Mt. Mansfield, The Top of Vermont

On Mt Mansfield's Summit

This weekend began with a trip to Montpelier, Vermont where I was hosted by the Rangaviz family for the pre and post climb activities.   Rassoul and Ann are the parent's of my son's roommate Dave.  They are lovely, generous and engaging people,  In fact, they are so engaging that I never thought to stop our ready flow of conversation and take a picture of them!  I hope to be back soon and/or have them visit in NYC.  Then I can correct this serious blogging error.  One of the highlights of our time was a family dinner over a spectacular Fesenjoon, a Persian dish prepared by Ann.  Again, no picture, but a link....  allrecipes.com/Recipe/pomegranate-stew-with-chicken-khoresh-fesenjan/  This is not Ann's recipe, that's a secret only Ann and I can know.

Try the veal marsala and don't skip the bread dipped in garlic and olive oil!

While waiting for Dave, Mollie and my son Chris to arrive I had a tasty Italian dinner at Sarducci's then found a comfortable bar stool at the Three Penny Taproom, http://www.threepennytaproom.com/index.html , where I immediately made friends with Doug, Brian and Corey.  This led to some extensive and delicious sampling of the microbrews, talk of Michigan State University, (Doug's and my Alma Mater), telling of family stories, laughs and the beginning of my face to face social network in Montpelier!  Fortunately, Chris, Mollie and Dave arrived with hugs and a non-alcohol driven perspective to share one drink and guide me to the Rangaviz home before I fully suffered the consequences of too much fun at the Three Penny Taproom.

The next day as we prepared for the hike, I secretly questioned my sanity.  Could an aging baby boomer really make it up Mt. Mansfield with three 20 somethings who are in spectacular shape?  Mollie is a regular runner ready for a half-marathon, Dave just completed the Vermont Marathon and Chris teaches 5th graders in an urban neighborhood in Boston.

Regardless of the outcome, I was happy to be with them in such a beautiful place.  We arrived at the parking lot in Underhill, Vermont via a scenic hour long drive from Montpelier.  The elevation at the parking lot was 1540 feet.  The hike up Sunset Ridge Trail was just over three miles with 2853 feet of elevation gain.  It was steep and rocky!

I took up and maintained the rear position in our line of hikers, carrying a pack for conditioning and preparation for my upcoming climb on Mt. Ranier in September.  I started the stopwatch on my iPhone as we stepped off on the trail.  To my great surprise I was able to maintain a decent pace.  I kept them in sight as we all occasionally stopped for a rest or a snack and they mercifully paused while I caught up.

We reached the summit of Mt Mansfield's Chin (4393 feet) in a respectable 2 hours and 11 minutes.  There was enough of a chill in the air that we donned our warm coats before sitting for lunch and enjoying the view.  I love Vermont Cheddar and crackers on top of a mountain.  It tastes like victory.

Chris and me on the summit

Chris, Mollie and Dave

After lunch we chose the Laura Cowls Trail for the return loop to the parking lot.  It was steeper, wet and slippery, not a great combination for a downhill trek, but it was an adventure.  We were back in the parking lot in less than 2 hours.  Total time roundtrip for over 6 miles was under 4 hours!  It was a great hike with great company.  The top of Vermont was beautiful.  It was tempting to join The Long Trail as it traverses the summit and continue to see the rest of the state from this eagle's eye view.

For my loyal blog readers, thanks for hanging in there between posts, I promise to accelerate the pace now that summer is here.  In between current posts, I will put up some pictures of our trip to Israel and Istanbul.