The Tracks: Ways to participate in the Pilgrimage Walk

 

Track 1 – 25-mile Walk: About 25 miles of walking on trails over two days, about 5 miles of which are difficult. (“Difficult” means some steep, rocky paths and/or sometimes muddy ground.) This amounts to about 6-7 hours/day of actual walking.

 

Walkers meet at the Old School at 1 School Street, Wilmington at 8 am on Saturday, Sept. 17 and register.  They will depart in guided groups at 9:00 am.  They will arrive at the lunch point (Hermitage Gate) at noon, where they will be joined by Track 2 Walkers.  At 1 pm, they will proceed to Mount Snow, arriving about 2:30.  Once assembled, they will travel to the summit of Mount Snow by hiking or the lift, where there will be a period of guided conversation, meditation, and reflection.  At 4 pm they will descend from the mountain. At 5:30 there will be a lecture and discussion at the Carinthia Lodge. Walkers make their own dinner arrangements.

 

On the second day, Sunday, Track 1 will meet at the Dover Free Library at 7:30 am and depart at 8:00 am, arriving at the Ephesus House by mid-afternoon.

 

Track 2 – 10-mile Walk: About 10 miles of walking on trails, over two days, about 1.5 miles of which are somewhat difficult. This amounts to about 2.5-3.0 hours/day of actual walking.

 

Track 2 walkers should register during the morning at the Old School in Wilmington.  At 11:30 transportation will be provided to the Hermitage Gate House or you may drive there for lunch with Track 1, and they will complete the day’s program together.

 

On the second day, Track 2 Walkers will meet at the Congregational Church South Wardsboro, 64 Cobb and Reed Hill Road, at 10:00 am and depart soon thereafter for downtown Wardsboro in a guided group. They will have lunch in Wardsboro and then continue with the entire pilgrimage walk group to the Ephesus House.

 

Track 3 – 2.5-mile Walk: On Sunday only, 2.5 miles of walking.  The Walk goes from downtown Wardsboro to the shrine of Our Lady of Ephesus.

 

This is a 1.5 hour walk over dirt roads from the center of Wardsboro to the Ephesus House. Participants will register at the Wardsboro Library by 1:30, and we will start out at 2 pm.

 

Track 4 – Closing Activities:  Attendance at either Saturday or Sunday or both day-end events. Minimal walking is involved. 

 

Please note: Walkers may opt-out during the walk.  A van will circulate for this purpose at points where the trails are near or on roads.

 

A more detailed schedule with registration forms will be sent out to our mailing list and will be available on our website: www.vermontpilgrim.org.   To join our mailing list, please contact us at vtpilgrim@gmail.com or by calling or texting 802-319-9202. You may also contact us by mail at the following address:  Deerfield Valley Pilgrimage, Inc., 50 Lisle Hill Road, Wilmington, VT. 05363-9779.

 

SUBJECT TO CHANGE! CHECK HERE FOR UPDATES

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Preparation and Equipment

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Preliminary Program and Itinerary

Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022

 

Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, 6:00-8:30 pm (All participants welcome)

            Registration and sign in.

            Carbo-loading pasta dinner at St. Mary’s in the Mountains, 13 East Main St., Wilmington

 

Saturday September 17, 2022

• 8:30-11:00 Group Assignments (All participants, but Track 1 participants must register     by 8:30 am)

• 9:00 Track 1 participants begin walking to Mt. Snow along Valley Trail.

• 12:00 Lunch break at the Hermitage Gate House. Track 2 participants join group for lunch. (Please bring your own lunch. Water will be provided.)

• 1:00 Tracks 1 and 2 walk to Mount Snow.

• 3:00 Arrival at Mount Snow.

• 3:30 Ascent to summit via hiking or the Bluebird Lift. Summit Meditation.

• 5:30 Pilgrimage presentation by Fr Nicholas at the Carinthia Lodge

 

Pilgrims make own dinner arrangements

 

Overnight in homes, local inns, hostels.

 

Sunday September 18, 2022

•   8:00 Track 1 participants leave for the shrine in Jamaica, VT from the Dover Free Library

•   11:00 Track 2 joins Track 1 at the South Wardsboro Congregational Church

•   12:00 Tracks 1 & 2 arrive at Wardsboro for lunch break. Track 3 joins them.

•    1:30 Commencement of the walk to the Shrine from Wardsboro: 2.5-mile walk.

•    3:30 Events at Our Lady of Ephesus House of Prayer and Farewells

 

Departures, or overnight in homes, local inns, and the WDCC hostel

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Preparation and Equipment