Camel's Hump, 10/3/99

It was a dark and stormy night.  The next morning wasn't much better: overcast, chilly, wet, windy.  Driving to Montpelier at 7 AM, I reflected on the disadvantages of scheduled vs. impromptu outings: among other things, the leader had at least to make an initial appearance.  Besides, three calls had come in the day before.  8:05 AM.  No one at the high school except a hundred or so geologists with camping gear. I rushed to meet one of the callers at the trail head.  Carol Harris and Carol Abar were waiting for me. They turned out to be experienced hikers, originally from England. We talked about walking up and down the short way, or even just going home.  No, I said, we're here, let's go.  We drove to the River Road trailhead and started up Bamforth at 9:30.  The rain never started.  There were lots of great views on the way up, although the summit was not visible until we were almost there. Lunch was served at Gorham Lodge at 12:15. Suzanne, a summer caretaker on Mansfield's summit, walked in a bit later and joined us at the lodge, but decided to hike back along Bamforth Ridge.
The summit at 1:30 was crowded with hikers, the sky had turned crystal blue, the view was unclouded to the horizon. We found a ledge out of the chilly wind and enjoyed the brilliant sunshine. Reluctantly, we left sometime before 3:00, and returned to the Couching Lion trailhead by 5:30, amid brilliant late day colors.  Too bad for you if you stayed home because of the weather.  The next best thing is our photos. (2 pages, each 23 seconds @ 28k)