A VT Summer Day on the LT

Date(s) Hiked: June 21, 2006

Trails(s) Hiked: Monroe, Dean, LT, South to Ethan Allen, then North over Camels Hump back to Monroe & Allis trail loop on northbound LT trip.

Total Distance: Approx. 9.9 miles & just over 3,400 feet of elevation gain

Difficulty: moderate to strenous, hard to tell after doing Presi-Traverse on 6/17.

Conditions: beautiful day, LT was still a bit damp in many places though.

Special Required Equipment: sunglasses, water

Trip Report: Started late in the AM as I had business in Montpelier to take care of first. Made great time to the LT getting to the camp just south of the Dean & LT junction in an hour. I got to the North Peak of Ethan Allen & the sign said the elevation was 3,680 feet. I had 3,688 as the elevation so I wandered over to South Peak which was viewless. Unsure which was higher, South had a pin in the rock while the North Peak had the sign & a small easterly view. The view from Allis lookout was nice & showed all the climbing I had to do. While the climbing looked like it was going to be spread out over 1.7 miles, most of it occurred in only a couple of places. It had been 9 years & 11 months since I had been here the first time so I had forgotten some of that.

Nice clear day, could make out the Northern Presidentials, Franconia Ridge & Moosilauke, while across Lake Champlain it was easier to make out many more of the High Peaks since I was closer to NY. Made it back to the car in just over an hour while some trail jogging along the fairly mellow Monroe trail. Saw a bunch of scouts headed towards the shelter. For a Wednesday, it was pretty busy.

Now if only every summer day was like the first!

Man MIKE I envy you..seems like you get to get out an hike quite a bit...are you on vacation lately??? Wondering what you do that offers the free time for all these great day hikes..

Keep the reports coming..I have to live vicariously through someone until I can move closer to the mtns...

Thanks.

M

One weekend a month usually, I had business in the VT Insurance Departmant & Public Records so I was driving into the Mountains. An early start & faster than expected time in Montpelier & Middlesex gaveme enough time. Cranking miles on the treadmill, track & around the block let me do this trip in under 5 hours with just a bit of jogging on the Monroe Trail.

Vacation starts around the 7/4 holiday & I'm Jersey Shore Bound with all the Benny's. I'll be back at work a few days before my wife & kids come back from the shore. Those couple of days I usually head out for some after work hikes, sunset either on Mondanock or in the Taconics & then a short walk in the Holyokes. If I can I'll get a bike ride in on the Airline in CT.

August will get a couple of short hikes in NH while the family & I play tourist, once the fall starts I'll get it cranked up again with the Bonds, Franconia's & back in the Presidentials. Need Jefferson & Washington for the winter list.