Rain, Rain, Go Away...

The April showers I was okay with. May and June's I tried to brush off, but now we're in July, and it seems to rain everyday. Yes, we are in a state of lustrous Green Mountain beauty, but the saturated ground is slowing to absorb excess water; trails are muddy; roads are being damaged ubiquitously. How much more can we take?

Vermont Department of Transportation and the 511 Travel Info Hotline have put together a live map that details road closures of which they're aware. It can be accessed here.

http://vtransmaps.vermont.gov/VTrans511/511live.htm

If you hear thunder on the trail, immediately head away from mountain peaks and for shelter. On Hunger Mountain last week, I was hiking with a friend -- ignoring the thunder -- and then lightning struck right next to us. We were lucky to not have been struck, and we learned a valuable lesson -- show much respect to the forces of nature.

I heard that a few days ago two and three quarters inches of rain fell in a period of just two hours. That's ridiculous.

Maybe the best thing to come out of all of this rain: 

some really pretty rainbows.   

:-)

Anyways, be safe, plan ahead and see you at CC.

The "Best Beer Town in New England" is: Waterbury, Vermont

I've always believed that the town where CCOutdoorStore.com is located, and where I grew up, is a special place. Yes, Waterbury, Vermont may be "small" and "in the middle of nowhere," but if you live in Waterbury you know it to be different than most places in our country. One of my favorite aspects of Waterbury is the fact that it only has a few chain businesses (used to be just a Subway restaurant before Kinney Drugs came in), meaning that each dining option and supplier of goods is a unique local business that offers its own choice craft. We are also smack-dab in the middle of four high-profile ski resorts (Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Bolton Valley, and Stowe) and three of the four tallest mountains in the state (tied for third: Camel's Hump and Mt Ellen, and numero uno Mt Mansfield). To top that all off, Boston Globe recently recognized Waterbury as the "Best Beer Town in New England"!!!




But as the real outdoor gear junkies know, you cannot come through Waterbury without stopping at the venerated CCOutdoorStore.com retail store! Booming customer service and wide selections of everything trail and travel related is the gem that is CCOutdoorStore.com.


If you haven't been to the Prohibition Pig on Main Street to imbibe this most delicious libation that is Heady Topper (pictured above), you're missing out to say the least. Craft brewed and perfected, Heady Topper is hops and shoulders over your run-of-the-mill beers. According to website and magazine, Beer Advocate, Heady Topper is the third best beer in the world, and it was created in the brew-haven that is Watebury. Hurricane Irene may have closed down the Alchemist Restaurant, but the brewery has relocated (up the street to higher ground) and is as successful as ever.

Waterbury: the hiking, skiing, mountainbiking (the list goes on and on) and beer oasis.

Toll Free at 1-877-244-GEAR