HAPPY FEET IN VERMONT
Orla Thomas
Lonely Planet
magazine
Features Editor
@OrlaThomasIARRIVEDINVERMONTEAGERTO
experience the state’s famously abundant
winter snowfall and was not disappointed.
Driving north up Route 100, every pretty
town I drove through appeared to be set
withinasnowglobe.Iwasbookedtostay
in a wood cabin in the north, and the owner
hadpromisedtotakemeoutsleddingwith
his husky pack. When I turned up clad in my
best winter-wear, my host Jim Blair laughed.
‘Are those the only shoes you have?’, he
said, casting a critical eye over my leather
Chelsea boots, which were already letting
in icy water as I stood in five inches of fresh
powder. He disappeared into the loft and
returned with
apairofproper
snow boots, which
he insisted I keep.
Exceptionally warm
and waterproof, they
kept my toes toasty for
therestofthetrip.Jim
wouldn’t take a penny for
them, either, instead suggesting
I make a donation to an animal
charity, which of course I did. I still
wearthemonBritishsnowdays,and
doing so always makes me think of my
kindly benefactor and his husky entourage.AWHILEBEFORETHEADVENTOFGPS
phones, I hired a bicycle in Lijiang and set off
jauntily from the mazy waterways of the
centre, up a big hill into the countryside of
Yunnan, following my nose. Sunset came
swiftly, but I had the wherewithal for an
overnight stay out of town. The joy of
unrestricted cycling with no pressures and
no plan peaked around 9pm when I realised
Iwasn’tgoingtofindaguesthouse,and
should head back to Lijiang. My inner GPS
letmedown,totheextentthatIknockedon
a few doors to ask for directions. In useless
English. Finally, one household produced
aboyonabikewholedmemilesandmiles
inthedark.Desperationwasreplacedby
out-and-out gratitude when he deposited
meataTibetan-ownedguesthousewhere
afamilygroupwereinthemiddleofa
celebratory dinner. I have never forgotten
how quickly they made room for me at their
table,norhowimmenselysoftand puffy
the white quilt was on my bed.‘The joy of cycling with no plan peaked
around 9pm when I realised I wasn’t
going to find a guesthouse’
SHOW ME
THE WAY TO
GO HOME
Sophie Dening
Lonely Planet
magazine Acting
Production Editor
@SophieDening