Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Around Mount Mansfield with Sage and Two Journals
Cass and his 10-year-old son Sage head off for a bikepacking loop around Vermont’s Mount Mansfield, following forest roads, trails, and bike paths. Between Monty Python reenactments, stealth camping, and searching for pizza, they follow a family tradition of journaling and blogging, sharing this dueling narrative of the experience…
PUBLISHED Sep 15, 2023
Over the years I’ve bike travelled, I’ve always enjoyed keeping a journal of my impressions and experiences. Back in the late 1990s, it was a website with block text and bright colours, built by Baz, a computer geek friend of my brother’s, in return for a Marin Bear Valley. I’d email text to him, painstakingly tapped out in internet cafes around Asia, and my dad would eventually send him scans of the prints I posted home.
These days, it’s an Instagram account, a blog, posting to this site, or even, in protest to this era of digital overloads, a Moleskin and a humble biro. But whilst the form and process may have changed, the intentions have remained much the same. Journals are a way of keeping family and friends abreast of my escapades and a creative compliment to the physical nature of bike touring. They’re a means to inspire others to go on their own two-wheeled journeys, just as reading travel accounts has always inspired me. And, perhaps most importantly, they create an intentional space to reflect on new, sometimes transformative experiences during and after a trip – and again when I unearth them years later.
This spring, Sage and I spent two weeks together in Burlington, New England. We slept in a ‘70s Winnebago camper called Winnie. We cooked dinner on her little stove and co-slept in her faux-wood cocoon. We swam in a lake in lieu of showering, and we explored the area via a series of day rides. And, as I wanted our time together to culminate in an especially memorable and immersive experience, we set out on a four-day loop around Mt. Mansfield, too.
A family bike tour is, after all, a wonderful opportunity for experiential learning, be it rising to its physical and mental hardships, adapting to unfamiliar situations, negotiating unexpected circumstances, or appreciating a new land. And forging friendships along the way. There are also the nuts and bolts aspects of a bike tour, useful school lessons in themselves – using maths to calculate distances and elevation gains, and using mental arithmetic to figure out how best to break them up during the day. In this era of planetary change, there’s also the challenge of living with limited resources, such as food and water, without a full fridge to reach into or kitchen tap to drink from.
Over the last few months, Sage’s mum has encouraged him to keep a journal, even if it’s just a few thoughts at the end of the day. Flushed with the pride of completing our trip, inspiration struck, and we sat down with the crumpled pages of our written words, in our favourite Burlington coffeee shop. There, after a warm-up round of Minecraft (Sage) and some photo processing (me), we set about transcribing and expanding them into a shared Google document on our respective computers, until we were ready to read through each other’s thoughts, smiles o our faces. This duelling narrative was a delight for me to put together, and I hope you enjoy finding out what stood out in Sage’s mind as much as I did!
SUMMARY OF TRIP AROUND MOUNT MANSFIELD
by Sage Gilbert (age 10 & 1/2) and Cass Gilbert (age 49 & 1/4)
DAY 1 – Prep day, route work, and half-day ride (28km, 433m Up)
Sage:
We started the trip off with Papa’s friend Jen picking us up and taking us to her house where we hung out, did a half-day ride (with swimming), had an amazing dinner with her friends (chicken, potatoes, sorbet, and more) and slept on our camping mats in the porch (I know, I’m used to it 😛). During the half-day ride we rode 27 kilometers. We climbed and descended about 400 meters. We stopped and swam in a beautiful swimming hole (I jumped off a rock, so fun 😀) and we even saw a kid with a 4WD Traxxis Slash (it is an RC car that me and my dad like cause we are RC nerds 😂). We then rode some amazing singletrack.
Papa:
Daniel Schmidt, who I rode with in Oaxaca recently, suggested a half-day ride to warm us up for the adventure ahead. Although Daniel is out touring in Norway, his wife Jen made us feel very much at home in beautiful Richmond, Vermont.
As for the route, I loved the singletrack we rode at the beginning and the end, and the swimming hole was a delight. Watching – and listening – to Sage riding trails makes my heart burst with happiness, particularly his gleeful yelps as he twists and turns down tight corridors of ferns, negotiating bridges, roots, and rocks along the way. After a week in the camper, luxuriating in a home for a night was just what we needed – a welcome change from bumping into each other and swatting mosquitos! Then, Sage and I knuckled down to sifting through our gear and figuring out what we really needed for our trip, and what we could leave behind with Jen.
