Top of Vermont

We’re in the middle of a high volume week and decided to mix up our usual trails and roads with an OD run on the Long Trail.  So this morning we loaded up a van and headed to the trailhead at Mud City in Morrisville.  The adventure started by running up the Beaver Meadow trail until we hit the Long Trail and then we headed south following the white blazes.  We ran up and over Madonna Mountain, cooled off by swimming in Sterling Pond, ran down a steep descent to the Smugglers Notch road where Pepa was waiting with more water, food, and popsicles, and then headed steeply back up the trail towards the chin of Mt. Mansfield.  Our original plan was to follow the ridge all the way to the Mansfield Lake in Moscow but our time and distance estimations were a bit off so we cut down early by taking the Toll Road and then the Hazelton Trail.  The final steep descent was quite tough on the sore legs and I think Pat even considered borrowing a child’s bike at the top of the toll road for an easier finish.  We finally made it back to Mama Pepa after 5 hours on the trail!  On our way home we hit up a swimming hole in Stowe that felt very cold and refreshing especially compared to the warm water of Big Hosmer.