Navigating Nature: The Grand Hike

The Grand hike is an annual fun, 14-mile walk through forests, fields and country roads in the Champlain Valley. The event is run by the Champlain Area Trails also known as CATS. The proceeds from the event helps support the nearly 100 trails totaling 200 plus miles. The first Grand Hike was ibn 2014 with 157 participants. Fast forward 11 years to 2024 and it has grown to over 350 hikers.

I participated in the event a couple of times a while back and figured it was time to give it a go again. Good friends, Kelly Moody plus Bob and Dawn Collins all were eager to join in. We planned on spotting a car at each end of the hike even though there is a shuttle that takes participants from the sign in at Westport to the start in Essex. Also, if hikers do not feel up to doing the whole 14 miles there would be shuttles to take them back to either town.

The weather could not have been more perfect. The sky was a deep blue and the sun a bright ball in the sky. Once we were signed in at Westport, we all jumped in one car and headed to Essex. Once parked in the quaint, little town, we were off.

The day started on the Essex Gateway Trail. What a little gem of a trail. Right off the bat, we were greeted by large clumps of smiling daffodils. If you have ever driven to Essex, there is one home that has massive areas of daffodils along the tree row. Maybe the birds dropped a few of those bulbs in the woods along the trail. Bob and I hiked ahead as the girls stopped to take some photos. We should have known better — you think that I take a lot of photos, well I don’t hold a candle to those two. As we waited, we asked each group of hikers if they saw two ladies taking photos and their reply (as they laughed) was always, “Oh yeah, it will be a while before they reach you.” Oh well, you can never have enough pictures.

Hikers came from all over — Young and old. There was a trio of men who were doing the hike in training for the Northville Placid Trail they planned to hike this fall. There were birdwatchers and runners. There were groups of hikers who just wanted to support the CATS. We leap frogged with many of these throughout the day. Such a great group of human beings.

As we walked through the vivid, green forest we spotted many wildflowers. Part of the trail was literally lined with forget-me-nots. Before the day was over we saw flumewort, gaywings, early saxifrage, red columbine and trilliums.

As we continued to walk, we passed a field with cows roaming and munching the grass. I just love to see cows free outside. Approaching a gate there was a warning sign “Wild Parsnip Burns Skin’ and a description of it. We definitely kept our eyes open for the nasty plant.

The terrain was quite varied as sometimes we were on a trail through the woods, a path across a field, a dirt road and a bit of paved road walking. No matter which section, it was all so pretty. At 3.4 miles in, we approached our first oasis on Leaning Road. There were salty pretzels and peanuts plus Tangelos and bananas. The pretzels and the nice, cold water hit the spot for me. The volunteers were super friendly and encouraging at all the pit stops. After a short break, we thanked the volunteers and were off.

A short walk up the road and we had a choice of trails. For an easier walk, you keep going on the Leaning Road for a mile, then turn right onto Cook Road and walk to Beaver Flow Trail. The main trail goes right onto Rocky Ledges Trail, which goes through forests with hills, wildflowers, sweet views, some muddy spots and rocky areas. We all agreed on the Rocky Ledges Trail and we were not disappointed. We walked and talked and of course took photos and before we knew it we had reached the second oasis. That was another 3.5 miles to cross off.

By this time, I was ready for lunch. I reached in my pack and retrieved a delicious ham and cheese sandwich. It sure did taste great. That was until close to my last bite where I noticed my cheese was a tad bit green with mold. Oh well, I’ve eaten worse. Again the oasis had tasty snacks for the hot and hungry hikers. We were only about ? way to the finish so again we didn’t stay too long.

During the day, we passed homish farms, beautiful horses, an octagonal schoolhouse and in the middle of the woods at one point, a fire hydrant. I’m not sure of the story on that one. It was like Old Home Week — we all knew so many of the participants.

There were two more oases that we stopped at with one having the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever. After the last oasis, we had 2.4 miles to go. I think I can speak for all our group — we were ready to be done. As we walked up the sidewalk in Westport, the sidewalk was filled with encouraging sayings written in chalk. We did it! 14 plus miles! The finish was at the Westport Golf and Country Club where we were all excited to hit the gong signaling the end of our hike.

I can’t say enough about how well organized this event was from start to finish. The signage was awesome. There was never a doubt as to where you were supposed to go. The pit stops and volunteers were number 1. (Did I mention those chocolate chip cookies?) The scenery was superb.

Happy Trails!