Otter Creek Gorge

July 31, 2021

Today’s conditions are perfect, maybe the best day we’ve seen on this tour. Mild, sunny, still, ideal. It would be a fine day for a bike ride of course, but we’d rather enjoy a break from the saddle and take a hike. Rachael does the research and finds what looks like a great one, following Otter Creek downstream to a gorge and back. I had considered hopping on the bike long enough to go out to see the Pulp Mill Bridge, a covered bridge nearby with an unusual design; but then I find that it’s only a mile from town, crosses Otter Creek, and is right on the route Rachael had mapped out. So that’s perfect too.

Leaving our room, we walk a few blocks to a bagel shop that Rachael also scoped out to pick up lunch - a sesame bagel with peanut butter for me and a wrap for her - and then we start out on our 8 mile walk. It begins by crossing Otter Creek by the fall that splits downtown.

The iconic Congregational Church of Middlebury crowns the town’s skyline.

Middlebury Falls spills out from beneath Main Street.

Even sooner than I’d expected, we come to the Pulp Mill Bridge. Seeing how close it is - it’s really practically in downtown - I feel silly thinking I’d bike out here to see it. It’s obviously worth getting here to see, a real bridge of distinction. From Wikipedia:

The bridge is of Burr Arch design. Around 1860, the original Burr arches were removed, and laminated ones added to King Post trusses, changing the bridge type to a King post with Burr arch design. This bridge has many distinctions. It is one of only seven double-barreled (two lane) covered bridges in the country, one of only two in the State of Vermont (the Museum Covered Bridge being the other), and the only still carrying regular traffic. It is also the oldest covered bridge in Vermont, and one of the oldest in the country.

The exact age of the bridge is in question. A sign on the bridge states it was built between 1808 and 1820. Covered Bridge expert Jan Lewandosky has placed the year of construction at approximately 1850 based on his search of Minutes of the Selectboard of the Town of Middlebury, and his voluminous knowledge of covered bridge construction. In 1850 the Town of Middlebury sent a person to Essex, Vermont, to examine a recently completed Burr Arch bridge, unfortunately the design was not copied correctly leading to the design flaws.

A small weir just downstream from the bridge.

The view upstream from the Pulp Mill Bridge.

Another half mile downstream we come to Wright Park, a wild preserve criscrossed with walking paths that either follow close by the stream or rise above along rocky outcrops. It’s an easy walk, except for the need to watch your step carefully for all of the tree roots and stone ridges cutting across the paths. here and there the paths cross small streams or marshy patches on crude wooden planks or bridges that test your balance.

At the end of Wright Park we come to a pair of shaky suspension bridges that take us across Otter Creek again. almost directly beneath us spills another waterfall, Belsen Falls; and below that the creek rushes through the deep, narrow Otter Creek Gorge.

Crossing Otter Creek above Belsen Falls..

Belsen Falls drops almost directly under the bridge.

Across the creek, we walk the Otter Creek Gorge Trail, a loop about a mile and a half long that brings us back to the bridge again for the return back to the room. Along the way we stop to sit for for lunch on a fallen log, and then shortly after that Rachael walks on ahead to put in a few extra steps for the day.

Shagbark hickory! Thanks to Patrick for identifying it.

Below the gorge. There are no photos of the forty foot deep gorge itself because there’s no place to stand safely and get a clear view of it.

A view from opposite the one above, taken by Rachael. It’s a difficult fall to get a clear view of from any direction.

The slack water eddying beneath the gorge.

I’m sure this is the best hike I’ve ever taken for seeing mushrooms and other fungi. Usually I’m pretty excited if I see a few, but today we passed them constantly. I’m sure we saw literally thousands of them. They were amazing both for their abundance but also their size and variation.

I came back with probably forty photographs of mushrooms - enough so that toward the end of the hike Rachael finally lost patience and walked on ahead alone. You might tire quickly of photos of mushrooms also, so I’ve grouped them all at the end here and cut down their numbers to only eight. If you’ve had your fill, just turn the page.

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Bob DistelbergJust speculation, but I'm guessing our alternately rainy and then hot and humid July contributed to that abundance of fungi.
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3 years ago

Kathleen JonesTo Bob DistelbergAs a former resident of Vermont, I am dying for more Vermont rides on here. So, Bob, if you can ….
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3 years ago

Kathleen JonesMiddlebury is such a great town. You did have a perfect day. Last time I was there, to visit our niece at the school, it was in February. Bleah. Thanks for all the great photos of blue sky and New England architecture.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kathleen JonesCould have done better on the VT architecture front, but the hike really seemed like the best use of the day. If I were a few years younger I’d have walked around town after the hike, but I was happy enough to make it back to the room.
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3 years ago

Rich FrasierGreat hike, great journal entry, and great mushroom pictures! This is why I love CycleBlaze!
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3 years ago

Jen RahnLove the mushroom photos. What an amazing variety to see in one outing!
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3 years ago

Bob DistelbergTo Kathleen JonesKathleen, I have hopes for some multi-night excursions this summer. If I do, I'll definitely post them here.
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3 years ago