Camels Hump is a Vermont 4000-footer located outside of Huntington, Vermont. It’s an easy climb if you hike up the Burrows Trail, just 4.4 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain. I climbed it today after a six week hiatus due to a hip injury that I incurred in October, which has made life and hiking a bit of a challenge. While I have been able to hike, I’ve been sticking to moderate low-level forays. So it was good to get out today and experience my first peak-bagging hike of the season in winter conditions.
Not being a local, it was a bit challenging to figure out what to expect in terms of trail conditions since Vermont has such a small hiking community, compared to NH’s White Mountains, and one which is so dispersed. There’s no central clearing house for trail conditions or weather reports like the New England Trail Conditions website or the Mt Washington Weather Observatory. From what I can gather, some regular hikers post trip reports on the Facebook Group “Hiking in Vermont” and I plan to do the same.
The latest trip report for Camels Hump was from two days prior and indicated that the Burrows Trail was broken out and could be hiked with just Hillsounds. Since then several inches of rain fell on the region, significantly reducing the snowpack in the lower surrounding elevations. But not knowing where the snowline was, I decided to pack snowshoes in case they were needed. They weren’t, but I think I’ll end up carrying them much more frequently this winter in the absence of plentiful trail beta and if I venture over to the Adirondacks, where they’re legally required.
The Burrows Trail climbs up at a steady pace, at about 1000′ per mile, which is a healthy rate of ascent. The temperature was brisk, about 15 degrees, with a notable breeze. I was testing out a new layering system with a fleece hoody and an insulated softshell and while they were too warm below 3000′, they worked well together when I got higher and it got colder.
The Burrows Trail comes to a clearing after 2.1 miles. From there, it’s a short distance to the open summit. I started up and caught up with a fellow named Bill who I’d met on the climb, just before we both popped out of the krumholz and into full exposure. We stepped out into the open together and hiked up to the summit before heading back down fairly quickly to get out of the wind. The views were limited by low-lying cloud, but it was nice to be on an above-treeline summit again and I relished the moment.
We descended together and struck up an amiable conversation, sharing contact information when we arrived at the trailhead. Bill climbs Mansfield and Camels Hump regularly and I think we’ll team up in the future. I’m thinking about gridding the Vermont 4ks this winter (hiking them all in each month), and it’s always nice to peakbag with a friend.
