Alpine

Alpine
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Saturday night I camped near the Zealand pass. A nice little spot. I had prepared for the harsh rains of Ernesto to start falling through the night but they never came. Only Sunday morning when I stuck my head out of the tent did a light drizzle start to fall. I quickly packed up my gear and got driving and little by little the rain picked up. I guess the camping gods were with me today as nothing is worse then packing up in the rain so I dodged that bullet.

The cloud cover was low and the rain started to fall heavily so the hiking gods were against me. I was expecting this but had decided to hang out in NH and scout out some trailheads and camping spots for future trips. I even drove over to Grafton Notch in Maine to check it out.

The rain fell heavily all day and I didn't see any sign of clearing so after lunch I started to head for home. By the time I was near Montpelier in Vermont my legs were getting pretty stiff from being cramped in the car all day. I was driving right past Camels Hump and slowly a plan was hatched. Perhaps I should go and finish the LT. The last piece of the Long Trail(for me) was a 1 mile climb up to Camel's Hump on the North side. I had planned on waiting for a sunny day but it just seemed like the right answer. Get a hike in, stretch the legs, finish off the trail and still be home before too late. I had been saving this for the end to be a "glorious finish" on a sunny day but suddenly it didn't seem to matter. I just wanted to be done. So at 3:30pm I parked at Monroe state park and headed up the trail towards the summit.

Before getting to the top I cut across (and back down) the Alpine trail to pick up the LT below the summit. This was where I had been turned back in '03 by deep slippery snows. The alpine trail would be a gorgeous walk but for the low level clouds I was in so no views today(as seen in this photo). Another excuse to return to this great mountain. Once on the LT I was hoping the "last mile" would be a chance to reflect on all the other hikes I had done on the trail. The camping, the day hikes, the friends I'd been with, the views (or lack thereof) etc. But it was not to be. The 1 mile of trail up to the summit is brutally steep and I was only barely able to keep moving while my heart and lungs tried to rip out of my chest. One last time the Trail got to dictate to me how it would be…. As it should be. As it had always been... no surprise I guess.