Spectacular Colors from Camel's Hump

  Camel's Hump mountain in Vermont was Evan's choice for our March sunrise and Saturday morning's weather seemed the best choice this past weekend, so our decision to go lead us to a night of no sleep. After working until 11:00 pm Friday, Our only choice was to travel to Vermont directly after.

  We arrived at the parking lot shortly before 4 am which, according to my calculations, we could catch at least 40-45 minutes of shut eye before beginning the two and a half mile trek up Burrows trail on the west side of Camel's Hump. It's a heavily trafficked route in the winter so I wasn't surprised to see the trail broken in by others over the last few days, which means an easier and quicker climb!

 After a robust slumber of approximately 40 minutes in the parking lot, we prepared for our hike. I chose to use snowshoes, while Evan's choice of traction was spikes. The trail was firmly packed as it wound through the hardwoods of the lower slopes, so either form of traction worked well, but Evan's spikes were definitely the less bulky choice.
  Following the tunnel of light directly in front of me, like a sleepless zombie, I wasn't able to see much of our surroundings. The temperature was of average winter temps, the clear skies above us displayed glitters from distant stars spread across the black canvas of the night sky. It was a peaceful start for a hike.

The only view hiking in the dark.

   Evan was definitely feeling the effects of no sleep because he was very quiet, which isn't like him during hikes. He's usually squeaking out so much trivia and info on New England geography that I am on the border of madness realizing how little I know about areas that I've spent much of my time tramping around for 40 years. Other than a frequent grunt or groan and the dim light ahead of me from his headlamp, I wouldn't of known he was accompanying me on this hike.
  Time and trail seemed to be fading, and the night sky brightening, as we slowly struggled up the steep grade of the trail. Looking towards the skies I noticed the stars were slowly disappearing from the illuminating glow creeping from the east. After our last few sunrise hikes leading us to hunker down in bone chilling temps and winds while waiting for the sun to appear on the horizon, it appears this may be the first sunrise in our quest that our summiting may coincide with the sunrise.
  At two and two tenths of a mile we had reached a clearing where Burrows Trail intersects with the Long Trail. At this point the sky was so bright that I took off my headlamp and picked up the pace to complete the last few tenths of a mile, where the trail became more steep, to be sure we arrived before our star enters the horizon. Our timing was impeccable as we were taking photos shortly after arriving on the summit.

The bright sky from the steep slopes just before the summit

  The winds were steady with a few bone chilling gusts from the west, so we found a spot behind some ledge on the east side of the summit and watched as the best sunrise we've experienced so far was displayed before us. That fireball in the distance slowly climbed as it illuminated snow capped peaks and ridge lines sprawling out between us and the horizon in a pinkish orange hue.

  Once again I had tried to use my GoPro Hero 7, but the temps were to low and the battery did not respond when needed, so all pictures were taken with my phone... I must remember to carry the GoPro in a pocket that stays warm.

Looking south towards an illuminating sky before sunrise

  Evan was appearing to be rejuvenated as he was chatting up his usual naming off all surrounding peaks, hills, ridges and whatever other geographic landmarks in our 360 degree view. I think his mind has been programmed by Google Earth...
  Now that we were surrounded by daylight and our bodies were feeling the outlandish temps, we decided to make our way down. The beauty of hiking up in the dark and down in daylight, for me, is that it feels like a different trail. Now, on the descent, all that we missed beyond our headlamp lit tunnel of light was on full display around us.

The colors of this sunrise were spectacular.

   The trail descended from the summit on the west side, where we dropped out of the direct sunlight and into the shadow of the mountain where the winds were whipping until we quickly entered treeline, which protected us.

Me trying to keep up with Bella.

Mt Mansfield in the distance.

Evan on the summit

Silhouette pose. I'm really liking these photos

Bella in a rush to descend.

  The descent was picturesque of a typical winter day in Vermont, with Spring creeping it's soothing sounds and sights around every bend in the trail. The birds were singing as we welcomed the warm rays of  sun through the trees, beaming it's warmth on our backs as we were beyond the shadow of the mountain. Evan seemed to be rejuvenated, like the energizer bunny with a new set of batteries, as he was testing my lack of knowledge in mixed trivia of mountains and geography of the Adirondacks that were in the distance to the west.
   It was nice to see him back to himself after a grueling sleepless night, hike and sunrise. Check out his blog here: http://evanhike.blogspot.
 
Our GPS track: https://www.strava.