Camel's Hump - VT

I knew I was going to hike today.  The weather was forecasted at a high of 75^oF and partly cloudy.  My biggest problem was deciding where to go.  It would be nice to hike in the Adirondacks, maybe a day trip to the Whites?, or how about one of the mountains in VT closer to where I live?  So I mulled this over while I made myself a breakfast sandwich and jammed out to my Gorillaz Pandora station.  Feel Good, Inc. came on, and I knew: “City’s breaking down on a camel’s back”.  Camel’s Hump!  It had been about three years since my last hike (Tim and I had plans in late March/early April, but car issues thwarted them).

Camel’s Hump is one of the most popular hikes in Vermont.  The trailheads are only a short ways off of Route 2, the road running right along Interstate 89.  The Monroe Trail and Burrows Trail are both rather easy and can be done by most any skill level.  I decided to hike something a bit different and took the Long Trail via Monroe Trail and Dean Trail.  Total, this hike was about 8 miles.

It started with the casual hike through the woods on the Monroe Trail for about a mile and a half.  Other than woods, there is not very much scenery on this trail.  On the Dean Trail, there were a few rivers that I crossed and a few open swamps with views of some of the surrounding mountains.  It wasn’t until the Long Trial that the intensity of the hike picked up.  The Long Trail passed over a few of the smaller mountains to the south of Camel’s Hump.  All the while, you can see the southern cliffs of Camel’s Hump’s summit looming large in the distance.  On a few occasions, I caught myself thinking ‘How on God’s green Earth am I getting up THERE!?!’  I pushed through and got to the brutal final push: about 800 feet in half a mile.

I got to the summit at a perfect time.  There were some clouds in the distance, but nothing too ominous.  Just a short while before I summated, it looked as though there were clouds swarming the summit.  On the way down, it got really cloudy for the better part of an hour. 

 

Open area off Dean's Trail

Camel's Hump from the Long Trail

I have to get up there!?!

Mansfield in the distance

At the summit of Camel's Hump

My summit buddy!

This guy wanted to hike down with me

My summit beer this hike was Otter Creek Copper Ale.  For whatever reason, I was not a huge fan (sorry Otter Creek!).  It tasted like a brown ale but not as sweet and caramel-ly.  Oh well.  I’d still drink another one.

  

On my last post, my sister thought it would be a good idea to rate the hikes on a few different areas.  The scale is 1-5 with 1 being the worst, 5 being the best (NOTE: Beer does not factor into overall).  I will also include my two previous 4000’ hikes:

Tripyramids

            Views – 2.5 (Some beautiful views from the slides, but nothing at the summits)

            Time – 5 (Two 4000’ in one hike and I was back before dinner)

            Difficulty – 4.5 (VERY steep)

            Beer – 4 (Samuel Adam’s Rebel IPA)

            Overall – 4 (A very fun hike, but the lack of views detracts from its greatness)

Mount Ellen

            Views – 2 (Looking down a ski lift)

            Time – 4 (Maybe I was running, but it only took a few hours)

            Difficulty – 2 (No areas of real challenge)

            Beer – 4.5 (Magic Hat #9)

            Overall – 3.5 (Probably a one-and-done hike.  Mediocre views with none to the west)

Camel’s Hump

            Views – 4.5 (Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, even the Whites!)

            Time – 3.5 (Some instances of “are we there yet?”)

            Difficulty – 4 (Long Trail was grueling.  Monroe is a 2)

            Beer – 3 (Otter Creek Copper Ale)

            Overall – 4.5 (Great views, good fun, decent beer though)

I hope you have been enjoying my updates.  Maybe you have a question about one of my hikes, an idea about how I could improve this blog, want to leave words of encouragement, or want to hike with me some time?  If you have any comments, feel free to leave post them!