Kevin Judy and Emma
Well-known member
9/11/07 A Rambling Tale of our trip to:
Camel's Hump 4083'
7.4 Miles 2645' Elevation gain
Kevin, Judy and Emma
I thought of several clever titles for this trip report such as "200+ miles, 2000+ feet, 0 views." or, "Camel's Hump, (of course they do, or there wouldn't be any little camels!)". Let's just say that it was a little disappointing to travel this far and climb this fine mountain and not be able to see anything but fog. Well, as I always say, "Any time spent in the woods is time well spent.", so, we made the most of it. The trip was not a total loss as we got to discover a new place, cover new territory and get a feel for Vermont in general.
I will say that I had a little trouble finding the trail heads in this state. Not like New Hampshire where there is usually a clearly marked parking lot, etc. My trouble in finding this trail head was not exactly finding the trail head itself, but the road that led to it. Using the roadmap I had and the trailmaps which don't give directions to the trailheads, I found it difficult to piece together the route to the trail. I knew I had to be on River Road in North Duxbury, but travelling south on Rte.100 it wasn't clear by my map what to do when I got to Waterbury. Turning west, which it was clear I had to do to get to North Duxbury, I wound up in Bolton on the northside of Rte. 89, unable to get to River Road. Retracing, I found that I should have turned east into Duxbury, then south on Winooski St. and across the bridge to reach River Road. From there it was easy to find Camel's Hump Road and follow it to the trailhead. It never makes sense to me when I have to travel east to get to where I can travel west, but I had to, to get to the bridge over the Winooski River, then it all made sense. Enough of that.
From Camel's Hump Road we climbed the Monroe Trail all the way to the summit. Pretty easy for the first 1.3 miles to the junction with the Dean Trail. The weather being what it was, we decided to not take any alternate routes and adding any mileage to the hike, so we stayed on the Monroe Trail. From the junction it begins to climb a little bit more, not difficult, but definitely steeper. The section up to the next junction has a lot of rock slabs, not scrambles and not difficult, but long sections over solid rock. I mention it because the Vermont rock is different than New Hampshire's. It is smoother and slick in the wet weather we were hiking in, and slowed us down a bit. These are metamorphic rocks known as the Green Mountain schists. They have a greenish tint from minerals like chlorite. These are somewhat different from the schist that makes up the Northern Presidentials. I really don't know Jack- schist about geology, but even I could tell it was different. It seemed smoother and more slippery. The trail is one of those trails where you circumnavigate the whole summit. As you approach the summit dome you're heading southwest, and by the time you're heading up to the top you're heading northwest.
All this means is I will have to return to see what I missed. I would like to seek out the site where the B-24 crashed. This plane crashed on a practice run from Westover Field. Nine of the ten on board died and it was nothing short of a miracle that one airman survived the horrific crash. This is interesting to me because my father had a similar experience. His crew also flew out of Westover on a practice run to Baltimore and back. Flight crews needed so many hours before they were sent overseas to fight. On the return trip, the wings of my father's plane clipped another in the formation and my father's headed down. Before the plane crashed in Uxbridge Massachusetts, my father and one other airman were able to bail out. He had never jumped from a plane before. The only training they had was jumping off a ten foot roof to get the feel of landing in the parachute. As the pilot screamed for them to bailout they had to scramble to get their chutes on. In the hurry my father put his on upside down. Bailing out through the bomb bay doors, he held on and didn't want to jump. When the wire cut his hands so bad he couldn't hold on anymore he let go. Free falling for the first time in his life, he couldn't find the rip-cord because the chute was upside down. He remembered thinking how sad his mother would be to hear he had died, then he found the cord and pulled. Only one other had time to bail out with him. The others bailed too late. The pilot died in his seat, trying to keep the plane from crashing in a populated area. The parachute saved my father's life. In those days they were made of silk and those who's lives were saved by them became members of the "Caterpillar Club". I still have the pin. The military is a hard place. Many die in training and we seldom hear about them, but they are heros, too. On this 9/11 my thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have lost loved ones, not only in combat, but also in the line of duty, not just in the military. They keep us safe to live this great life we have here in America.
