National Parks and Recreation

Long Trail Miles: 8
10.6.20
60˚ and sunny
Montclair Glen Lodge

I had a relaxing morning at Canada’s as I took my time getting up and eating a good breakfast before she drove me about 20 minutes down the Interstate to the base of Camel’s Hump. I could have had her drop me off where Vlad picked me up two days prior, but I just really didn’t care to do the 8 pointless miles of downhill hiking, 4 of which were just along the shoulder of the road. (Maybe I’ll do those 8 missing miles as a warm-up when I decide to go back and finish the trail next year or whenever.)

I said goodbye to Canada and took off back into the woods with plans to see her again next weekend for a couple days of hiking together.

The beginning of the hike was really nice and gradual. It was a pleasant stroll through the woods, always going uphill, but never anything crazy. I was a little nervous about this day because it was going to be my largest elevation gain of the entire trip. And by a lot. It was 6 miles and 3,734 feet of elevation between where Canada dropped me off and the top of Camel’s Hump (Mount Mansfield was only 2,844 feet of gain).

About two miles in, I came to the Duxbury Window. It was a nice look back down to the interstate. It’s always cool to see just how far you’ve come since heading out. It didn’t feel like I had already hiked this high.

I wish I had gotten more pictures on the drive to the trailhead, because the way the sun was hitting the fall foliage on the mountain was stunning. And once you’re up in the mountains looking back down, it just doesn’t quite do it justice.

A little less than halfway up, I came to the ledges. These were a little trickier than I was anticipating and I had to keep my eyes peeled to make sure I didn’t lose the trail. I imagine this would have been much more difficult in the rain. As it was, it was really fun.

There’s Camel’s Hump in the distance. This stretch was mostly flat rock scrambles toward the base of the Hump. The sun was out and there wasn’t another soul around for miles. It was truly the perfect afternoon hike.

I finally got high enough to see back toward Mansfield and the valley where I had the worst day ever two days prior. I felt good today though. My legs felt strong and I was having fun!

I only passed three people the entire way until the Alpine Trail Junction, including a solo female day hiker who scared the crap out of me. I had passed her while she was stopped for a water break. And then 20 minutes later, I had my headphones in listening to a podcast and I stopped to blow my nose (which entailed looking for a good leaf to blow it on, I know it’s gross but it’s better than ruining a clean bandana on my first day back on the trail). So this poor woman comes up behind me as I’m just staring at the side of the trail looking for a good nose-blowing leaf. She must’ve thought I was a lunatic. And I didn’t hear her coming so all of a sudden I saw her shoe in my line of sight and I gasped and jumped like a mile. I just started laughing and half-trying to explain what I was doing/half-apologizing. It was a mess. I hope I at least gave her a good laugh.

I stopped briefly at the Alpine Trail Junction for a snack. I was in my shorts and tank top and immediately got scolded by an older couple for not being dressed appropriately. I tried my best to not roll my eyes and tell them that I had been hiking all day and didn’t just come from a side trail. I was plenty warm. They eventually went on their way and once they were out of sight, I did put on pants and my jacket (I knew it was going to be cold from here to the top, but I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of thinking I did it because of them.)

And it did get cold almost immediately after leaving the junction. The trail was steep from there to the summit and was mostly above the treeline and exposed. It followed the western side of the mountain, giving me beautiful views of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain as the sun set behind them.

By the time I got to the top, there were only two other people up there. And it was super windy! I felt like the resistance on my pack was going to pull me off the mountain. Which would normally terrify me (I hate wind!), but I couldn’t get over how beautiful everything was so I mostly tuned it out.

I was surprised by how well you could see the Interstate from the top. It makes sense because you can see Camel’s Hump for miles and miles as you near Burlington, but it was still really cool.

Camel’s Hump is a special peak because it’s not developed in any way. There are no structures at the top to distract from the incredible 360˚ views. I would’ve stayed there for hours if it wasn’t so cold and windy and I didn’t have 2 steep downhill miles to go before sunset.

But the views only got better as I went down the other side.

The first mile down from the summit was pretty tricky. There were some intense rock scrambles that I had to slide on my butt to get down. But it was so fun! And with the sky lighting up around me, it was by far my favorite sunset on the trail and honestly a night that I won’t forget for a really long time.

My knees and lower legs did still hurt a little on the downhills, but it had definitely improved with my rest day.

I reluctantly descended below the treeline and hiked the last mile to Montclair Glen Lodge. This shelter is known for bear activity. There had been some serious incidents in 2015 and 2017 so there are a lot of precautions, including a bear box and a “bearicade” for the door. I had the place to myself when I first got there, but I knew it probably wouldn’t last so I quickly got changed and did all my private stuff before eating a cold dinner. Since I had brunch back in civilization, I didn’t feel like cooking a big meal. I just threw together a tuna wrap and called it a night.

Right after I finished dinner, Aspen strolled into camp. He was a SOBOer like me! He hiked the Arizona Trail (nearly 800 miles from Utah to Mexico through the entire state of Arizona, including rim to rim of the Grand Canyon) last year and had some really cool stories. I can’t even imagine doing a hike like that where you’re just constantly worried about what your next source of water is going to be. No thank you. But even still, he said that the Long Trail was really hard and kicking his butt! Further proof that this “little trail” in Vermont is actually a major challenge.

Shortly after his arrival, an older guy showed up who was just out for the night testing out a new knee brace. I’m so mad at myself for not remembering his name because he was really cool and the three of us stayed up pretty late talking trail and travels. It was quite pleasant.

I’ve discussed this at length in a previous blog post, so I won’t dwell on this too much here. But this is, in fact, the day that I decided I wouldn’t be finishing the Long Trail in 2020. I was falling more and more behind and, while I had made an adjusted plan for when I could finish, it meant that I would be gone a week longer than anticipated and I would miss out on a writing class that I really wanted to take. I would be away from my boyfriend and my mother even longer. It just wasn’t worth it to me anymore.

So as I was lying in my sleeping bag, chatting with Aspen and the overnight hiker, I was also texting James to let him know my decision and that I was at peace with it. And Canada to coordinate my new pick-up date. She had Friday off (three days away) so I was going to keep hiking as normal for the next three days, which luckily included two more 4,000 footers! And dammit, I was determined to make the best of it!

From my journal:

“I made the decision today to not complete the trail this time around. I’ve just gotten too far behind to finish when I wanted and I’ve realized that I’m not enjoying it anymore. So why keep doing it? I know I’m making the right decision because I made it today on my favorite day of hiking of the entire trip, on a full day’s rest, and in very little pain. My heart just isn’t in it. I didn’t come here to just hike 272 miles, I came here to propel myself forward in my life. And that’s what I’m going to do.”