DAY 2 – Richmond to camping beyond Mansfield State Park (49km, 690m Up)
Sage:
When we woke up, we had a lazy morning and had breakfast. By the time we left, it was about 12 p.m. and we still had about 50 kilometers with 750 meters of climbing! Once we started though, we realised we would make it, even though we did most of the climb on singletrack with blackflies for all 😂. When we started the climb we went through the gate for Mount Mansfield State Park. Papa did not want to pay $40 to camp, so we went to the edge of the state park and camped a bit past that! Also, we were going to have pasta, but Papa forgot the lighter, so we ate salami and corn chips 😛. PS: Don’t let him know I said this, but I bet he had the lighter the whole time 😂.
Papa:
Despite a late start and some cold, overcast weather, we covered good ground to Waterbury, where we stopped for a picnic on a bench (corn chips and salami, our lunchtime staple) wrapped up in our respective layers. The climb that followed shortly after took us a while, but most of it was on fun singletrack, so it kept us entertained. Watching Sage negotiate a number of steep switchbacks and make his way up them smoothly and confidently was a highlight of the day for me. It’s been a while since he’s mountain biked, but you wouldn’t have known it.
On the way up, we passed by a number of historic homesteads, complete with mossy stone walls and rusty bed springs poking out of the earth. We were both tired by the end of the top and as we prepared ourselves for the final ascent, I asked Sage if he’d like to use the TowWhee that attaches from my bike to his – aka the Magic Bungee). “No thanks, I want to get up there in style!” came his reply as he pedalled off once more.
From there, we were treated to a smiling-inducing descent. Initially, the forest road was narrow and overgrown, and I watched him jump and jive off bumps in the land. Our camping spot, in a wooded glade, was perfectly peaceful. Chomping on a nugget each of dark chocolate, we watched Monty Python’s Flying Circus that night and Sage laughed so hard that he rolled around and pounded the ground with his fist. Really!!!
(Added thoughts from Sage: Well… I did but… it was funny… blame them… they made it 👍 )
DAY 3 – Stealth Camping to Stealth Camping (58km, 700m Up)
Sage:
In the morning, we left the camp spot and went out to get food, but when we got to the store it was closed (it was Sunday at 11 a.m.) so we had some granola and rode to the next town where we went into a supermarket, and I may have got some of the best shepherds pie I’ve had (or at least up there, as my grandmother’s is AMAZING 🥧)! After a bit of riding, we stumbled upon a little farm that sold maple syrup (it was called Sage Farm so we had to 😂). After a bit, we got to the next town and we were HUNGRY, so we found a place that had gluten-free pizza, ate, and rode on. By this time, we were almost done with our day’s riding (55 kilometers and 700 meters up), so we just cruised down a bike path and found a place to stealth camp. We had pasta for dinner that night and as Papa did not want to cook where we set up, we cooked the pasta and ate the pasta in a trail parking lot (we sound shady now 😱).
Papa:
My favourite bit today was the singletrack along Maple Lane (the clue is in the name!). Sage climbed some tough, stony trails and went flying down some babyhead descents. Too fast, if you ask me 😜. This was another big day for us, with a mixture of terrain – paved road, gravel, trails, and a gravel bike path.
DAY 4 – Stealth Camping to Bucke Camping (44km, 506m Up)
Sage:
We left the camp spot pretty early because Papa did not want to be caught 😂 (we hadn’t even had breakfast… well, we had an RX Bar and he had Coffee 1, but that’s all 😁). We then rode along the gravel bike path to the Burger Barn. By now, it was 10:30 a.m. and the Burger Barn didn’t open till 11 a.m., so we went to a little place called The Cupboard, and I got a strawberry shortcake 😋 (gluten-free) and waited. I ate my cake, read a Warrior Cats book, and Papa drank Coffee 2. Once the burger place opened, we headed over there and DUN… DUN… DUN!!!! It only accepted cash 😆 so we went back to The Cupboard and got a breakfast sandwich 🥪 (again, gluten-free!). We continued along some beautiful dirt roads, we chatted and rode (then stopped to watch a digger fixing the road) and chatted and rode… until we got to Jericho, where we went to Palmer Lane for their famous maple creemee. If you’re from Vermont, you will know what a maple creemee is, but if not, I’ll explain: it’s basically a soft serve mixed with real maple syrup!
