Camel's Hump

Trip legs (latest at top):

4 Sep 04 – Cantigny Park, Chicago, Illinois
The Saturday before Labor Day Dawn and myself and Dawn’s son Adrian went to Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois. The grounds were donated by the former published of the Chicago Tribune. There are flower and vegetable and rose gardens, and, somewhat incongruously, an impressive museum for the US Army First Infantry Division. The First Division Museum chronicles the history of “The Big Red One” from the War of Independence through the first Gulf War, and the displays are well done. This should be seen by anyone interested in military history in the Chicago area, and is a very informative for anyone seeing the gardens. One spring or summer day I’d like to go back and go crazy on the gardens with my camera.

Tanks for the Memories
Dawn with her son Adrian.

Around the grounds of the museum are a collection of armored tanks, which anyone can climb on. Really neat for kids.

9 Sep 04 – Chicago, Illinois to Detroit, Michigan
It takes 5 1/2 hours to travel from the suburbs of Chicago to the suburbs of Detroit, where we stop for the night with an old friend of mine, Sandesh, and his wife Deepali. Sandesh and I worked together at Delphi Electronics in Kokomo, Indiana in the mid-90’s, and he has since gone on to found a software company. From his back deck we see a tranquil scene of wetlands with a swan, which is a pretty nice view for a back deck.

Dawn: I think we were really lucky Deepali treated us to a authentic, vegetarian Indian dinner, because it was delicious.

Sandesh and Deepali
Our gracious hosts in suburban Detroit.

10 Sep 04 – Detroit, Michigan to Rochester, New York
While admiring some statues of Vishnu, I find this small statue in a curio cabinet. (Here's a nice summary of Hindu beliefs.) Sandesh was not certain, but my feeling is the lotus image on the base at the back identifies this as a Buddha. I have never seen a Buddha image in this pose, and Dawn immediately named it Happy Buddha. However, any male in America can easily recognize this as Touchdown Buddha.

Touchdown Buddha
Marrying the two great traditions of American football and Buddhism.

Dawn: Deepali’s father joined us at the breakfast table, and the talk turned to religion. He was warm and genuine, and wanted us to be aware of the importance of faith in religion. “It’s important to have faith in your teachers, faith in God, and faith in yourself.” He really felt that all religions have a positive core, but rued that many religions are used as political weapons.

Before we leave Sandesh’s house, we take a walk around the nearby Nature Preserve. A pair of swans are preening in the full morning sunlight, almost too bright to look at.

Swans
Water Lilies

Eight hours later we pull up at Don and Roberta’s house outside Rochester. They are good friends we see every year at a raft trip in West Virginia. I didn’t realize Roberta’s family was Italian until I taste her homemade tomato sauce. Just like Grandma Sarah used to make. We eat twice what we should. Later Don briefs us on the most scenic route through the Adirondacks, and we put our heads together to find a day hike for tomorrow’s lunch break.

Two-Headed Child
This has become one of my favorite pictures.
Don's Family
Don, Roberta, Annie, and Jimmy, our hosts in upstate New York.

11 Sep 04 – Rochester, New York to Burlington, Vermont
After horsing around with Annie and Jimmy, our route takes us through the southern hills of New York’s Adirondack State Park. In consultation with Don the night before we had mapped out the route to include a short hike around lunchtime. We hike about a mile south from the highway along a well-worn trail, then bushwhack east a couple hundred yards to Buckhorn Lake, where we enjoy lunch.

Dawn's Lunch Prep
Buckhorn Lake Lunch View
Stephen's Lunch Prep
We were lazy today so we just carried all the PB&J with us for the entire hike.
Buckhorn Lake After Lunch
Not bad for a 1-hour hike.

Later, as we cross Champlain Bridge into Vermont, Dawn marvels at the beauty of the Champlain Valley. “It reminds me a lot of the Willamette Valley in Oregon, the plains in front with the mountains in the background,” she says.

We spend the next two nights at the house of Paul and Sue, and their kids Rita and Peter. Paul and I went to college together at Purdue, and have seen each other every year at the annual raft trip. Sue is off on a business trip, but Peter and Rita have enough energy to keep us entertained.

Miss American Mud Pie
I didn't even know kids made these anymore. Paul's family is full of surprises. This is Rita and a neighbor. This has also become one of my favorite pictures.

