Hiking with the SBTC

Today the SBTC folks were going to hike Mount Mansfield, and since Lauren and I had pretty much free rein to do whatever we wanted for our OD, we went with them! It was very fun to get to hike with some different friends, especially since the rest of the team had left for the weekend and we would have otherwise been alone. The rowers don’t do much cross-training so it was great to see them up on top of a mountain.

The Graves brothers apparently always race each other up the mountain, on a course that consists of just running up under the gondola. Although John couldn’t come because of a nasty infection in his leg, we took that route up. I have to say it’s definitely my least favorite way to get up the mountain. It did mean that we were spit out at the bottom of the Cliff Trail, though, which turned out to be incredibly fun – scrambling up rocks, using your hands to pull yourself up and in some cases squeezing between huge boulders.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was a great way to spend the 4th. Plus, the mountain breeze was a nice respite from the extremely hot weather we were facing down in the valley.

We’re now preparing for a week-long BKL camp, which will be really fun but will considerably curtail our ability to go on any sorts of adventures, so it was nice to do something exciting before we settle in for a week of work – even if it’s the best kind of work!