If you’re a hiker, Middlebury is a dream come true.  From right outside your dorm room to the Green Mountains, and across the Champlain Valley to the Adirondacks, Vermont is made for hiking.  There are lots of fellow middkids who take advantage of the the local topography.  If you want to meet new friends and see new places, check out the Mountain Club.

Fall Foliage in Vermont

Beginning in late September and continuing throughout October, the forests of Addison County explode in a sea of vibrant color as the leaves of deciduous trees prepare for the coming winter.  The secret to this magical process is due to photosynthesis and chlorophyll.  Photosynthesis is the process by which plant cells use the energy of light to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water, making plants grow.  Chlorophyll is a green plant pigment that enables the plant cells to absorb sunlight.  Daylight hours decline with the coming of Autumn, reducing the available fuel for photosynthesis.  Trees then pull chlorophyll into their trunks from the leaves because it is more valuable to them as a vitamin source in the winter months.  With the loss of chlorophyll from the leaves, green is no longer the dominant color, and the other leaf pigments begin to predominate.  This colorful Autumn vision of oaks, maples, beeches, apple trees, ash, cherry and other hardwoods was there all along, but the green of chlorophyll suppressed these pigments.