Stride Americana: Chasing (Dog’s Head) waterfalls for hike #7.5
The walking part was probably too short to be considered a hike, but the trail brought other wonders that kept us coming back all week.
Lamoille River at the base of Dog’s Head Falls
Lively chatter filled the expanse of our open-concept vacation rental as the caffeine-fueled conversation heightened.
“It’s official once it’s on the calendar!”
Just like that, we “booked” our plans 1 year from now to get a puppy.
Let me back up.
We love our Charlie dearly, and Sam and I have been lobbying hard to get him a companion to snuggle and play with. Up until recently, Steve had a logical argument that since there are a couple of days per week when we’re both in the office, it wouldn’t work to have the puppy cooped up in the house alone all day.
Until 3 weeks ago, when he got a new job working from home full time. And Sam and I now had a team of allies in the form of his college friends and their children.
With an appropriate amount of peer pressure applied, Steve agreed to set a date a year from now (July 1, 2027 to be specific, so you can hold us to this), when he’s fully settled into his new role, when he would feel good about being home with the puppy all day. And I think he’s secretly excited as well.
Later in the trip, we even got to the point of naming him. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for Carson. As a massive Downton Abbey fan I love the character, and his first name was Charlie. Somehow, the Stranger Things-obsessed children convinced us to go with Dustin though. I balked at first, but when I realized I could call him Dusty, or Dusty Bun, just like his namesake’s girlfriend does in the show, I was won over. Added bonus: we took it a step further, with a nod to my favorite Red Sox player and said we could call him Pedroia Destroyah when he causes a mess in the house.
I’ll keep you all updated on the search for our 5th family member ahead!
Speaking of dogs…we had another beautiful weather day ahead and wanted to go out in search of a swimming hole. Much to our delight, the amazing Dog’s Head Falls was just a short 5-minute drive from our place in Johnson. We planned to start there, and then quickly check out the nearby “Bermie” Sanders Loop. Not because of any specific attraction. Just because the name cracked us up. Oh, Vermont.
According to All Trails, the Dogs Head Falls via Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is a 2.4 mile out and back, flat path to the falls. Unless you did what we did, which was end up parking right near the falls entrance, in which case there is practically no mileage. Oh well. We’d get our steps in with Bermie in a bit.
We quickly reached the large boulders that make up the falls, and I searched from various angles to try to see the Dog’s Head reference. I never got it, but I did enjoy climbing across the massive rocks collecting photos of the mist churned up by the rough water against the backdrop of stone, pine, and sky.
Dog’s Head Falls
There’s a rainbow coming out of the right side of my head
The walk down to the swimming hole at the base of the falls can be tricky so do take care, but it was manageable for a 5-year-old with the help of his parents. Just don’t expect an easy stroll to the water.
Stopping for some photo ops on our way down
❤️
Once we reached the bottom, it was as if we found Narnia. The kids splashed around in the water, collected and skipped rocks, and made mud pies. We stayed much longer than expected that day, and ultimately abandoned Bermie, but we committed to returning with swimsuits, floaties, books for those of us on shore…everything needed for hours of swimming hole fun.
Don’t be such a stick in the mud 😉
So many boulders to climb on
Superb mudpie-making conditions
That time would come two days later. The kids had an absolute blast swimming in the river, once they adjusted to the temperature. They eventually decided to swim across the whole water to the opposite shore, claiming the new territory for their own. They called it Whispering Eyot, and I’m embarrassed to say that I had to ask Sam to explain to me what an eyot was. Apparently, it’s an old English word to describe a small island, usually found in a river. It’s still used mostly in the UK, particularly along the Thames. I’m still not sure which kid came up with that and Sam’s at camp for a while so I can’t ask him. But color me impressed.
The beach behind him is Whispering Eyot
Even Steve and another dad made the swim across to the island, after they had torn themselves away from their made-up game where they threw rocks at logs as they floated by. It was the closest thing to golf they could manage in the moment, and I was impressed with their ingenuity.
Our five-year-old friend also learned a valuable life lesson on that trip, loudly exclaiming “what?!” when told he could pee in the water. This was a very difficult concept to grasp, and it had me recalling the time we told Sam the same in Cape Cod. He also couldn’t understand what we meant by “crouch down and pee in the water,” and ended up compromising by standing in water up to his knees while he peed in his swimsuit.
On the topic of teachable moments, you may recall one of our earlier hikes included a sweet father and son rock skipping lesson. Sam made Dad proud as he showed off his skills, making it to 3 skips.
Perfect spot to practice those lessons
Most of the group ended up returning to this spot one more time on the trip, on the last full day together. I truly think that the kids would have been content to do nothing but swim and eat maple creemees all week. They’ll have to go back at some point anyway. Someone needs to defend the territory of Whispering Eyot.