With mud season officially over in VT I decided to give this route a go that I noticed had been submitted over the winter. As far as I can tell Jeff originally ran the route with a group in around 5:45 last fall and I set a goal for myself of 5 hrs. Lost some time to two(!) wrong turns getting over into Huntington but managed to sneak in just under at 4:57. I’m sure some young guns will eventually drop the time on this by a good deal but happy to get my name up on the board for now!
Warm but otherwise super nice day. Top of Camels Hump was predictably crowded so I just gave a high five to the summit marker and kept moving. The descent down Bamforth ridge has some beautiful exposure and fun scrambles but it always seems impossible to get any kind of running groove going for more than ten yards. Classic New England tech with a little bit of everything.
Carried two flasks and ate two gels, a sleeve of shot blocks, and a rice krispie bar. Filtered water at Preston brook, camels hump rd, and a reliable spring towards the top of Bamforth ridge.
Thanks to Jeff Henricks for putting a fun and challenging route together!