Multiple visits
First visit – September 30, 2022
Monroe-Alpine-Long Trail Loop.
Established as a National Natural Landmark in 1975, Camel’s Hump Natural Area offers a bare summit and affords 360 views on a clear day.
I hadn’t hiked a 4K since finishing my White Mountain Guide tracing/redlining quest two months ago, and it felt good to be back in the alpine zone.
I checked out the camping area off Dean Trail before heading back to the car. Looks like a nice spot to spend the evening.
Camel’s Hump View Trail is located close to the Monroe Trail parking area, so I stopped by on my way out to do a quick speed walk. This loop trail is fairly flat, less than a mile long, and is wheelchair accessible.
October 8, 2022
Got a taste of winter this visit. I hadn’t anticipated that much ice above treeline and wished I’d brought microspikes. I managed and lived to tell the tale, though. It took a lot of cautious and calm footwork in high winds and frigid temps.
Burrows-LT-Forest City loop. Got to the parking lot at 7 and found a spot. Upon leaving at noon, the cars stretched down the road for over a mile.
I originally thought I’d need to do all the trails in CH State Park to satisfy my own rules, but upon further research it seems the National Landmark portion of this area is from the summit down to 2500 feet. This means I’ve only three more hikes needed to cover that territory. Since I don’t want to deal with winter summit conditions anymore, I hope to get those last visits to CH in soon, otherwise I’ll have to finish up late next spring.
Last visit – October 11, 2022.
Monroe-LT northbound-Alpine (eastern portion).
I realized today I need to change the rules of this LifeQuest. I need more choices. Specifically, instead of hiking ALL the trails of everything, I should give myself options. This way I am not visiting the same area and the same scenery over and over and over again if a certain site has dozens of trails.
For example, I feel done with Camel’s Hump. Today was my third day-hike visit, I have a good sense of the terrain that places it on the National Natural Landmark list, and I want to move on.
I will amend the rules tomorrow to better reflect the essence of my quest. In the meantime, here are some photos from the eastern portion of Alpine Trail.
*****Edit 10-14-2022. Now I realize I am just burnt out of getting up at 3am and driving for hours in the dark to get to a trailhead. This won’t be the case when I can do this fulltime. Also, I spent the last few days upset at myself for changing the rules…so I changed them back. This means I am not yet done with Camel’s Hump and still need two more hikes to complete the Natural Landmark area. With the weather coming up, those two hikes may need to wait until next spring/summer.
****Edit June 2, 2023. I changed the rules again. I really do need some choice when it comes to large sites with a lot of trails, otherwise my Quest feels too rigid and OCD-like. The current “My Rules” page reflects the changes. It’s still a ton of hiking.
