On Sunday, June 15, 2009 I am able to slip off for my first overnight hike of the season. This one promises to be a challenge as I will climb and descend Camel's Hump over the Long Trail. Kim drops me off at the start at 9:40 am and I take off up Beane Trail near Hanksville, Vermont (1,361 ft above sea level). The climb is gradual and by 10:30 I arrive at the LT and Birch Glen Shelter (bulit 1930, sleeps 12, 2,020 ft)having covered 1.5 miles.
As soon as I start on the LT I can tell the difference as the LT is much rougher. I have 2.9 miles to get to Cowles Cove shelter. The climb is only 500 feet but the footing is rough. My new hiking boots are a God-send, however. Cowles Cove was built in 1956 and sleeps eight (2,520 ft.). It looks pretty run down to me and is in need of some sprucing up. I'd hate to have to pack the tools and wood up here to do it, however.
From Cowles Cove I climb 1.5 miles to the summit of Burnt Rock Mountain (3,168 ft). Along the way I pass the junction with Hedgehog Brook Trail, a trail I hiked last year. The going is rocky with numerous spots where I must throw my hiking staffs up ahead and climb rock ledges. A couple of them are exposed edges that I don't want to slip on. The guidebook says that I will "scramble over bare rocks and cobbles " an accurate description. By the way, it rained yesterday so the trail is a bit muddy, but more problematic, the rocks are slippery. The view from the top is impressive.
From Burnt Rock I descend into a small valley and then climb to the summit of Mount Ira Allen (3,506 feet) covering another 1.5 miles. Along the way I pass several viewsheds and also must climb down a 12 foot aluminum ladder into appropriately-named Ladder Ravine. Climbing down a ladder with a 35 pound pack on your back in wet hiking boots is not fun but I manage. The hard part is getting on the ladder in the first place because it rests on the top of a slick angled rock. I have to hold onto a small tree and spin myself around backwards to get my foot on the ladder. I imagine inexperienced ladder climbers often try to face away from the ladder when climbing down - not a good idea. At the bottom I find no skeletal remains of inexperienced ladder climbers so it must not be that big of a deal.
From Mount Ira Allen I drop a couple of hundred feet and then ascend his brother Mount Ethan Allen (3,688 ft) covering another 1.1 miles. The going has been a challenge today but my feet feel great. I have a 1.2 mile hike to my stopping point for the night at Montclair Glen Camp. I arrive at the shelter (Built 1948, sleeps 10, 2,670 ft) at 4:30 pm having covered 9.7 miles in six hours and 50 minutes - not a very fast pace but steady given the condition of the trail. The cabin is nice with windows and a door that help to keep out the black flies. For Christmas this past year I got a JetBoil Cooking system so, for the first time ever, I eat a hot meal on the trail - dehydrated Beef Stew. It tastes quite good and, best of all, the gravy contains two cups of water. It feels good to eat something warm instead of cold Tuna and the liquid helps to hydrate me. I settle down at 6:30 pm in my sleeping bag and listen to Robert Earl Keen and Tom Waits on my Ipod (I know, I shouldn't bring electronic devices with me on the trail) and drift off to sleep at 9:00 pm. I toss and turn as I always do when sleeping on too thin a pad and wake up every 30 minutes to reposition myself. But the liquid has helped and I suffer no cramps during the night.
I awaken at about 4:00 am just as daylight is beginning to break. I force myself to stay in bed another 45 minutes and then get up to pack and cook breakfast. I have a Denver Omelette (also dehydrated) that needs salt and pepper (mental note). I am back on the trail at 5:54 am on a morning that is overcast and looks like looming rain.
The first part of today's hike promises to be the toughest climb (up Camel's Hump). It is a steep 1.5 mile ascent but along the way I am treated by several great views. At several points along the climb I am so winded I must stop and rest for one or two minutes. I take my pulse during these intervals and am surprised to find it at about 170 beats per minute. This is equivalent to my heart rate back when I was a distance runner training with interval workouts and it dawns on me that this hiking business is every bit as tough as any workout or race I've ever entered. 
I arrive at the intersection of the LT with the Alpine Trail (3,800) and am faced with a key decision. I can continue 3/10s of a mile up to the summit of Camel's Hump and 8/10s of a mile down the other side or I can circumvent the hump by hiking the 1.7 mile Alpine Trail that is designated for use in inclement weather. The rocks are wet, the sky is ominous. and I'm tired of the rugged ascent so I choose the extra distance (I previously hiked all of this section and side trails so I know what I'm in for). The Alpine trail may be designated for inclement weather but it is still a challenging workout over wet rocks and bluffs. About one mile in I am treated to an imposing look at the Hump and pause to take a picture.
I arrive back at the LT intersection on the North side of the mountain and take a three minute break to catch my breath. Now begins a rugged 3.0 mile descent to Banforth Ridge Shelter. At this point I'm not looking forward to the pain of a steep descent. To my surprise the trail doesn't just bottom out. Instead, I climb a series of steep ridges and descend along slippery rocks only to ascend again. On at least a dozen occasions I must sit down and slide on boulders too wet to stand up on - not a pleasant experience - but safer than risking a fall. I make good time on the descent however and cover the 3.0 miles in two hours - better than I thought I would do. It is 11:00 am as I arrive at Bamforth Ridge Shelter (Built 2002, sleeps 9, 1,900 ft) perhaps the shelter in the best condition I have seen on the trail. It sits about 2/10s of a mile off the trail and it is another 1/10 of a mile to the water source to fill my Camelbak. So visiting the shelter adds over a half mile to today's hike.
I now have 2.9 miles downhill to go Duxbury Road (400 ft) and another 9/10s of a mile to my car parked in the Honey Hollow parking lot north along the road. The descent on the map is much steeper than what I've just come down so I fear for the worse. In fact, however, although steep the trail has few rocks to navigate and I am able to make great time without a lot of wear and tear on my legs. It has been thundering for some time as I descend and I figure at any moment the clouds will open up and a deluge will come. Just before Duxbury road I come to a new wooden bridge crossing Gleason Brook, the only sizable stream I've seen on this hike.
Once I reach the trailhead at Duxbury road I turn north and hike along the pavement for about a mile to the car. I arrive at 1:50 pm about 5 minutes before a thunderstorm strikes. At this point (400 ft) the trail is at it's lowest point in Vermont. Today I've traveled 10.1 miles in eight hours and 10 minutes. I'm wet and muddy but I feel rather well as I head for home haivng hiked a total of 19.8 miles over the two days.
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