On the first day of summer...

Traditionally, Memorial Day in Vermont is considered the start of summer, with Labor Day being the end. Picking your way through the undergrowth and over blow-downs to get to a sacred, but cursed as the story goes, mineral springs, can lead to viewing all sorts of wildlife.  Total count at the end of the day:  10 ticks, 3 white-tail deer, 2 turkey buzzards, 1 heron, and a moose in a pond.

Getting to Brunswick Springs is purposely difficult.  The path is clear enough coming from the south and going around the eastern side of the bog/pond, but there is a lot of climbing over trees, and scrabbling through the undergrowth (hence the 10 ticks).  Thankfully, the dry weather we've had recently evaporated all the soggy areas that would've made the trek impossible.

As we came to the pond, daughter's yelling, "Mom, there's a moose!" certainly got the moose's attention.  Luckily, said moose was across a good few yards of water from us near a sand spit jutting out from the other shore, but close enough to see, as the moose whipped up it's head, the look on it's face (truly, a moose can have a look on it's face).  It was definitely in the range of, "where the hell did you come from?"  Mr./Ms. Moose headed the opposite direction toward the western shore, and we continued north on the eastern shore.

25 years ago when I visited this place, it was very clear where the ruins of the last hotel (which burned in 1930) were.  Today, we had to search for and almost missed the granite and concrete blocks indicating the front steps, and had to dodge small trees to walk around the foundation.  The steep stone stairways to the springs are still in good shape though, with metal railings that were not loose or rickety.  Definitely sulfur in the air!

If anyone decides to visit, PLEASE be careful at the lookout spots.  The riverbanks have given way and the rim trail is obliterated in some locations.  The view of New Hampshire across the Connecticut River where you can see it, is beautiful.  We even spied canoeists/kayakers on the river way below us.

Also remember that this is a venerated area for the Abenakis.  We saw remnants of prayer flags & ribbons in the trees near the 6 springs, as well as small shrines in various niches.  Anything that is left with intent should be left alone.

So, the next few posts will be pictures of the springs & ruins (and hopefully some part of the moose).  To read an interview with a gentleman whose father built the last hotel at Brunswick Springs, go to:  http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/86730/.  A picture of the Brunswick Springs Hotel can be found if you click the title.  Collector of local folk stories, Joe Citro, told about Brunswick Springs in his book Cursed in New England: Stories of Damned Yankees.

All-in-all, a fascinating journey!

Happy trails!