Once we were refreshed, we went to the Red Mill and found a place to swim in the Browns River. When we were done, we headed out and met a sort of shifty-looking guy (no offence if you’re reading this!) who gave us some fish he smoked and caught in the same river (we had a sneak snack of it, and it was amazing). We headed to the house of Papa’s friend’s uncle (David), who kindly let us camp on his property. Once we were set up, we talked and had an amazing dinner together with his family. We then went back to our tent and watched Monty Python in bed! That night we also heard some coyotes 🐺, owls 🦉, and deer 🦌.
PS: Thank you to the Buckes for letting us camp on your property and making us food!
Papa:
I really enjoyed riding the bike path with Sage, as we could chat while we rode (reenacting our favourite scenes from various Monty Python films that we now watch every night), and there was a cool wooden bridge along the way. The ride to Jericho was quiet and scenic. The Maple Creemee was as good as everyone told us it would be (David claimed it’s the best place in Vermont), matched only by the delicious dinner they cooked us up. What a place to camp! There was even a writer’s hut beside our spot, I imagine it would be perfect in the winter with a roaring fire going and the radio on.
DAY 5 – Bucke Camping to Richmond (35km, 420m Up)
Sage:
The first thing I thought when I woke up was “WHAT! THIS IS THE LAST DAY???” but enough of what I think (just kidding 😁).Once I woke up (Papa let me have a lie in 😴), we went up to David’s house (David is Papa’s friend’s uncle, remember?) and he and John (John is a family member of his) made us an amazing breakfast (eggs, berries, and oatmeal with maple syrup 🍁). We then said ciao and started riding again. We first went to the Brown’s River and swam in a deeper pool, then sat on a big rock and ate the fish the sketchy guy (no offence!) gave us (so yummy 😋, so cool 😎). Then, we went to an old country store and got a last creemee and rode up the main climb and down a massive descent (so fun 🚵). Afterward, we rode some singletrack along the Winooski River (we raced each other!) and I also saw a river otter on the trail. So cute! Once we made it back to Richmond, Jen drove us back to Winnie the Winnebego just before it started to rain. I also wanted to say THANK YOU to all the people who helped with this trip, it’s much appreciated! 👍
You may be thinking “Sage get to the point, DID YOU LIKE IT?” and I’ll say sheesh IMPATIENT but yeah I’ll get to the point, (oh hey, I just remembered something funny that happened yesterday) “Sage GET TO THE POINT’!’ Ok fine… I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, that’s right I L.O.V.E.D. IT!!!!!!!!
Papa:
Our last day was a little easier and shorter than the two days prior, so we knew we could really relax and linger… swimming and stopping for snacks en route. After a massive descent in which Sage hurtled past me in a worrying blur, we stopped by the river to eke out the trip, munching on our now traditional meal of salami and corn chips, no longer needing to ration supplies. It was our second time riding the trails along the Winooski River, and Sage cleaned a climb he couldn’t quite get before. I was as proud as he was, and this time, I rode behind him and watched him really working the shape of the trail, leaning his bike into turns and enjoying what we called our flow state, where our minds are in the moment and our bodies are floating through the trees.
Sage was elated to make it back to Jen’s, and I watched him bask in the jubilance of seeing a big challenge through to its very end, enjoying all the happiness and confidence that comes with it. I was resonating with high vibes too, as much for the riding as the time we spent together, camping out and sharing thoughts on life… and Monty Python!🏕️ 🚵. Stoked!!! 👍
PS: Emojis added by Sage, in case it’s not evident! 😆
Big thanks to Richmond residents Chase, Minta, and Jen for conjuring up such a perfect route – see Ramble Bikepacking for the trips they run in the area. You can find our ride below with various added POIs; it’s a great option for families, or indeed anyone new to bikepacking. And thanks Jen for lending Sage your well travelled Surly Troll, and Seth for whisking us to Burlington and letting Sage break in your brand new BXB bag!
For more stories and guides to bikepacking with kids, including Sage’s stop motion film of a previous adventure, be sure to check out our Family Bikepacking collection.
Further Reading
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