New England Fall 2023

AKA Blue ski run "toll road"...yes, there was a toll!

So this is a pretty neat deal. It is called "Toll Road".

Mt Mansfield Summit is a ski resort. No snow in the off-season, so they let people (for a fee) drive up to the top of the mountian on an access road, which is also a ski trail. The trail is called "Toll Road." Once you reach the top, you can hike to a peak and then beyond to the very top of the mountian.

The road is narrow (but 2-way traffic), and it is a gravel road, and of course, steep.

Parking at the top is limited, so the staff stages drivers at stopping points along the way, waiting for people to leave.

When vehicles approach from the opposite direction, the rules are simple. The downhill vehicle has the right of way.

The higher up the mountian you go, the more steep it gets --- and narrow too.

So now is the fun part (aside from the actual (very short) hike at top.

We were just released from the last staging station with 1 car in front of us - the car is a small sporty Mercedes, and we are a large GMC 2500. We get going and make a couple of turns and find ourselves (and the Mercedes in front) on a short straight section (but with a serious drop off to the right - the passengers side). And here comes a car around the corner coming down from the top.

The road where we are is even more narrow than normal. Truly where I am, I think I am as far right as I can go and there is maybe 6 feet of space to pass - definitely not enough.

But wait, the rule is that we have the right of way. There are 2 problems with that. 1. The driver coming downhill apparently did not remember or did not care. And 2. It really didn't matter. there wasn't enough room to pass where he was anyway.

But all is good because a passenger (in a suit) in the downhill car gets our to direct traffic. (It is odd that a guy in a suit is hiking on the top of a mountian, right?) He was trying to tell the Mercedes to move over. Move over to where? This ain't no cartoon. On this mountian, gravity works immediately.

No, the only way is for us to back up to a slightly wider spot. I've got to back up and out to the very edge.

I ask Amy to get out and direct me to the edge. She does, and all is well with us. But in the Mercedes, OH WOWW!!! The lady in the passenger seat is having a tough time. She is flipping out. The driver is sitting still. And the man in the suit, well he ain't really helping the situation.

Then....

Da, da DAH!!! (That is supposed to be superhero music) Amy to the rescue.

Amy goes up to the screaming Mercedes. The lady is in a fit, and the man has a paralyzed look on his face, which oozes, "Please help me." Amy tells the lady that she will take care of her. "I got you." And she calmly gives the man directions while standing on the passenger's side calming the lady. Amy directs them to a safe place so the 2 cars can pass.

As the cars pass, the lady is still scared, and Amy is still reassuring. The cars pass and all is good.

Well, that is what you would think. No, not quite. Why was the man wearing a suit. Oh yeah, because there was a wedding on the top of the mountian. The wedding just broke up. The man in the suit was the first to leave.... and now, here comes everyone else. In cars and trucks and 1 huge van.

But we safely made it to the top.

The view was muted by smoke from Canada, but it's still awesome.

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