Back to the mountains!

While the world seems to be suffering from heat exhaustion, I decided on my day off today to go hiking in the mountains. I haven't been out since late September. Once again I went up Hunger Mountain (or Mount Hunger). Here's a shot I took of it this spring. It's the bump to the left. This time, however, I went up the Waterbury trail rather than the Middlesex trail.

According to the Green Mountain Club's 2002 edition, Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont (259), the Waterbury trail is 2.2 miles long, rising over 2290 feet to gain the bald south summit at 3539 feet. This summit is famous for its views of the central Vermont Greens.

The guidebook says:

From the summit, nearly every peak in the main range of the Green Mountains is visible, from Whiteface Mountain in the north to Killington Peak in the south. A number of Adirondak peaks are visible to the west beyond Lake Champlain. To the east, Mount Washington and the Presidential Range, Moosilauke, and the Franconia Range can be seen in the distance...

But first, one has to get up there. Walking this trail is the equivalent of walking on an unrelenting stairmaster for somewhere between 90-120 minutes. It decidely gets one's heartbeat up. Donating blood just last Friday really affected my stamina, that is, I had none so it took me 20 minutes longer than usual to get up to the summit.

About a third of the way up, one arrives at the first of two waterfalls. This has had a birch tree land in the middle of it so it's harder to see but there is running water, making for a mountain oasis.

About 3/5s of the way up, one encounters the first of the vertical drops one has to scrabble up. Today I witnessed — finally after all this time — how dogs make it up. The first of two dogs, a young retriever, had already gotten up but its comarade, a Siberian husky, was pacing back and forth at the bottom, whimpering. The dog's owner went back down (to where I stood when I took this shot) to help the dog up.

Finally, after going up a few more vertical walls like the above, one runs into this sign post which informs the hiker that the summit is only 0.2 miles up. It's actually OK at that point because it's more climbing than walking, an activity that seems less tiring.

Up top, I look south to Ascutney, Killington, and Pico (left to right). Today was a 70-mile view day.

Then I look southwest to Camels Hump, the mountain that graces the Vermont quarter. When flying into Burlington, I always know I am home when I see Camels Hump's distinctive profile. It is a good hike, too. Later this summer.

Finally, I look west-northwest to Stowe: Mount Mansfield, Stowe and Smuggler's Notch. I've been up Mount Mansfield from Smuggler's Notch and that is an interesting hike because there is one spot where, if one tipped over backwards, that would be it.

I spent half an hour up top enjoying the view before slogging back down into the world.