A Hor with a Heart of Gold

[dawn_felagund]

Mount Hor has a terrible name. Apparently, Mount Hor is also a mountain in the Bible, and I suppose it was named after that; I haven't been able to find anything about the history behind the name and can't fathom why you'd name a mountain "Mount Hor" without precedent. So Mount Hor is like the poor kid in school who gets assigned a storied,

Comments

[shirebound]

Oh, I just LOVE that scenery. Thanks for taking us with you!

[dawn_felagund]

It's really beautiful! We're expecting to return when the leaves are fully colored.

You're welcome. :) It's fun to do these things and then share them.

[heartofoshun]

Bobby out did himself this time. These are terrific shots. I love the one with the shadows of clouds on the mountains. Fantastic. Sounds like a wonderful experience.

[dawn_felagund]

It was! Uphill climbs are hard for me. The reward of the view at the top makes me do them. (Next summer, I am planning to do the mile-long climb on Mt. Hor at least once per week until I get my climbing muscles in better shape. I need them now that I live in Vermont!)

The partly cloudy day made for some dramatic views of the cloud-shadows moving across the mountains and the water. It was a spectacular day.

[indy1776]

Other people drool over attractive people; I drool over mountain landscapes.

This hike was pleasant enough that it's one I would strongly recommend for the Mereth Aderthad, because it is doable for someone in moderately good shape, even without experience hiking in the mountains. (For the truly adventurous, Bobby and I will take you to the fire tower at the top of Bald Mountain!)

So: are hiking boots needed or would walking shoes be okay? And what would you call "moderately in shape?" (Am I using the MA to force myself to start exercising again? Oh yes.)

[dawn_felagund]

Oh you will LOVE Vermont! We have some amazing mountain vistas throughout the state but especially here in the Northeast Kingdom

[pandemonium_213]

So I'm guessing my LL Bean hiking shoes would work? :^)

ETA: I would say that if you can manage an uphill climb for 40 minutes or so...

This should motivate me to be more consistent at the local YMCA!

[dawn_felagund]

I'm sure they're better than mine! (I hope to have new hiking shoes by next summer. I really need them. My feet should not hurt after just three miles!)

[pandemonium_213]

I'm with Oshun: Bobby outdid himself with these photos. The best yet, I think. That blush of Classic Vermont Maple Crimson™ is quite the harbinger of autumn. The drought down here is likely to make our fall foliage more dull this year, so I intend to get vicarious thrills from your photos. And if the EffDeeEh (or rather 3 post-marketing requirements we're working on) didn't have me in iron shackles for the next 3 (!) months (esp. Sept and Oct) you better believe I would have made a long weekend trip up to the Northeast Kingdom to say howdy, eat, drink, and be leaf-peepy merry!

I keep eyeing those 2 inns you recommended. Have we settled on dates for Mereth yet?

This reminds me that I need to buy more VT maple syrup from Ackermann's booth at the Rozzie Farmers' Market next weekend. We're running low on our current stock. I find I'm using maple syrup for more than just pancakes and waffles.

[dawn_felagund]

Everything in Vermont has maple syrup in it. EVERYTHING. It was hard to get used to at first because I kept expecting people to be ironic about it, but they were very serious. Like pizza with maple syrup! A cheeseburger with a drizzle of maple syrup! Most of the time, I have found that it is surprisingly delicious. It pairs great with spicy and salty flavors and a lot of our local cheeses.

Bobby has started to replace the cane sugar he uses in cooking with maple sugar as well.

I need to post about the Mereth dates and also take a final pulse on what format people would like. I have it on my mind and hope to get it done this weekend because we do need to have a date and, now that the first arduous weeks of the school year are over, Bobby and I can work on securing any sites we might need, etc.

I have emailed Bobby the link to the goat farm event too. We think our schedule is free but just want to double-check. If it is, we're totally down, assuming you can slip out of those shackles for a day! :D

[pandemonium_213]

Vermont maple syrup is truly iconic, and Vermonters have every right to take is Very Seriously.

Like pizza with maple syrup! A cheeseburger with a drizzle of maple syrup!

Y'know, that would be good! Especially a pizza with a good sausage. Pork pairs beautifully with maple syrup. Ackermann's has a recipe on their site for maple-bacon chicken that looks pretty awesome, too.

It pairs great with spicy and salty flavors and a lot of our local cheeses.

In Tuscany, pairing cheeses, esp. Perorino Toscano, with honey is traditional. Stands to reason that maple syrup would haromize with Vermont cheeses, especially the firm, salty types.

I'm making a Moroccan tagine for dinner tonight: chicken with dried apricots, rosemary, ginger, and a couple of jalapeños. The recipe also calls for a couple of tablespoons of "runny honey." Heh. Well, given the topic here, guess what I'm going to substitute? :^D

I have emailed Bobby the link to the goat farm event too. We think our schedule is free but just want to double-check.I'd love to

[sinneahtes]

Gorgeous pics! And your mountains have more interesting names than mine. ;) (Though I did just find out there's a Cathole Mountain in Connecticut... not sure how it's pronounced, but either way, I've got an unpleasant image in my mind now!) We're getting some gold and tinges of red down here, too. I've got to figure out where to go hiking the next few weekends to enjoy the foliage before it's too cold. I bet that scenery up there is going to be stunning with more vivid colors.

I'm certainly enjoying the chipmunk--s/he's adorable! We don't directly feed our chipmunk neighbors, but some are shy and others apparently have no problem with sniffing around right next to our feet. It's a relief when they bolt away when I move and that they don't beg though.

[dawn_felagund]

Cathole Mountain is far worse than Hor, I think! Hor is actually kind of funny. It's mostly (entirely?) in the Willoughby Forest preserve, else I'd consider buying a vacation cabin and renting it as The Hor House.

Maybe this was a naturally gregarious fellow then! He just went straight for Bobby's backpack, which made me think he was used to human food.