FKT: Chris Burnham - Mt.Mansfield - Camel's Hump Challenge (VT) - 2020-10-12

Had a nice easy hike up Mansfield with my GF Melissa to start the day. After I started she took the gondola down. Started from Mansfield a hair after 9:30, a bit later than I had planned, so I hit some tourists on the ridge I was hoping to avoid. There was some ice on the Mansfield ridge and again on Camels Hump, but fortunately nothing I found too problematic. The trail had dried a bit from Saturdays rain, but was still wet in some places. At lower elevations there were a lot of leaves down, which made me a bit more cautious of my footing in some sections. I had 2 liters of water and 2 500ml flask with drink mix in my running vest. Additionally I had a bunch of bars and a sandwich (that was probably a mistake to bring). I made a point to drink down one flask early and refilled it from a brook about half way down from Mt Bolton to Harringtons View. I had a mix of a purification tablet and more drink mix ready to go to drop in there. I saved that flask for last on my way up Camels Hump so it would have plenty of time to take effect. I had another tablet to grab another 500ml from either Stimpson Brook or Gleason Brook, but I didn't end up needing it. My parents had hiked up Bamforth Ridge a couple hours ahead of me, so I got some nice cheering from a couple of strangers coming down the other way. I met my parents at the finish on camels hump with some dry cloths and more food and we all hiked down together. Definitely a really tough run, but I really enjoyed linking up the two big peaks around here. The route does run nicely in my opinion, because you get all the fast running done early-ish so you just have to climb when your legs are totally smoked!