It felt nice to be mostly clean again. I went back up to my car in the parking lot and looked around the little picnic area I was in. At the edge was a giant rock with something carved into it. I went over to read it, and it was the Lord’s Prayer. It was beautiful. A man who pulled up on his motorcycle came over and started talking to me about it. He told me that he had heard a story of how it came to be. As the story goes, years ago a woman had crashed into the rock with her car and passed away. Her husband, not knowing what else to do, went out to the rock in the night and carved the entire thing by hand. The man and I ended up standing in the parking lot talking for over an hour. I was grateful for all the people I was meeting and getting a chance to chat with. It can get a little lonely in the woods.
When I got back to my camp the feeling kept coming up that I should head out. I decided I would head to Camp Kelly campground, another free campsite about three hours from there. Even though it was already late, and there was no guarantee I would actually get a campsite, I packed up and headed out. When I finally got there it was dark. I drove down the long road looking for an available spot. Eventually I came to the end thinking that there were no sites left for me. That was when I realized there was a barely noticeable little road going off into the woods. I followed it as it curved around and opened up to one more campsite. I was ecstatic. When I got out of my car, I realized there was already a fire going in the fire pit. It was as if the universe had put it there just for me, to tell me I made the right choice. And let me tell you, when all you have is a tiny lighter and damp wood, it sure is easier to have a fire that somebody else started for you. I spent two nights at the campground. The second night I moved to a different sight that had been occupied the first night. It was a beautiful private campsite surrounded by birch trees. I spent my time there exploring, learning some new mushrooms, hula hooping and reading. It was good to have some alone time to clear my head. It was rather cold and wet as well, but I was still so glad to be living life on the road.
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