Stole Lance’s idea to do the Lowest to Highest in this fine shoulder season weather and decided to have some fun and go for Joe Palisi’s very stout time. Started at the Burlington waterfront park, dipped my right index finger in Lake Champlain, and then immediately started running uphill. Took essentially the same route as my predecessors except I stayed on Route 15 in Essex. A strategically placed bear can near the Dunkin Donuts in Essex at about the halfway point and then Lance’s truck at the winter parking on Mountain Road made this a “self-supported” effort. From the truck, I donned some trail shoes and acquired my poles and then took the Laura Cowles trail to the Long Trail. The trail was much less icy and snowy than earlier in the week when we had scouted it but even so my pace slowed a lot. Found Lance Parker at the top, wondering what took me so long.
Casualties of this effort included one thigh scrape while ducking off the road in some pricker bushes to pee, a gnarly sunburn (but only on my right arm), and my will to run on the road ever again.