Town Forest and Observation Knob

July 6-12, 2026                                                               Most Recent Posts:
Moose River Campground               7 Days in July with Ice Cream and Bingo
St. Johnsbury, Vermont                                       Early June in Vermont

I know this post is only 6 days after my last one.  I’m trying to keep relatively current so I can write about what I’m doing when I’m doing it and not months later.  If I can do it, there will be one post a week.

This week was pretty much like last week and probably next week, hiking, kayaking, eating and of course reading by the river..

TOWN FOREST TRAILS

On Monday I went hiking in the St. Johnsbury town Forest.  I just love that many New England towns, not just in Vermont, have town forests with public hiking and some also have mountain biking trails.   I think it’s a great idea the rest of the country should adopt.  Every town should have a forest.

I hiked several of the trails in the forest but these pictures are all from my favorite, the blue trail that goes down by the Moose River.   Can’t get enough of my river.

The trail itself doesn’t go down along the river but there are spurs that will take you down.

Unlike the floods of 2024 when I was here last, this year has had very little rain so the river is very low.  I will take low over floods.

Back up on top.

There is no path leading down or a way to walk along the river to get to the falls but I can see them through the trees from up top.

And can zoom in pretty well even with my phone.

The trail really does go right along the edge.  Don’t make a misstep.

Often it’s muddy and thus the boards.  But not today.

MILES POND

Hiking on Monday, Kayaking on Tuesday at Miles Pond this time.

This year I’m going to include a picture of the water side house I’d live in on each pond.  It’s fun choosing.  Nothing big and fancy since it would be just me and I’m not fancy.

Some of my would be neighbors.

I was lucky to see the loon family.  No doubt they would be my favorite neighbors.

Looks like my human neighbors might be fun too

A good spot for reading.

TIM’s DELI

My first year in St. Johnsbury I met Adele who was the librarian that ran the book club.  We have kept in touch and she retired last year so was able to have breakfast with me at Tim’s Deli on a Wednesday morning.  That’s her in the back far right corner in white.

This is my favorite of all the signs on the walls.  Pretty much my attitude when I did all the cooking for my family.

She and her husband are leaving tomorrow in their new to them RV for a trip to a family gathering in South Carolina.  I told her she was going the wrong direction for July.  She’ll be back at the end of the month and I hope to see more of her.
Another “farm breakfast” but no biscuit.

 

OBSERVATION KNOB

Another hike on Thursday.  This one 4 miles up and around Observation Knob, the highest spot in St Johnsbury.  Parking is VERY limited as there is no parking lot and no on street parking. 

There are perhaps 4 spots along the drive into the church.  I don’t suppose more than 4 people ever do this hike at one time so it’s not a problem.  Today there is one other car but he wasn’t on the trail so he might be visiting the church or its adjacent cemetery.

Why is the kayak always on the car?  Because I kayak so often it’s too much trouble to take it off and put it back on.,

To get to the “trail head” you have to go out of the church drive, walk up the road, cross over and go through this farm gate.  There are no signs any where so if you aren’t a local or someone intent on finding all the hikes anywhere around (that would be me) you’d never know it was here.

From the gate it’s a climb up and up through a field with a path mowed through it.  Until you come to the tree line you can see in the distance.

Then you go into and through the trees and out into another field and again through trees and out into the final field ascent.

Luckily there are excuses to stop along the climb.

I just love their sunny faces.

Second and last shady section.

At the end the last grassy section there is the welcome bench at the top.

The views you have climbed for are across Vermont and New Hampshire.  This summit was once the location of two observatories but they were both destroyed by bad weather in 1894 and then again in 1914.  I guess they gave up rebuilding them at that point.

It’s wonderful to just sit on the bench and take it all in.

The little mailbox by the bench is a real treat with a great log book, a clothes or shoe brush, insect repellent and lots of other fun trinkets.   I’m not sure who supplies it but my guess is David Brown who owns the land behind the summit and allows public access on a path that goes back down the mountain to his house and then back up and up the mountain to return to the bench.

People write a little or a lot.

I head into the woods.

It’s a straight decent to arrive at his home.  You cross in front of his outbuildings to the continuation of the trail which then begins the ascent.

The trail heading up is pretty clear (left) but not so much once you get to first landing(right)  before you climb again.

But with luck you’ll end up back here.

And then head back down through the fields and copses.

Beautiful even at the end of life.

SHADOW LAKE

My last kayak paddle for this week was on Friday.  I seldom hike or kayak on the week ends unless it’s been raining all week.  This time I went to  Shadow Lake in  nearby Concord Vermont.  It is the closest lake to the campground.

Here is my favorite “camp” as they call the houses and cabins on ponds and lakes in Vermont and maybe all of New England.   As you can see the lake started out looking like a mirror but the wind soon picked up.

I carelessly hadn’t checked the wind for today so I was lucky it wasn’t any worse.

As I was getting near the end of the lake which is undeveloped, I saw a series of splashes and water running at the far end. Too far to get pictures and too much movement.  It appeared a group of ducks was having fun.  But by the time I got there the group was gone and this was the lone look out.

Also at the edge of the far shore was a solitary loon.  He looked very lonely.  I hope he too was just on watch and not ill or bereaved.    He hardly moved the entire time I was in that area.  It worried me. 

Heading back up the other side of the this undeveloped area, was a lone glacial erratic.

I took this shot as I left the kayak to go get the car.   It was another wonderful day on the water.

AROUND TOWN

As usual this week I spent Saturday visiting the Farmer’s Market, the library and not being able to walk the labyrinth because of whatever work the church is doing around it.  RATS!!   I did get 10K steps around town.   Here is some of what I saw.

The fire department reflected in this window along Main Street.

One of 4 little libraries I visit on my walk and the one that always has the best books.  I’ve gotten a hard back copy of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and two Elizabeth Strout paper backs here.  I’ve also left books in return.

Such fun lawn art for Vermont.   These birds were not here last week.

This beauty is for sale if you’d like to live in the sweet town of St. Johnsbury.

A reminder of the band concerts which take place just beyond the trees on the courtyard lawn in the band shell.  Love it and the ice cream.   This week the concert was on the 4th so they did not have one on Monday the 6th.  But I’ll be back here next Monday unless it rains.

BOOKS

I’ll close with the books I finished this week.   I finished John of John by Douglas Stuart on the first day this blog covers but by the time I got around to writing this a week later I had taken it back to the library.  There are pictures of it on my lap by the water in my previous posts.

By the water is where I do most of my reading.  Below I’m reading Fault Lines in the Constitution (non fiction) for the library books discussion later this month and a very interesting book by T.J. Klune called We Burned So Bright which I did finish this week.  I actually included quotes from this book in my daily journal.

The other books I finished this week were The Light Pirate which was fantastic and I wish everyone would read it.  It gives a very realistic fictional picture of where Florida and the rest of the country are headed.  

I also finished Miss O’Keeffe another in my collection of books on the fascinating Georgia O’Keeffe.  This one written by a woman who was her caretaker in the last years of her life.

I’d love to know what you’ve been doing this week and what you are reading.  Let me know in the comments below.   Thanks so much for taking the time to check in with me.