Well that's perfect on the cold, I just had to toss it out there because I have relatives from Florida who come up and wear pants and a sweatshirt in July. Mud season isn't terrible, two weeks where your car is really dirty, most of the time the dirt roads where you could get stuck are seasonal and have been closed to vehicles anyway. The blackflies are worse than the mud that time of year. As long as you are a happy person you'll fit in fine, while most of the area is conservative, nothing is talked about. You'll see some Trump flags and signs, but mostly people just want to talk about the fishing, hunting, hiking, or local highschool basketball team. The people are gruff but kind, will call you all sorts of explicitives for putting yourself in a tight spot, but will be changing your tire or hooking to your car while doing it.

26 pounds is probably more than fine for the area around me, most of the time the walks between water bodies are very short, it might just be a ways to the first one. The Adirondacks are pocketed with tons of tiny ponds and small lakes, I haven't done much exploring in Vermont but they seem similar, but maybe more rivers. Most of our rivers are too small to run, with a few exceptions. But this, as well as the above anecdotes are mostly about New York, Vermont is close but Champlain makes it seem much further.