The Trail Goes Where?

We last saw our intrepid adventurers when they left South Royalton, Vermont for Mount Mansfield. We had seen some flood damage, but most towns truly effected were cut off, but after grabbing lunch in Montpelier (where we saw lots of FEMA people) we drove through Waterbury, Vermont, where you could see how every home had been flooded.

Everything smelt like mud and the pastures where matted down from the flooding:





Vermonters have a way of finding humor in tough times though:



We stopped by the Ben and Jerry's factory!



And got to Underhill State Park just in time to set up our tent before dark and enjoy an awesome fire in the great firepit for our campsite. Underhill is off the grid, small, and super quiet - we loved it!



The next morning around 10:30 we started out. The park didn't have any maps to hand out and the maps they had posted didn't even have all the trails on them. We got two different answers from the ranger (who clearly "knew the score") but we figured out a nice long route that we ended up being super happy with (over 10 miles and over 2100 ft elevation change). We took the CCC Road to Maple Ridge to Rock Garden to the Wampahoofus to the Forehead, across the Ridge, to the Adam's Apple, to Lake of the Clouds, to the Profanity trail and back via the Sunset Ridge trail - all in 9 hours.



Nick likes extreme hiking and initially poo-pooed the elevation of Mount Mansfield, but I knew he'd enjoy the extremes of this hike, starting with the absence of switchbacks:



As a result you quickly get to the alpine zone of the mountain:



The trail was incredibly well marked, which is good, because otherwise we would have thought we were lost. Yes, they want us to go down that:



Looking back up:



So worth it:



The Rock Garden trail in particular was great, although it should have had a small box at the beginning, like the height chart at an amusement park ride, saying "you must be able to fit through this to go on this trail"







And this point Nick was totally in love with Mount Mansfield and we hadn't even reached the top! In this picture he is showing his sad face that they actually DON'T have us going up this rock face:



But that's ok, it doesn't take long to be back scrambling:



For great views:



We stopped for a quick lunch at the Forehead:



Being silly:



The summit was truly in the clouds:





Those white blazes? The Trail...



The other side of that:



The Sunset Ridge trail alternated between clouds and clear by the minute:



Finally made it back! Unlike backcountry trips we've done, Mount Mansfield actually wants you to sign back in that you made it!

The Plan Keeps coming up again...

The beginning of the school year with no classes or teaching is weird. I *LOVE* back to school time. I roam the aisles at Target, lust after stationary, and consider getting a new planner even though I use my phone for everything now. In lieu of these joys I spent yesterday planning my semester on my google calender. Some of these are goals and some are definites, but I thrive with activity and schedules so I'm shooting high and see where I land!

Work:
I work Tues-Thurs at WTS from 9-1. Nice extra money and keep my profile there to up my hours again next summer. I've advanced quickly there and they are going to have me do in-office work for the Fall.

Dissertation:
I have a fellowship and feel really great about the research I've done this summer. I still need to figure out how to get funding to get to the National Archives, but those grants aren't up until early next year, so I'm hoping Judy will let me start writing without that data yet. The Scarlet Fever, TB, and Rheumatic Fever chapters are well rounded in material and I have some nice leads in Chicago for Polio stuff. The department is paying for me to go to both HSS and AAHM this year, but I won't be presenting. Clark wants to start a dissertator group, meeting in the library one afternoon a week, which even if I'm not writing will be helpful for citation maintenance.

Exercise:
Now that we are moved and I have a set schedule, this was where I went to town with plans. I now live right around the corner from a really nice gym, so I signed up with the new member student discount yesterday. I can go to the UW gym as part of my fees as well. So, my plan is:

Mondays: Run in the AM (either on treadmill at new gym where they have individual tv's! or the track on campus, which I prefer to treadmill running if I can't run outside)

Tuesdays: Either strength training class on campus or yoga at new gym depending on how I feel when I wake up. The proximity of the gym is tempting for cold mornings or when I have to bring a lot to campus because I can return home and shower there instead of bringing in my street clothes. Tuesday evenings I rock climb with Dianna.

Wednesdays: Run

Thursdays: Strength Training or Yoga in AM (they have 6AM yoga classes at the new gym!) and ultimate frisbee at night.

Fridays: Run (maybe an occasional core crunch class at the campus gym with Nick in the afternoon - he is not the early riser).

Saturdays: Yoga at Perfect Knot

Sunday: Rest.

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My goals aren't weight or clothing sizes, but feeling good and sticking to a productive schedule. I do want to run Crazy Legs (8k) in the spring (I can run 8k already, but as a perfectionist I want to also have a good time) and work toward running a half marathon next year. All of this means being at the gym longer, since running twice as far means running twice as long! I really felt my best physically when I was doing yoga three times a week so that is a big goal too. I was also running regularly then, so I know all of this is doable - the summer just throws off my schedule with so much ultimate frisbee and traveling.

But mostly it is the mind-body connection - when I am on an exercise schedule I am more productive in other areas of my life - I have more energy, I even feel like I have more time, and I feel good. This is the beginning of the end of my graduate career and Nick and I are trying to coordinate our graduation, so we are trying to help each other and support each other in our respective needs. Now that we live together we feel less stressed with finding free time for each other so we feel like we are ready for this stage :)


This morning's yoga class? I got to watch the sun rise out the 4th floor window :)