Lots of new folks

This year at The Ledges has featured quite a number of new folks, along with some problems.  Saturday of this weekend (yesterday) was a lovely day, which drew people from all over, despite the poor forecast for Sunday.  A lot of regulars have made their yearly pilgrimages as well.  Not too much rope swing activity lately -- but there have been a number of younger folks in their teens and twenties visit this year, which is all for the good.  A couple of weeks ago the Chelsea Mermaid and five of her friends came by, as they have in prior years, and even stopped over to talk to the older folks.  Nice touch! Last weekend and this weekend had several younger folks too, although their interaction with the community ranged from chatty to non-existent.

Water level has now dropped to the point where major amounts of the main ledge, and some beach, are available. This is a big improvement over the way it has been most of July.

The road closure I mentioned in my last post did not happen yet.  It has been rescheduled for the weekend of August 8th.  Please be aware that Rt. 100 will be closed that weekend, for sure.

As for the problems: one of the newer visitors last week picked a spot very far from the main beach area on Saturday, and wound up having some creepy dude set up right next to her and exhibit sexual behavior.  She was rightfully angry about this, and it hasn't been the only such incident this year.  The Ledges regulars do their best to patrol the area on foot and in kayaks, but we are volunteers and our reach is limited.  We reminded this person that, according to Vermont law, the perpetrator of this act was in fact committing a felony, and that she should immediately have asked him to stop, and/or come and notified any of the regulars of the problem.  (She'd already figured out that setting up nearer to the main beach area was a good idea -- that's what she did on Sunday.)

And, if you happen to be one of those people who think that just because you are in a remote rural setting, you can get away with anything, think again.  We take our beach very seriously and will not hesitate to enforce its rules, even if that means calling in the cops.

Road closure

Conditions at the Ledges have been seasonable and nice, especially Saturday and Sunday of the July 4th weekend.  The only downside has been a very high water level, which if anything has been climbing rather than declining.  It's pretty much at historical highs at the moment, which makes for a very cozy beach experience.  Nevertheless, that hasn't much interfered with festivities.

For the weekend of 8/8, however, Vermont Route 100 is due to close between Jacksonville and Boyd Hill Road (the road to the Ledges) between August 8th and the following Monday for a bridge repair.  For people coming to The Ledges from the south, this will be a problem.  The official detour is quite long - 26 miles, via Route 8 and Searsburg.

There is a much easier way, however.  Here's a google maps link showing the route:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/42.8329949,-72.8721489/Jacksonville,+Whitingham,+VT/@42.8249381,-72.8494111,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-72.8377908!2d42.851509!3s0x89e0e692ec6ebe2d:0xf82a6e6fb8ec481f!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e0e75b0606363b:0x481a3bd1338f555e!2m2!1d-72.8217628!2d42.7970266!3e0?hl=en

In short:

- From Jacksonville, instead of taking Rt. 100 North or following the State's detour, proceed straight up the hill on Gates Pond Road.  Where the blacktop bears to the right, go straight up Parsons Road.  At the top of the long hill, turn a slight left onto Shearer Hill Road.  Descend to intersect Route 9, and turn left.  Turn south on Rt. 100 in the outskirts of Wilmington just before the flea market.  Proceed south to Boyd Hill Road, on the right.

Hope this isn't too confusing, and hope to see you there this weekend!