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I am posting this on 11/04/2022. My sincere apologies for the delay, but my wife and I had a baby!!! Tristan Arnold Grahovac came 5 weeks early. As you can imagine, I’ve been a bit preoccupied since then. Momma and baby are healthy and doing well, and now I have a few minutes to spare each day to upload the rest of my posts from my Long Trail hike.
September 27th, 2022: Montclair Glen Lodge to U.S. Route 2 (9.7 miles, 1,673 ft elevation gain)
With another day of projected rain and overcast, I wearily woke up and left the lodge around 07:00. Despite the chance of rain, I was bolstered by the fact that at the end of the day, I would be checked into the Old Stagecoach Inn and sleeping in a nice, warm bed.
Almost immediately after the lodge, the trail became a steep climb with rock scrambling mixed in. Like most other climbs on the LT, it was very rugged and made for a very slow climb.
As I made my way up Camel’s Hump, there were plenty of rocky outcroppings with great views to the south and east. Despite the forecast, I was able to enjoy some sunshine as I inched closer to the summit.
Eventually, the trees grew sparse, and the familiar alpine environment crept in. I saw the summit covered in clouds. There was a bad-weather bypass route, and I was thankful I did not need to take it because I really wanted to see the top.
Once I reached the alpine area warning sign, I was completely enveloped in clouds. The temperature dropped considerably. I took some time to put on multiple warm layers.
As I climbed over rocks and over crevices, the winds were gusting incredibly hard. I had to slow myself and lower my body to prevent being blown over. You can hear the wind gusting from the video below.
I made it to the summit, and although I did not get the incredible panoramic views, I did have it all to myself. Camel’s Hump is one of the most popular mountain hikes in Vermont, so being up there alone is not common. The solitude, combined with the weather conditions, made for a unique experience. I did not stay very long, but it was an otherworldly experience, and one I am not soon to forget.
The descent from Camel’s Hump to Duxbury Road was a 6-mile slog that included 3,734 feet of elevation loss. It was extremely steep and slick at first, but gradually leveled as I followed the ridgeline down. It still had not rained, but the clouds were ever present, and the forecast still called for it. Along the way, I noticed splashes of fall color sprinkled on the trees. I was looking forward to more of that in the coming days.
After making it to Duxbury Rd., it finally started lightly raining. Near the road was a shed. I took shelter under it and called the Old Stagecoach inn to see if they could pick me up from Route 2. Before the trip, I had emailed with John, the innkeeper, who said he was sometimes available to pick up hikers from the trail. Unfortunately, he was not, so I called a local taxi service. They said it would be over an hour until they could get me. That would give me enough time to complete the last 2.5 miles to Route 2.
This last section was one of the more interesting parts of the Long Trail. It was mostly a road walk to the footbridge that crossed the river, but some of it went through farmland with a chicken pen and then over a ladder into a cow farm, where they were literally on a trail.
As I walked through the farm fields, I looked back towards Camel’s Hump and saw the summit no longer covered in clouds. I was in awe, wondering how I had made it so far in a few hours.
After I crossed the footbridge across the Winooski River, I made it to Route 2 and ate some lunch as I waited. The taxi service called and said they were running into delays, and they were still an hour away, so I called an audible and hitched a ride into Waterbury. Shouts again to the people of Vermont for being awesome.
I then checked into the Old Stagecoach Inn, picked up my resupply, and walked to the local laundromat. Waterbury is a really cool town. Everything was within a few minutes’ walk of the inn. After getting laundry done, I got dinner at a local joint called The Reservoir. They had great food (the Oreo cheesecake was delicious) and a fantastic selection of Vermont beer. I could not leave before getting a Heady Topper. As an aside, Vermont has to be the best beer state in the US. Every beer I’ve tried from Vermont is absolutely delicious.
I then went back to the Old Stagecoach Inn, and I checked the weather forecast. Tomorrow is supposed to have some heavy rain, but after that, it is forecasted to be clear skies for the next 10 days. With that information, I decided to take a zero-day tomorrow to avoid more rain. The inn had a room available, so I went ahead and booked it.
A hot shower and a nice bed were a perfect combination to end one of my longest days on The Long Trail.
Previously: Long Trail: Day 13 (Stark’s Nest to Montclair Glen Lodge)