I’d say this hike that we did in October was a 50% success. We were able to summit Camel’s Hump, but we got on trail too late on Sunday to make it up Mt. Mansfield.

Since this was back in October, I don’t have all of the details, but I can recall the important points.

We drove up Saturday morning and picked up David’s friend Bill, who was going to hike with us. We ended up starting the hike up Camel’s Hump around 1:30PM. We took the Monroe Trail, and for the most part, the climb was calm and overcast. As we got closer to the summit, the rain was pouring down on us and when we got above tree line, the wind was relentless. We weren’t going to let that stop us from getting to the top though!

At least, I think we reached the summit! We couldn’t see but a few feet in front of us, so if that was a false summit, we weren’t aware. David took the wind head-on while I looked for a rock where I could shield myself.

Not a view in sight, but a fun story to tell. I’m sure we’ll make it back up again, when the weather is better. The climb up wasn’t that difficult, even with the wet rocks and roots.

Sunday morning, we had a bit of a late start, and we still had to drive back home that afternoon/evening. We started hiking Mt. Mansfield at around 10:30/11 and when we realized the distance, we knew we’d be getting back too late if we decided to do the whole out and back.

We made it up probably a mile or so before we turned around (we took the Long Trail). The weather was better that day, but we heard that the summit was cold and windy.

Yet another mountain to the add to the books of “Must hike again, because we didn’t make it this time.”

Hiking more of Vermont has also made me more and more interested in thru-hiking the Long Trail. It’s only about 3-4 weeks of hiking time, so much more manageable than the Appalachian Trail.

Have you ever had to cut a hike short, either due to time or weather?