~*~ Camel’s Hump, 
“I’m the Hump Boy!”
Date:
Mileage: about 7
We
had a great rest day yesterday. Spent the morning running around
Thursday
morning we got up fairly early, said good-bye to my mom and left to head to
Camel’s
I
didn’t completely trust the directions I had from Google because it seemed like
they were taking us to the wrong side of the mountain from the Monroe
Trailhead. I remembered the trailhead from hiking the Long Trail and knew there
was a signpost there so decided to head to that first. I think Brad was
increasingly amused by the fact that I wasn’t completely sure. I mean, I wasn’t
lost…but I wasn’t completely sure. And if I hadn’t followed my instinct, we’d
still be driving around looking for it. Fortunately, the sign had a map of the
park and we were able to easily see where we needed to go. And I was right, the
directions were wrong. So ha!
I
took the scenic route to the trailhead because I wanted to really show Brad
around the area. Yea, that’s it. I did discover that there are no signs for
Camel’s Hump until you are on about the 4th dirt road in. Helpful,
really. When we finally did see a sign, we stopped to take a picture and
capture what we were feeling at that moment. Stupid roads in the middle of
nowhere.
We
finally got to the trailhead and for some reason, I got all giddy and happy.
Turned the music up in the car and spent the time getting ready 
dancing around and singing like the dork
that I am. Must have been the skirt…or the pigtails. Brad had made a custom summit
sign for Camel’s Hump, which although it isn’t the highest peak in VT, it’s the
2nd highest (actually tied for 2nd with Mt. Ellen at
4083’). Can’t not have a sign for the Hump.
I
haven’t taken the Monroe Trail up Camel’s Hump for many years so I couldn’t
remember how strenuous it was (or wasn’t). The first mile or so up to Hump
Brook Camp is moderately graded and not really all that rocky in comparison to
what we’ve been doing this week. You can actually walk and stretch your legs.
We did stop at the trail junction where Brad decided it would be a good idea to
pull the loose sign out of the ground and hold it up for a good photo op. It
made a great photo op. Unfortunately; I missed the really great one about a
minute later when he stood under the sign and dropped it into the hole. When
one is 6’3”, it’s not recommended to stand under anything (especially hard,
heavy wood) and drop it into a hole. I heard the “thunk” from where I was
standing…and he wasn’t wearing his helmet. I think I finally managed to ask if
he was okay through my fits of giggles. hehehe Poor guy almost took himself out
with that sign. Just wish I’d gotten a video of it. Not that I would ever show
anyone…really.
Once he shook off the headache, we were
back on track to the Hump. The last time I was hiking this mountain, I was on
the Long Trail. The Long Trail is a much more strenuous trail…much harder and
much more rugged than the Monroe Trail. It was actually surprising when we
reached the clearing, just .3 miles below the summit. I couldn’t believe we
were there already, though I think the company has a lot to do with it. We
could talk our way up anything and not realize it. One thing I told him about
was MAYP’s Team Kiss the Blaze. I expected I’d have to twist his arm to get a
pic of him kissing a blaze. Turns out, he was scouting out the perfect blaze.
Apparently he’s picky about what blaze he kisses.
The
last part of the climb is just a rock slab…not even a scramble. Easy walking.
As we walked up, we were being a little loud, calling the Hump and all. There
was one other person on the summit that we chatted with for a few minutes when
we got up there. I’m guessing he heard us coming and probably wasn’t too
impressed with our antics. Sometimes, it’s fun to be the touron. We then found
a good place to sit and relax. Brad was smart enough to bring a beer up the
mountain so we enjoyed a cold one while we sat. I should say smart enough to
bring a beer, but not smart enough to bring something to open it with. No
worries…nothing stands between me and a beer. I used a karabiner to get that
thing open. Yet another beautiful day made for some spectacular views. I was
able to point out Mt. Mansfield as well as Mt. Marcy, which we would be hitting
over the next two days. We sat for awhile enjoying the view and taking some fun
summit pictures.
By
the time we were ready to leave the summit, there were quite a few other people
that had made their way up. Some stayed at Hump Brook Tentsites for the night
and were 
using it as weekend away. I was a little
surprised that no caretaker was there yet. I thought the GMC got their
caretakers out after Memorial Day, but I guess not. A nice man snapped a
picture for us and even managed to get Mt. Mansfield in the background for us.
Nice! We are more accustomed to using the tripod so it’s nice to have someone
take it every once in awhile.
I
took Brad down the Long Trail so he could see the back side of the Hump, as
well as taking the Alpine Trail across to Monroe to be able to see the plane
that had crashed into the mountain years ago. He immediately could see that the
L.T. was a much different kind of hiking than the trail we came up. We had fun
on some of the scrambles down to the trail junction – made for some nice little
photo ops.
At
the junction, somebody had left a tee-shirt that simply said “Special”. I have
no idea what it meant or where it came from but it could not have been more
appropriate for us. Special, indeed. The Alpine Trail is a bit rugged and
rockier but soon enough we found the downed plane and stopped for a couple of
minutes. I wondered about pushing it off the mountain, but I didn’t actually
try.
The rest of the hike down was easy and we
moved right along. Our plan was to get off the Hump, get to Smuggler’s Notch
and hike up to at least
The
campground was deserted other than a couple of other people. We found a nice
spot by the river, set up the tent, got some firewood, took a nice hot shower
and settled in. It was our first campfire of the trip and it was nice to sit by
it and chat. I have not laughed as much in a long time as I did on this trip.
Did a little “jazz hands” by the fire and put the iPod on shuffle so we had
some music to enjoy. We called it a night fairly early, planning on heading up
to
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