12 Sep 04 – Hiking Camel’s Hump, Camel's Hump State Park, Vermont
Leaving Paul and his family to help run a church carnival, we head to Camel’s Hump State Park. (The official Vermont website can't decide if this is actually a State Park, which is how it is named, or Camel's Hump Natural Area.) After finding the trailhead, we start up a 4-mile hike to the summit of Camel’s Hump, which at 4083' Paul claims is about 2000’ in elevation gain.

We drive up Camel's Hump Road to its terminus and park at the reasonably good-sized lot there. We take the Burrows-Forest City Connector Trail south and pick up Forest City Trail heading due east. This takes us right to The Long Trail at Montclair Glen Lodge. We head due north on The Long Trail (which runs north and south 270 miles the length of Vermont), and eventually see the rocky outcropping of the Camel's Hump summit high above. We slowly realize we will be climbing up that far. The views are terrific on the way up, and a simply splendid panorama awaits at the summit after about 4 hours of hiking.

Labrador Tea?
Actually, we think we may have misidentified this one.
Forest City Trail
A rock scramble at a 45-degree angle on the Forest City Trail.
Vermont Vista with Dawn
Only halfway from Montclair Glen Lodge to the Camel's Hump summit, this view looks east towards more Vermont mountains.
Rocky Crag
Looking straight up Camel's Hump Mountain, but not near the summit yet.
Camel's Hump Summit
There's the peak, and at this point it is just dawning on us that we are going to climb all the way to the top.
Mountain Sandwort
This is the only standalone photo I have from the summit of Camel's Hump. The rest are panoramas which need to be stitched together.

We hike down by continuing north on the Long Trail, then heading southwest on Burrows Trail. This shorter, 2-mile route takes about 1.5 hours. We stop our return drive to take pictures of the historic Old Round Church. Finally back at Paul’s, he fesses up the climb was probably more like 2800’. We are glad the next day will be spent in the car.

Vermont Cows
Vermont really does look like this. Dawn's not too thrilled with the smell of a working dairy, but I've smelled hog farms, and let me tell you dairy farms are Not That Bad.
Old Round Church
The Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont. Well, it's not really round. A bit, maybe.
Peter Under Table
Hiding under dining room tables is a favorite pastime started by my own son, Harrison. Here Peter puts his own spin on the favorite.
Paul's Family
I think Sue is the sane one, and since she knew we were coming, she's on the other side of the continent in San Diego.
Mouse Resting
This picture is mostly in here because Paul didn't think I would add it. His cat brought this in for us, because people are notorious for going hungry at Paul's house. Not thirsty, mind you. Anyway, after this picture was taken the cat was positively adamant the mouse was only resting, or possibly pining for the fjords.

13 Sep 04 – Burlington, Vermont to White Mountains, New Hampshire
I take Dawn to someplace I’ve never been, White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. As we approach from the west, the mountains rise up to our east and south, and I start to discover how massive they actually are. Almost immediate we see peaks above tree line. And along with the mountains, we get the moose warning signs. Not just a few, mind you, but literally dozens of yellow roadside warning diamonds with moose silhouettes. We are inspired.

Mooseland (to the tune of Crawdad Hole)
Mooses comin’, next nine miles, in Mooseland
Mooses comin’, next nine miles, in Mooseland
Moosey moosey moosey signs, moosey signs and yellow lines
Mooses comin’, next nine miles, in Mooseland

There’s a big ol’ truck with cars behind it, in Mooseland
There’s a big ol’ truck with cars behind it, in Mooseland
Big ol’ truck with a line of cars, ain’t goin’ fast but he ain’t goin’ slow
There’s a big ol’ truck with cars behind it, in Mooseland

Truck’s right turn signal’s on for a mile, in Mooseland
Truck’s right turn signal’s on for a mile, in Mooseland
He never did make that right hand turn, guess we’ll have to live and learn
Truck’s right turn signal’s on for a mile, in Mooseland

Ain’t worried ‘bout no mooses here, in Mooseland
Ain’t worried ‘bout no mooses here, in Mooseland
Big ol’ truck will mow ‘em down, they’ll be dead when we come to town
Ain’t worried ‘bout no mooses here, in Mooseland

Carved wooden bears for sale on the lawn, in Mooseland
Carved wooden bears for sale on the lawn, in Mooseland
Carved wooden bears, now they won’t bite ya, they won’t even try to fight ya
Carved wooden bears for sale on the lawn, in Mooseland

Never did see no mooses there, in Mooseland
Never did see no mooses there, in Mooseland
Moosey signs are everywhere, mooseys gone cause of wooden bears
Never did see no mooses there, in Mooseland