Camel's Hump...

I took advantage of only having one child yesterday by climbing up Camel's Hump, Vermont's tallest undeveloped peak (4083'). I tried to hike this with AJ and the Smialeks last year, but we got a late start and went in from the Long Trail, trying a 12+ mile round trip. This time I drove farther for the shorter hike (5 miles, 2300' climb).

Unfortunately AJ is much heavier than 6 months ago, and I am not in as good shape. I've done some serious hikes in the past, but this one may have been, probably was, the hardest. Loaded down with 40+ pounds of kid and food and water and gear, I stopped several times and was convinced to turn around, but was too stubborn and eventually made it to the top. While the hiking itself was not nearly as enjoyable as it was supposed to be, I pretty glad we did it. AJ had a blast, alternating between napping and singing on my back. The top is up above the tree line, and the views are fantastic, though it was a little hazy due to the excessive heat yesterday. Here are some pictures from our climb:One of Aj's naps on the long ride up:AJ eats some lunch and crawls around on the top of the mountain:A cigarette butt near where we ate lunch on the top. I looked around for a pile of vomit (this is what would have happened if I had smoked a cigarette after arriving on the summit), but didn't find any: