Another...

Here's another video from the same hike...this time along the ridge on the way up.

Camel's Hump - Long Trail South

Here is a video and a few pictures from last weekend's hike of Camel's Hump.  Sam and I took the Long Trail southbound from the Winooski River in Jonesville.  A beautiful day for 12+ miles and well over 4,000ft of elevation gain.  Capped off by a Fiddlehead IPA and some delicious snacks at On The Rise in Richmond.  What a day.

Happy New Year (revisited)

Here are some more photos and a few videos from the EPIC hike on Mt. Mansfield on 12/31/13:

(above: Matt Coonrod demonstrates his excitation)

(above: a look down in to the crevasse through which we had just emerged)

(climbing up ladders, which are bolted in to the rock-face)

(above and below: natural frost sculptures)

(above: a snotcicle)

(above: looking down at Stowe, Spruce Peak and Smuggler's Notch)

(above: looking north along the ridge. Mini game: find Kyle!)

That was a DAY!

Happy New Year

Matt and I have somewhat of a tradition now to hike Mt. Mansfield on New Years Eve Day.  This year Sam joined us, and we did the full circuit, but with a slight amendment.  Once on the Maple Ridge trail we took the Rock Garden trail southeast to Butler Lodge.  We ran into our first fellow hikers and we were offered some Yukon Jack.  At 11:00am.  Boy was it tasty.  We then took the Long Trail north over the forehead (through some harrowing terrain) and over the ridge to the chin.  Then we did a rapid descent down the Laura Cowles trail.  Can't think of any greater way to close out a year.  Those post-hike Limbo IPAs never tasted so good.  Here is a video of Matt coming up the Long Trail to the forehead.  Sam has some additional pictures and video.

Hunger Mt. and Crop

Today was glorious.  It's been cold in Vermont.  By cold, I mean excruciatingly cold.  But today was so beautiful, we had to hike.  We decided to make it a short one.  Sam and I pounded up and down Mt. Hunger, less than 4.5 miles round trip, then headed into Stowe for some beers and food at Crop Bistro and Brewery.

The hike: It was -4 degrees in the parking lot when we started at 9:45am, and 7 degrees when we finished at 11:55am.  Seriously cold.  But the beauty of the Mt. Hunger trail (from the Waterbury side) is that it pounds uphill so quickly that we had a good sweat going after just 10 minutes on the trail.  We hit ice about 3/4 of a mile from the top, at which point we threw on the microspikes.  The views were killer.  So clear, so sunny.  We could see all the way east into the Presidentials, south past Killington, and even the Adirondacks looking west past Camel's hump.  There are some pictures and a panoramic video below.

The beer: It was my first time at Crop, and I was impressed.  I was disappointed when the Shed closed a few years back, but glad to hear the spot was snatched up by another microbrewery.  I had a killer Willi Vanilli Porter.  It had a nice balance of Vanilla aroma and flavor without being too sweet.  It had a nice dry, bitter finish, characteristic of a good porter.  I then went on to the Vermont Pale Ale, an American style pale ale.  It was solid, though I was left wanting a bigger hop feel, especially for an APA.  I probably should have started with the VPA and finished with the porter, but what are you going to do.  Solid beers, solid day.