Mt. Mansfield on a gorgeous fall day!

Taylor has been wanting to go hiking for a couple of weeks, but since the hurricane washed out so many roads, Camel's Hump is closed for the season.  Today was such a beautiful day, we decided to head out to Mt. Mansfield.  It turned out to be a perfect day!  Not too hot, not too cold - gorgeous clear skies.  Taylor invited her friend Dana to come with us.  Here they are at the start of the trail..

Taylor and her camera - one of the biggest reasons she wanted to hike - photo opportunities!

 Dana

 Rock outcropping on a side trail 

Blue trail markings - mom was afraid we'd get lost, but it was clearly marked :)

 View close to the top

 Ah!  Time to rest!  That was a long 2 1/2 hour climb to the top of the mountain!  We rested for bit, had lunch, and rested some more.  It's certainly hard to beat the view from up here - if you look in the distance of the pictures you can see Lake Champlain.

 Parts of the trail were still really muddy from all the rain we've had.  Since Taylor was in front of me most of the trip, I could always tell where the mud was.  In mid-sentence I'd hear "Bleech!"...

Time to head back down..  It was much a much shorter trip - only about an hour and a half.

We truly had a great day - it makes me remember why I love Vermont!  I'd love to go back one more time before it gets too cold.  This would be a beautiful hike once the leaves start to change.