Camel's Hump: July 26, 2006 (Trailboss Celebrates His Best Friend's Wedding)

[thetrailboss]

Date(s) Hiked: July 26, 2006

Trails(s) Hiked: Monroe Trail up to Alpine Trail, past plane wreckage, and then the LT to the summit.

Total Distance: About 8 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Conditions: No bugs! Weather: Hot and humid with highs in the 80's down low. A nice breeze and temps in the 60's and 70's up higher. Visibility about 35 miles through the haze.

Special Required Equipment: Latest GMC Long Trail Guide, choice brews for celebration of best friend's wedding.

Trip Report: The end was near. The end of my buddy's time as a single man and in the states before he headed with his new bride to teach in India. We had planned this day as a hike and when he asked me to be the Best Man, I had to deliver. So despite the temps and forecasted T-storms, we went ahead as planned...me packing some choice Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat brews for the event. :beer:

I met my friend in Waterbury, parked his car, and then we headed to the trailhead. We got going about 9:30am and took a leisurely pace upward. The ground was a bit damp, but not too bad. At about 11, we took a break and chatted about our girls and his wedding. We let some other hikers pass by...some a bit hotter than others.

About a half hour later, we were on the Alpine Trail and heading toward the wreckage of the bomber. We decided to do the loop on reverse, which was the opposite of my last trip in September 2005.http://forums.alpinezone.com/4859-c...chool-mountain-clubs-christening-event.html[b In fact, ascending the way we did it this time was much easier than going the opposite direction because the steep, tricky, rocky LT section was on the ascent as opposed to the descent. We passed this section and enjoyed some great views and a nice breeze before climbing to the summit.

Pressing up to the top, the views widened to include Mansfield and Champlain. Mansfield was in and out of the clouds. We summited around noon time and talked with the summit caretaker, a recent graduate of a college in PA. We were the only ones up there (there were many cars at the trailhead....many for a weekday, but this is a popular hike), so we got prime real estate for lunch....overlooking the valley, Waterbury, and the Worcester Range.

"Just for you on the eve of your wedding," I said pulling out the brews. Mind you I only brought ONE for each of us...too many beers in the heat and hiking is not a good idea and I never drank and hiked.

"Wow! Trailboss, this is the best! My favorite beer too!"

So we toasted to life, love, and being young and had the caretaker snap some shots. :beer:

We stayed on the summit for a long time...at least 90 minutes or so....taking in the views and cool temps. Lunch and chatting about life was great. The 'dacks were in the storms and it was also cloudy elsewhere. We could see Abe, Ellen, Starks, Mansfield, Spruce, Worcester Range, Snake, Bolton, and most of Champlain.

When the time came, we thanked the host and headed down, passing a summer youth group. We eased our way down the trail and into the trees...which was much more humid and warm than above. The sun was starting to hide behind the mountain, so we were in the shade.

We made it to the cars at about 3:30pm or so...after a leisurely descent complete with some stops.

We parted in Waterbury and headed home.

A special day for both of us and a great hike.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Nice Trailboss. A hiking report that choked me up. Does someone have a tissue?

I'd like to hear more about this bomber. I bike through an old navy base a few miles from my house that used to protect New York Harbor from boats coming in from the Atlantic. There are plenty of cool things to check out, my favorite is a battery that held twin 16" canons and an old Nike Vulcan and Hercules field
From what I understand there is a duplicate area in Sandy Hook, NJ on the other side of the Harbor entrance with a similar set up. I'll take pictures some time.

Anyway what's the story of this bomber?

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Nice report! Camel's Hump is an amazing mountain. BTW, thought about you yesterday as I was getting fresh produce at the South Royalton Coop.

On the bomber:

On a moonless night in October, 1944, a B-24J Liberator bomber from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts on a routine training mission crashed into the eastern side of Camel’s Hump. The collision killed nine crewmembers and left one survivor, who spent two nights on the mountain before rescuers could get him down. PFC James W. Wilson, then a 19-year-old Army Air Corps gunner from Florida, lost both hands and feet to frostbite. He survived and later established a successful law practice in Denver, Colorado.

No one knows why the plane was traveling at 4,000 feet instead of the standard 8,000 feet—some speculate the crew was just trying to stay warm in the cool of the late fall. There had been an early snowfall. Whatever the cause, the plane struck just 100 feet below the summit cone, cartwheeled south, and scattered men and 36,000 pounds of debris all over the snow-covered peak.

