[Journal entry for September 21, 2018; Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area, West Chesterfield, NH] Dallas and I drove up to Brattleboro Vermont in the afternoon, and after checking into the Comfort Inn on Putney Road, took an evening hike in Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area. The afternoon was darkly overcast, though no rain fell during our hike. We crossed the Connecticut River via the Route 119 Highway Bridge, and parked at the hikers’ lot at the end of the paved part of Mountain Road, just east of the river and north of the bridge. We then hiked the unpaved section of Mountain Road to the north end of the Natural Area, where it once again becomes paved. This road had been blasted into the slate bedrock of the west flank of the mountain, a hundred feet or so above river level. The hillside has unusually large trees – a mix of hardwoods and White Pine. We crossed a power line right-of-way that was full of Goldenrod and other fall flowers. We passed only one spot where we had a good view of the river, about halfway along the way at a point opposite the confluence of the West River with the Connecticut and where the former is spanned by the Route 5 highway bridge. We also passed two small waterfalls, one adjacent to the parking lot and another about two thirds of the way north. Both waterfalls were pretty lively, which was unsurprising given all the recent rain.

Afterward, we had dinner at Brattleboro Village Pizza, which is across Putney Road from the Comfort Inn. I had a sausage and green pepper pie.

About two hours of hiking.