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This weekend we traveled to Vermont, where some of the White Mountain Jackasses (also known as Steve, Rich, Brian and Susan) decided to enjoy the Green Mountains for a change. Brian and I left Saturday afternoon, checked into the Thatcher Brook Inn, and then went exploring the town of Waterbury. Yes, that’s the home of Ben and Jerry’s. We each enjoyed a scoop (Brian had Triple Caramel Chunk while I savored Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl), then poked our nose in the lobby/gift shop and reminisced in the Flavor Graveyard. I didn’t think we’d eaten that much ice cream in college, but I think we’d both tried nearly all the flavors introduced between 1992 and 1999. A thunderstorm was rolling in as we returned to the parking lot, and we managed to depart just in time to avoid the deluge of rain. We drove through town to explore dinner options, scope out the road to the trailhead, and went back to the Inn to await Steve and Rich’s arrival. The weather cooperated – our dash from the car to the Inn coincided with a lul in the storm, before “round two” poured down.

We settled on the Alchemist for dinner. Their herbed fries with garlic mayo were very tasty. Then again, we were hungry. Overall, dinner was a “thumbs up.” The menu had fresh and varied options, the server notified us of a big party being seated so we could get in our food orders ahead of them, and the company was excellent. It was fun to catch up and fuel up before the hike.

Sunday morning, Brian and I enjoyed the “country breakfast” of quiche or waffles with fresh fruit and sausage and tasty OJ and coffee. Good thing we were getting ready to burn 3000 calories on the mountain. We met up with Steve and Rich at 8:30 and were to the trail parking lot by 9am. The weather was beautiful – in hindsight we were very glad that Steve had a shift at REI on Saturday so we ended up avoiding the 90 degree heat and sweltering humidity of the previous day. It was in the mid 70s on the trail, with lots of shade among the maples/ moosewood and birches, with a thick carpet of ferns. We passed two lakes on the way up the Monroe Trail. We were particularly pleased with the gradual increase in grade, as it allowed a nice warm-up to the hike before tackling the steeper sections.

Shortly after turning a corner, exiting the forested area and starting the steep ascent on the Long Trail, we were knocked back by 20-30 mile per hour winds and stepping into a chilly cloud, where the temperature dropped about 15 degrees very quickly. No views of Lake Champlain and three states today! We pulled on some warmer gear and made haste scrambling for the summit, tagging the marker and keeping our momentum going until we were off the alpine zone and back into the trees. I said, at one point, “I feel like a drowned rat!” and Brian assured me “you look like one too!” You can see me squinting through the rain in Brian’s photos – very invigorating! No stopping for a relaxing lunch and taking in the scenery on the summit that day. We waited until we were below the clouds and on a flatter section of trail before eating our sandwiches and snacks.

We made excellent time on the way down, connecting to the Alpine Trail to make a loop, returning to the parking lot at 2:15pm. We did note the remnants of a WWII plane that crashed into the mountain during a training flight many years ago, just off the trail. This was definitely the preferred way to loop the summit, with more gradual grades on the way down to save our knees. Martina workouts seemed to help immensely as well. This loop had three very distinct sections, probably more if you are very sensitive to elevation and flora. The only fauna we saw were a salamander and several happy dogs. Brian took photos of the hike that you can enjoy.

After changing into dry clothes (but not washing the mud off our inner calves), having a bite and a celebratory beer in town, and feeling confident that the Sox were on their way to a win, we headed home. It took less than three hours on the way up, and almost exactly three hours on the way back with a little traffic, so I think we’ll be visiting Vermont more frequently in the future.