Rescuers carried out the bodies of the men who were killed. Souvenir hunters and scrap metal dealers have mostly removed the debris, but more than 50 years after the crash, an untarnished aluminum wing section on the Alpine Trail remains as a telling memorial. A plaque commemorating the lost airmen was dedicated at the base of the Monroe hiking trail 45 years after the crash, on October 16, 1989.
- reprinted from the NASW

 

[thetrailboss]

Nice report! Camel's Hump is an amazing mountain. BTW, thought about you yesterday as I was getting fresh produce at the South Royalton Coop.

On the bomber:

On a moonless night in October, 1944, a B-24J Liberator bomber from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts on a routine training mission crashed into the eastern side of Camel’s Hump. The collision killed nine crewmembers and left one survivor, who spent two nights on the mountain before rescuers could get him down. PFC James W. Wilson, then a 19-year-old Army Air Corps gunner from Florida, lost both hands and feet to frostbite. He survived and later established a successful law practice in Denver, Colorado.

No one knows why the plane was traveling at 4,000 feet instead of the standard 8,000 feet—some speculate the crew was just trying to stay warm in the cool of the late fall. There had been an early snowfall. Whatever the cause, the plane struck just 100 feet below the summit cone, cartwheeled south, and scattered men and 36,000 pounds of debris all over the snow-covered peak.

Rescuers carried out the bodies of the men who were killed. Souvenir hunters and scrap metal dealers have mostly removed the debris, but more than 50 years after the crash, an untarnished aluminum wing section on the Alpine Trail remains as a telling memorial. A plaque commemorating the lost airmen was dedicated at the base of the Monroe hiking trail 45 years after the crash, on October 16, 1989.
- reprinted from the NASW

Yep, that's the story. Thanks for it. I am also interested to hear what happened to the rest of the plane...considering that it is almos all gone. My friend was curious what happened and I said that most of it had been removed.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Nice report! Camel's Hump is an amazing mountain. BTW, thought about you yesterday as I was getting fresh produce at the South Royalton Coop.

On the bomber:

On a moonless night in October, 1944, a B-24J Liberator bomber from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts on a routine training mission crashed into the eastern side of Camel’s Hump. The collision killed nine crewmembers and left one survivor, who spent two nights on the mountain before rescuers could get him down. PFC James W. Wilson, then a 19-year-old Army Air Corps gunner from Florida, lost both hands and feet to frostbite. He survived and later established a successful law practice in Denver, Colorado.

No one knows why the plane was traveling at 4,000 feet instead of the standard 8,000 feet—some speculate the crew was just trying to stay warm in the cool of the late fall. There had been an early snowfall. Whatever the cause, the plane struck just 100 feet below the summit cone, cartwheeled south, and scattered men and 36,000 pounds of debris all over the snow-covered peak.

Rescuers carried out the bodies of the men who were killed. Souvenir hunters and scrap metal dealers have mostly removed the debris, but more than 50 years after the crash, an untarnished aluminum wing section on the Alpine Trail remains as a telling memorial. A plaque commemorating the lost airmen was dedicated at the base of the Monroe hiking trail 45 years after the crash, on October 16, 1989.
- reprinted from the NASW

Thanks SRO, I just eat this stuff up. TB, sorry to hijack your thread and turn it into a history lesson but I managed to find some pictures of this.

 

[una_dogger]

Did I hear you say beer??

Yummy!
Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat!!
My current favorite, next to Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale...

Oh, and GREAT trip report!

 

[MichaelJ]

Great TR!
I strongly recommend Camel's Hump in the fall foliage season, followed by a short trip up Rte 100 to the cider mill!

(or in midsummer, to the Ben & Jerry's factory)

 

[MarcHowes]

I did Camel's hump just a few days after you. Not much of a view due to the humidity and passing t-storms.

pictures here:
http://hoosac.franklinsites.com/nonhoosac/VT/CamelsHump060729/

Great hike, a little tricky tho cause I climbed killington and pico that morning (some pico pictures snuck into that thumbnail grid too BTW)

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

Thanks for the report TB, it seems hauling the amber fluid AND being the best man seems like a lot of responsibility...does it give you pause to reflect on your future?

 

[thetrailboss]

Thanks for the report TB, it seems hauling the amber fluid AND being the best man seems like a lot of responsibility...does it give you pause to reflect on your future?

Charlie, being best man scared the hell out of me.