We followed the loop around another couple of miles past several more sets of falls. You can tell the weather is seriously wet here because several places on the trail have “rain shelters”.
Then we followed the Kancamangus Parkway east towards the Lower Falls on the Swift River, a National Forest spot which was reputed to be a great swimming hole as well.
“Swimming” is perhaps not quite what was done here, but we did it too and it was a lot of fun. The river pushed its way down the hill, alternately shallow and deep, including slick granite basins where the rushing river accumulated more dramatically. So your path might include water up to your ankles and water up to your hips every other step, or similarly challenging arrangements. We carefully made our way downriver and the force of the water was enough to knock you down in many places. A few times I lost my footing or was swept by current and was glad the water could catch me and make for a softer landing. Beside the road was the largest pool of water (and the largest crowds) where the rapids finally paused for a serious while. Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures of this place but I’m glad we hadn’t brought the camera.
Surrounding this largest basin were falls with large swaths of dry bar and also swift deep channels. I watched a mother really struggling to keep an eye on three kids in this dangerous territory and listened to a group of seasoned locals listing everything everyone was doing wrong (no matter how easily or clumsily they navigated). Unfortunately Robert lost his footing on a slippery rock and smacked his head on the way down. He recovered quickly and we walked back to the car. I drove towards Burlington, Vermont while he held ice on his head and he seemed to be “back to normal” by the time we arrived in town, despite the goose egg on the back of his head.
After dinner we went into downtown Burlington and checked out the main pedestrian mall. It was Saturday night and most of the restaurants were overflowing with what looked like a mix of college students, locals, and tourists. We ate some of “Vermont’s finest” (Ben and Jerry’s ice cream) on our people-watching walk and then turned in for the night.