Date(s) Hiked: September 4, 2005
Trails(s) Hiked: Dean Trail, Long Trail, and Alpine Trail.
Total Distance: 8.0 miles, 2,600 vertical feet
Difficulty: Medium
Conditions: Wet rocks for some of the trail, otherwise fine. Clouded in at the top of the mountain.
Special Required Equipment: Lots of great new friends from Vermont Law School. :wink:
Trip Report: Camel's Hump had been on my list of 'must do' mountains for some time. I mean really, how can one be a 'real' Vermonter and not have hiked Camel's Hump (especially a Vermonter who spent a lot of time hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire because they were close by
:wink. So when the opportunity came to hike it this weekend with some new friends from Vermont Law School, I took it.
We left the School and the Upper Valley this morning just as the fog was burning off to reveal partly cloudy skies...as we drove up I-89 we noticed that the higher summits were still in the clouds.
Everyone rendezvoused at the trailhead, located just outside Waterbury, VT. The upper access road was deteriorating from a long summer, so be aware when you go.
The hike began at about 10am or so and after entering the woods, we came to a new memorial for the victims of the infamous October 1944 plane crash on Camel's Hump. It was on a dark, snowy afternoon 61 years ago that the 9-person crew of a B-29J bomber became disoriented and attempted to land at Burlington Airport. As they made their approach, they dropped to low--about 100 feet below the summit of Camel's Hump--and hit the side of the mountain. Only the gunner survived the crash and the rescue. Today, one of the wings can be seen off of the Alpine Trail just below the summit. A short but obvious spur leads to it--a memorial to the crew.
But I get ahead of myself...the hike left the base area, passed the monument and a nearby latrine, and ascended by way of easy grades to to the junction with the Dean Trail. Here, the Munro Trail turns to the NW and continues the gradual ascent to the headwall on the eastern side of the mountain. The trail steepens a bit and heads south before hooking back to the NW to avoid this steep pitch. Here the ground became rougher and the trail wetter. Some limited views of the surrounding area can be seen through the trees. At this point, the skies were clouding back over and it was not looking good for a clear, summit view.
The trail comes a clear four-way intersection with the Alpine Trail, the plane wreckage is located on the southern spur of this trail. From here, we continued up to a large opening just .3 miles N of the summit. It was here that our mascot canine decided to try and pick a fight with some other muts. We were able to prevent any major problems. After some water, we all headed to the summit, which was probably the only real challenging uphill climb. The clouds and fog were socked in and the winds were picking up. At last, we hit the summit--open and exposed--and gathered for lunch. There were quite a few folks on the summit (including some folks from my alma mater and some gentlemen from Central Mass who also had been in Scouting).
All seven of us had a great lunch and some laughs before getting a great group shot and heading to the south on the LT. The caretaker of the summit, Dan, was a nice guy and shared some stories of his winters patrolling at Sugarbush :beer:
The LT turns southwest to descend the summit area (which was slick in areas) before coming to the left-hand turn for the Alpine Trail, which skirted along the S side of the rock summit of the mountain. The footing here was rough and there was one narrow cliff walk on which one had to be quite careful as they clutched to the side of the mountain Indeed this was the toughest part of the trip for me. From here, the trail dropped into the woods by way of more slick rocks and to the plane crash site.
After viewing the crash site, we headed back down the trail to the cars making good time (we arrived back at about 2:30pm ).
There was only one thing left to do for our first ever Mountain Club Outing and that was 'brews and burgers.' We chose the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in downtown Waterbury, which was great! :beer: We had many good laughs before heading home.
A great hike, even without the views, and some good company (including an AT End-to-Ender and her dog who completed the trek less than a month ago!!!! ).
Look for pictures soon....
Trails(s) Hiked: Dean Trail, Long Trail, and Alpine Trail.
Total Distance: 8.0 miles, 2,600 vertical feet
Difficulty: Medium
Conditions: Wet rocks for some of the trail, otherwise fine. Clouded in at the top of the mountain.
Special Required Equipment: Lots of great new friends from Vermont Law School. :wink:
Trip Report: Camel's Hump had been on my list of 'must do' mountains for some time. I mean really, how can one be a 'real' Vermonter and not have hiked Camel's Hump (especially a Vermonter who spent a lot of time hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire because they were close by
:wink. So when the opportunity came to hike it this weekend with some new friends from Vermont Law School, I took it. We left the School and the Upper Valley this morning just as the fog was burning off to reveal partly cloudy skies...as we drove up I-89 we noticed that the higher summits were still in the clouds.
Everyone rendezvoused at the trailhead, located just outside Waterbury, VT. The upper access road was deteriorating from a long summer, so be aware when you go.
The hike began at about 10am or so and after entering the woods, we came to a new memorial for the victims of the infamous October 1944 plane crash on Camel's Hump. It was on a dark, snowy afternoon 61 years ago that the 9-person crew of a B-29J bomber became disoriented and attempted to land at Burlington Airport. As they made their approach, they dropped to low--about 100 feet below the summit of Camel's Hump--and hit the side of the mountain. Only the gunner survived the crash and the rescue. Today, one of the wings can be seen off of the Alpine Trail just below the summit. A short but obvious spur leads to it--a memorial to the crew.
But I get ahead of myself...the hike left the base area, passed the monument and a nearby latrine, and ascended by way of easy grades to to the junction with the Dean Trail. Here, the Munro Trail turns to the NW and continues the gradual ascent to the headwall on the eastern side of the mountain. The trail steepens a bit and heads south before hooking back to the NW to avoid this steep pitch. Here the ground became rougher and the trail wetter. Some limited views of the surrounding area can be seen through the trees. At this point, the skies were clouding back over and it was not looking good for a clear, summit view.
The trail comes a clear four-way intersection with the Alpine Trail, the plane wreckage is located on the southern spur of this trail. From here, we continued up to a large opening just .3 miles N of the summit. It was here that our mascot canine decided to try and pick a fight with some other muts. We were able to prevent any major problems. After some water, we all headed to the summit, which was probably the only real challenging uphill climb. The clouds and fog were socked in and the winds were picking up. At last, we hit the summit--open and exposed--and gathered for lunch. There were quite a few folks on the summit (including some folks from my alma mater and some gentlemen from Central Mass who also had been in Scouting
). All seven of us had a great lunch and some laughs before getting a great group shot and heading to the south on the LT. The caretaker of the summit, Dan, was a nice guy and shared some stories of his winters patrolling at Sugarbush :beer:
The LT turns southwest to descend the summit area (which was slick in areas) before coming to the left-hand turn for the Alpine Trail, which skirted along the S side of the rock summit of the mountain. The footing here was rough and there was one narrow cliff walk on which one had to be quite careful as they clutched to the side of the mountain
Indeed this was the toughest part of the trip for me. From here, the trail dropped into the woods by way of more slick rocks and to the plane crash site. After viewing the crash site, we headed back down the trail to the cars making good time (we arrived back at about 2:30pm
). There was only one thing left to do for our first ever Mountain Club Outing and that was 'brews and burgers.' We chose the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in downtown Waterbury, which was great! :beer: We had many good laughs before heading home.
A great hike, even without the views, and some good company (including an AT End-to-Ender and her dog who completed the trek less than a month ago!!!!
). Look for pictures soon....
