Searsburg is a town of a handful of houses on the high plateau of the southern Green Mountains, and it has one claim to fame that stands out against the trees. In the 1990s a row of wind turbines was erected on the ridge above the village, the first utility-scale wind farm in the Northeast, and the white blades, turning slowly above the spruce, are visible from the road. They have been joined in the region by newer, larger machines, but these were the pioneers, and the place feels a little like the start of something.
The road that passes through is Route 9, called the Molly Stark Trail, and the name is a piece of Revolutionary lore. Molly was the wife of General John Stark, the New Hampshire officer who led his militia against the British at the Battle of Bennington in 1777, and the story goes that he rallied his men by saying that they would win the day or Molly Stark would be a widow that night. They won. The road follows the old route between Bennington and Brattleboro, and the high pass at Hogback Mountain, a little to the east, has one of the finest views in southern Vermont, with the ranges folding away to the horizon.
Riding it, you feel the altitude, at about six hundred and forty metres, and the cooler air and the dark spruce and fir that replace the hardwoods lower down. The road climbs from Bennington in a series of long, steady bends, with a good surface and plenty of sightlines, and runs along the plateau before dropping toward Wilmington. It is a working road, with trucks and tourists, but it is wide enough to ride comfortably, and the corners are broad and open. Fog collects on the ridge, and in winter the plateau is windy and icy, so be ready for a change in conditions.
Fuel is the thing to plan, because Searsburg has none. Bennington, eighteen kilometres to the west, is the nearest town of any size, and Wilmington, to the east, has stations and places to eat. There are small campgrounds and a scenic pull-off, but nothing in the way of supplies. September and October are the most colourful months, though midsummer, with the ridge green and cool, is a good time to be above the heat of the valley.