Up Camel's Hump - Twice! - All Side Trails Day-Hike

On Monday, June 1, 2009 I took the day off of work to take a day hike up the west side of Camel's Hump. The temperature was in the low 40's and the day was clear at 9:12 am as I set out up the Forest City Trail (1,600 ft above sea level) on the western edge of Camel's Hump State Park. The trail climbs 2.2 miles and 1,070 feet to Monclair Glen Lodge. Along the way I cross Brush Creek twice. The creek is impressive with large boulders and cascading water. I also pass a small clearing and an old cement covered oven located on the site where a 1930's Civilian Conservation Corp camp used to be.

I arrive at Monclair Glen lodge (built 1948, sleeps 10, 2,070 ft) to find three young men eating breakfast around a campfire (forbidden at this site). I'm feeling really good so I decide to add the Allis Trail to my hiking distance today. The trail begins about 0.2 mile south of the Lodge and loops east of the Lodge to rejoin the LT 0.1 mile north of the lodge. Along the route I pass the David Morse Memorial Bench honoring a volunteer trail maintainer.

I am wearing new hiking boots today. I have finally broken down and bought true backpacker boots. The Merrill brand boots cost $150 but are made for rocks, roots, and mud. I am hoping they make my feet smile more than the day-hikers I've been wearing. At this point in the hike my feet would usually be getting sore already. But so far I can't tell I've even taken a step. For this terrain you need a boot with little to no lateral give when you step on a root or rock. When I grab this boot by the heel with one hand and the toe with the other, I'm unable to twist it from side to side, unlike my other hiking shoes.

Because of how good my feet feel, I decide to add more on to the hike. I start down Dean Trail, a 1.0 mile trail that travels partway down the east side of Camel's Hump and connects to the Hump Brook Tenting area and the Monroe Trail. Along the way down the Dean Trail I pass three small Beaver ponds that are quite picturesque. The last of these gives a great shot of the top of Camel's Hump in the distance, the place I hope to reach later today.

I arrive at the Dean Trailhead and spend a few minutes exploring the nice campground that can only be reached by hiking 1.4 miles in from the nearest parking area. I'm still feeling good so I decide to descend all the way down to the start of the Monroe Trail on the East side of Camel's Hump. By making this decision, I am committing myself to trying to do all of the Camel's Hump side trails in one day - something I had planned to take two days of day hiking to accomplish.

I arrive at the Monroe Trailhead (1,500 ft) no worse for the wear. To the south of the trail I find a plaque memorial dedicated to the ten crew members of an air force Bomber that crashed on the Mountian in 1944. Of the 10, only one survived. A family member must have visited the memorial over Memmorial Day weekend because of the recently placed Pewter crucifix left hanging nearby along with incence residue. I pay my respects and return to the trail. Before climbing back up the 1.4 mile descent from Dean Trail, I swap out my shoe inserts in an effort to make my feet less sore by the end of the day.

The trip back up is a bit more challenging after the five miles I've done so far, but it is my legs that are complaining and not so much my feet. Once I reach the Dean Trail I continue the ascent up 1.1 mile further to the Monroe Trail intersection with the south section of the Alpine Trail. The map shows that this section of the Alpine Trail climbs south around the cliff making up the peak of Camel's Hump. This is also considered to be the "inclement weather route" for LT hikers who do not want to be exposed on the top of the cliff in a thunderstorm. A little more than halfway up the 0.5 mile climb back to the LT I find the remaining wreckage of the plane that crashed in 1944. I believe it is a wing section. the climb is steep but not too rugged.

After intersecting with the LT, I turn north on the LT and complete a 0.3 mile rugged ascent up the rock face of Camel's hump. The going is tight and there are two spots where, if I lose my balance, It will take a helicopter to rescue me - if I am worth rescuing at all after such a fall. I complete the scramble and arrive on top of camel's Hump (4,083 ft) to share a brief rest with about six other hikers and take a couple of pictures, the first of Lake Champlain and the second of Mount Washington way off in distant New Hampshire.

Camel's Hump is the most recognizable physical landmark in Vermont and is tied with Mount Ellen (climbed earlier) as the third highest Vermont Peak. It is the only undeveloped peak over 4,000 feet in Vermont (read - no cell/fire towers and no ski lifts). It is one of three Vermont peaks that support rare alpine vegitation. The Waubawakee indians called it Tawabodi-e-wadso, meaning "the mountain that is like a seat" while french explorer Samuel Champlain named it "le lion couchant" ( the crouching, or sleeping, lion). On Ira Allen's (brother of Ethan Allen) 1798 map it is referred to as Camel's Rump. To bad that name didn't stick. In 1830, it was amended by map maker Zaddock Thompson to Camel's Hump which has led to any number of t-shirts and bumper stickers asking the question, "Have you seen Camels Hump?" reminding me of equivalent paraphanalia in Florida stating, "I climbed Mt. Dora" - not exactly a mountain in central Florida.

After a brief rest I descend the north side of the Hump 1.1 miles to the start of the northern section of the Alpine Trail (2,800 ft). The descent is steep and slow but not as risky as the southern climb. Having said that, I slip once and cut the back of my left hand while grabbing for a tree branch to break my fall. I don't notice the blood for several minutes until it is dripping off my hand. Turns out to be just a surface wound - no need for a med-evac. The 1.2 mile section of the Alpine Trail I cover next is a straining climb at this time of the hike. I have covered 9.1 miles of steep terain and am starting to feel the onslaught of leg cramps. I drink extra water and push on.

I reach the Monroe Trail intersection where I turned off on the southern section of the Alpine Trail and turn north to complete the 0.6 tenths of a mile climb remaining on the uncovered Monroe Trail that climbs back to the LT on the northern side of the Hump. While any climb is work at this point, this section of trail is really quite manageable and I reach the end of the trail at 4:00 pm exactly. I now have a 2.1 mile descent of Burrows trail to make.

The descent down Burrows is quite painful, in part because of how far I've climbed today and, in part, because of how rocky the climb down is.
I reach the end of Burrows and decide to take the 0.1 mile trail connector back over to the Forest City Trail I hiked at the start of the day. A short, and fast, 0.8 tenths of a mile later I am back at my car at 5:45 pm having covered 14 rough miles in 8 and 1/2 hours.

On the way home I have two major calf cramps but my feet, though sore, are much fresher than in the past. I would have never made this trek in my other hiking shoes.