Pictures here:
http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/camelshump91107/camelshump91107.html
Also, our trip to Mount Mansfield here:
http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/mansfield91207/mansfield91207.html
KDT
Camel's Hump 4083'
7.4 Miles 2645' Elevation gain
Kevin, Judy and Emma
I thought of several clever titles for this trip report such as "200+ miles, 2000+ feet, 0 views." or, "Camel's Hump, (of course they do, or there wouldn't be any little camels!)". Let's just say that it was a little disappointing to travel this far and climb this fine mountain and not be able to see anything but fog. Well, as I always say, "Any time spent in the woods is time well spent.", so, we made the most of it. The trip was not a total loss as we got to discover a new place, cover new territory and get a feel for Vermont in general.
I will say that I had a little trouble finding the trail heads in this state. Not like New Hampshire where there is usually a clearly marked parking lot, etc. My trouble in finding this trail head was not exactly finding the trail head itself, but the road that led to it. Using the roadmap I had and the trailmaps which don't give directions to the trailheads, I found it difficult to piece together the route to the trail. I knew I had to be on River Road in North Duxbury, but travelling south on Rte.100 it wasn't clear by my map what to do when I got to Waterbury. Turning west, which it was clear I had to do to get to North Duxbury, I wound up in Bolton on the northside of Rte. 89, unable to get to River Road. Retracing, I found that I should have turned east into Duxbury, then south on Winooski St. and across the bridge to reach River Road. From there it was easy to find Camel's Hump Road and follow it to the trailhead. It never makes sense to me when I have to travel east to get to where I can travel west, but I had to, to get to the bridge over the Winooski River, then it all made sense. Enough of that.
From Camel's Hump Road we climbed the Monroe Trail all the way to the summit. Pretty easy for the first 1.3 miles to the junction with the Dean Trail. The weather being what it was, we decided to not take any alternate routes and adding any mileage to the hike, so we stayed on the Monroe Trail. From the junction it begins to climb a little bit more, not difficult, but definitely steeper. The section up to the next junction has a lot of rock slabs, not scrambles and not difficult, but long sections over solid rock. I mention it because the Vermont rock is different than New Hampshire's. It is smoother and slick in the wet weather we were hiking in, and slowed us down a bit. These are metamorphic rocks known as the Green Mountain schists. They have a greenish tint from minerals like chlorite. These are somewhat different from the schist that makes up the Northern Presidentials. I really don't know Jack- schist about geology, but even I could tell it was different. It seemed smoother and more slippery. The trail is one of those trails where you circumnavigate the whole summit. As you approach the summit dome you're heading southwest, and by the time you're heading up to the top you're heading northwest.
All this means is I will have to return to see what I missed. I would like to seek out the site where the B-24 crashed. This plane crashed on a practice run from Westover Field. Nine of the ten on board died and it was nothing short of a miracle that one airman survived the horrific crash. This is interesting to me because my father had a similar experience. His crew also flew out of Westover on a practice run to Baltimore and back. Flight crews needed so many hours before they were sent overseas to fight. On the return trip, the wings of my father's plane clipped another in the formation and my father's headed down. Before the plane crashed in Uxbridge Massachusetts, my father and one other airman were able to bail out. He had never jumped from a plane before. The only training they had was jumping off a ten foot roof to get the feel of landing in the parachute. As the pilot screamed for them to bailout they had to scramble to get their chutes on. In the hurry my father put his on upside down. Bailing out through the bomb bay doors, he held on and didn't want to jump. When the wire cut his hands so bad he couldn't hold on anymore he let go. Free falling for the first time in his life, he couldn't find the rip-cord because the chute was upside down. He remembered thinking how sad his mother would be to hear he had died, then he found the cord and pulled. Only one other had time to bail out with him. The others bailed too late. The pilot died in his seat, trying to keep the plane from crashing in a populated area. The parachute saved my father's life. In those days they were made of silk and those who's lives were saved by them became members of the "Caterpillar Club". I still have the pin. The military is a hard place. Many die in training and we seldom hear about them, but they are heros, too. On this 9/11 my thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have lost loved ones, not only in combat, but also in the line of duty, not just in the military. They keep us safe to live this great life we have here in America.
Pictures here:
http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/camelshump91107/camelshump91107.html
Also, our trip to Mount Mansfield here:
http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/mansfield91207/mansfield91207.html
KDT
