Day 1

I think I hit practically every New England stereotype driving out of Lebanon, N.H., my home for the summer: a Caucasian driving his Subaru Outback wagon with a "Coexist" bumper sticker, listening to NPR. Alas, my Minnesota plates gave my ruse away. My first stop would be Mt. Mansfield, the tallest peak in Vermont at 4,395 feet, and a 2 hour drive from work. Surprisingly, my usual overpowering desire to Get There while traveling in a car was noticeably absent this trip. Perhaps it was my reaction to the other manic 4th of July drivers, perhaps it was the beautiful rural Vermont landscape, or perhaps it was the fact that the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory was conveniently located right along my chosen route of travel, but, at least for this trip, the travel was just as enjoyable as the destination. After passing through Yuppieville, U.S.A (a.k.a Stowe, Vermont), I pulled into the Mt. Mansfield trailhead and began the ascent.

The trail up Mt. Mansfield reminded me of my high school geography teacher: tough, strenuous, gets right down to business, yet yields great rewards for the investment of effort. Contrary to what the omnipotent Google had told me, the summit trail was only a little over 2 miles one way (I had anticipated 4-5 miles). While not belittling the rigor of the trail in the least, the relative shortness of the ascent meant that I wouldn't have to be too worried about putting myself over the top (no pun intended) on the first day.

The summit afforded beautiful views of the surrounding Green Mountains and the Adirondacks in the distance, although the views were somewhat sullied by the crowds who had driven up the Mansfield Auto Road and then hiked the last 0.2 miles the summit. I guess you take the good with the bad.

After arriving and setting up camp at the nearby Brewster River Campground, I scarfed down a dinner of pasta, cheese, and beer, and then promptly fell asleep. All in all, a relatively relaxing first day and a good warm-up for the challenges to come.