Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Aurora Photos | AWL
hiking the distinctive Camel’s Hump
Over the years, I’ve ticked off sections on a regular basis, choosing goodweather
weekends to explore the mountains near my twin homes of Brattleboro and
Middlebury. As a native East Coaster, I find that these gentle green mountains
speak to something in my spirit. So much of Vermont’s beauty lies in its forests, and
there are days when I like nothing better than plunging deep into the trees, hiking
down from unpaved Mt Tabor Rd near Danby into the Big Branch Wilderness.
Anyone who has ever spent a crisp autumn day looking up through white-barked
birches and brilliant red and golden maple leaves to a cloudless blue sky
understands the incandescent beauty of these woods.
However, I also spent 20 years living among the wide-open spaces of the
American West, and I still pine for far-ranging vistas, for the places where the Long
Trail emerges above the tree line.
One of my favourite moments involved joining a group for a climb of Camel’s
Hump – the only major summit in the Green Mountains that hasn’t been
developed for skiing, and, with its abrupt, exposed cliff face, the most distinctive
peak in the state. We set off from the Montclair Glen Lodge at the mountain’s
base, trudging in places through knee-deep snow and clambering between icy
boulders to reach the summit near dusk, an awe-inspiring experience in the grey