Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 8034 | Snowmobile VERMONT My last destination is a bit different than the first two and will not offer you anything in terms of food, but it is a unique and interesting item to view and is truly a snapshot of yesteryears in Vermont. To boot, the trail is a unique and well-groomed 4 to 6-foot wide corridor trail. It is one of those far and few between purple trails on the VAST map. The trail I am referring to is the 710 trail in Wardsboro. The trail itself is approximately 23 miles long and connects Corridor 7 near Stratton with Corridor 100 in Dover between intersections WM 10 and WM 20. Along the trail is an interesting granite monument that has a great deal of history behind it. The monument sits a few feet off the right side of the trail as you head south toward Dover as you gain in elevation. The story behind the origins of the monument goes something like this: The setting is rural Vermont in the mid 1800’s. A farmer by the name of Benjamin Converse was operating a farm for Nathaniel Hammond, while Hammond was living in Boston. As all farmers in those days did, Benjamin had transported his prized bull to the local fair. He was the original Zuckerman from Charlotte’s Web, but instead of Wilbur he had a bull. On Sept. 29, 1859, Benjamin was walking home from the Wilmington Fair along what was then a mountain road. This road is now utilized by the 710 trail. For some reason, the prized bull decided to turn on him. The bull gored 56-year-old Benjamin at the very spot marked by the granite monument. Benjamin died from his injuries on the spot. Benjamin is buried in the West Wardsboro Cemetery off of Route 100, however there is this eerie marker denoting the location of his unexpected death. I encourage riders to make this a destination, although it may be difficult to locate, as it is not all that obvious. When you find it, pull off to the side of the trail, take your helmet off and stand there listening to the silence on the mountainside. Perhaps the wind is calmly blowing through the trees, or if it is snowing, listen to the snow hit the ground and the trees. Picture the events that unfolded at that location and wait until the hair on the back of your neck stands up or you get that little shivery quiver down your spine. Wait for it – it will happen! Once you have done this, you have officially arrived at and experienced your destination and can then proceed along your way. If you want to read more about it, there are additional details of the story at the following link: freepages.genealogy.rootsweb. ancestry.com/~converse/sources/ returntoyesterday.html. There is also a book, “Return to Yesterday” written by Clarence Streeter. The book details the history of Wardsboro from its establishment in the 1780s until the 1950s when Clarence Streeter passed away. Details of this specific story are on pages 53 and 54 of the book. I hope that you can get to at least one of these areas I highlighted above for an enjoyable ride, some good food and possibly a few photo opportunities. I will try to have some more exciting spots to visit with a little historical flair in coming issues, so stay tuned. I’ve got a couple pretty good ones in the hopper! If you have a good story about an unusual historic spot on a local trail or know of another destination, view or hidden gathering spot, let us know about it and send some photos for the magazine. Contact me at matt@ vtvast.org. Wishing you all great times and memories made with friends and family out on the trail this winter. I hope to see some of you out there! Trails Report This marker on Trail 710 in Wardsboro reads,“This is the place where Ben Converse was killed by a bull returning from the Wilmington Fair. Sept. 29 1852. Erected by Mrs. Converse & N. Hammond of Boston.”