Only a few hours ago, I was trying my hardest to fully shake off the sleepiness that came from waking at 5:30 in the morning. Now the wind was the one shaking and pushing me, as I struggle on the summit of Camel's Hump. A few hours later, we would continue down from this summit to climb the other nearby peak, Mt. Ethan Allen.

Camel's Hump (1,244 m) is one of Vermont's highest mountains and is named for its distinctive shape. It is located adjacent to Mt. Ethan Allen (1,124 m) which makes hiking both on the same day very possible.

We had set out to hike here on a cold December day, expecting fairly bad weather conditions. Instead, we were greeted with clouds and short bursts of sunlight with very little ice on the way up. I look at this as part of the training for when Mart and I head off to Patagonia later this month. The hike itself was not difficult, nor technical. We tried to optimize time as best as we could, hiking the inclined 17 km in about 6.5 hours. Still more training to do obviously but a nice way to get started.

You can see the rest of the photos by clicking here.