Buttermilk Falls / Hiking Pitcher Mountain
Rutland, VT to Manchester, NH | Buttermilk Falls in Ludlow, VT | Hiking Pitcher Mountain | April 2023
After a week in Rutland, it was time to check out of our Airbnb and move on. We had been experiencing much more difficulty in finding affordable rentals in the Northeast compared to when we were in the South in January. It didn’t make sense to us because this felt about as “off season” as you could get: Mud season was starting, spring was coming but there weren’t any flowers and the weather was unpredictable, and ski season was almost over. Hotels and rentals all seemed overpriced, and it was still too cold to camp. Our original plan before everything with Charlotte happened was to spend some time in Quebec, which seemed to have much more reasonable price-per-night rentals. But now crossing the border didn’t feel like a smart decision, and we wanted to stay in New England somewhat near the vet just in case, at least until Charlotte’s 2 week post-surgery appointment.
We eventually found a place in Northern Vermont that was around $50/night, but the catch was that it wasn’t available for two more nights. We decided to fill the gap with using hotel points, and after looking all over the Northeast we found the best value to be two nights in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. So on Saturday morning, we packed up our things and took off heading Southeast.
For today’s drive, we chose a few spots along the way that looked easy, and we went in to them with low expectations, prepared to turn around if Charlotte wasn’t feeling up to the activity. Our first stop was along VT-100 in Plymouth, where we drove through Calvin Coolidge Historic Site, which was unfortunately still closed for the season, but we were still able to see his grave site. We thought it would be better if Curtis just got out and took pictures for this stop, but Charlotte seemed pretty disappointed that she wasn’t included, so we promised her we’d stop again soon.
Side note: Our new method of getting out of the car involves Curtis coming around and lifting Char off my lap because she’s too heavy and awkward for me to do so gracefully (he says “pup-duction” every time he does this and it is always funny). So now when Curtis shuts off the car and gets out, Charlotte automatically turns eagerly towards the passenger door and waits to be airlifted out. It’s adorable, but also devastating to see her disappointment when she isn’t invited to get out during a stop.
Our next stop came not too far down the road, at Buttermilk Falls right off of VT-103. There are 3 different waterfalls along the road here. We parked at the end of the road, right before it was blocked off and still snow covered. The first two waterfalls were off a short trail to the right. They were easy to reach, but also confusing for Charlotte since they weren’t straightforward and we were just following other tracks in the snow to find all the viewpoints. The third waterfall was a ways up the road, but just walking straight up the road was much easier for Charlie. The waterfall turned out to be down a steeper drop down to the side of the river, so I let Curtis go down to get a better look while I stayed up on the road with Char. After he got some pictures, we turned around and made our way back to the car.
We continued our drive heading East, soon crossing into New Hampshire. Curtis had another hike saved right along the highway, and since Charlotte had done so well earlier and still seemed interested in being outside, we decided to attempt it. If nothing else, it gave her a chance to play in the snow a little more. The hike was up Pitcher Mountain, a short but prominent peak with a firetower on top, and only 1 mile round trip.
The trail conditions were kind of the opposite of what we had experienced on other hikes — instead of there being more and more snow on the trail as we got higher up, the most snow was at the beginning of the trail, and as we got higher it thinned out, until the peak where there was no snow. We went in to the hike with low expectations, guiding Charlotte along the easiest part of the wide trail, while letting her set the pace. Slow and steady, we made our way up, and Char did so good the whole way. She kept her nose to the ground and followed our leading.
The end of the trail had some rocks to get over, but by guiding Char’s leash and giving her clear instructions, she made it without issue, and successfully reached the summit! She picked out a spot in the sunshine to sit down, and I gave her treats and water while Curtis climbed the tower. After giving her plenty of time to rest, we began our descent. Overall, our one mile hike took almost an hour and a half, but we were so proud of Charlotte and her determination to finish!
After that, we finished our drive to Manchester and got checked in to our hotel. We settled in, and Charlotte got a much deserved nap. That evening, we went for a short walk around the block and the nearby green space that was right next to the hotel. Our hotel for the weekend was the Residence Inn, and overall it was really nice — our room had a kitchenette and was super spacious, and it was a fun location downtown while still having free parking. The only downside was that dogs aren’t allowed in the elevator, and having to lead our blind puppy all the way down the hall (which was literally 2 blocks long!) and down the stairwell took a considerable effort every time she needed to go out. If this had been a longer stay maybe we would have asked if they could make an exception, but for the weekend we just dealt with it.
