Mt. Ascutney Backpack

This past August, myself and two of my friends spent the night at one of the most gorgeous spots I have ever pitched a tent. That’s saying a lot.

DISCLAIMER: This was not at a legal campsite. In fact, what we did was against the rules of the park in which we camped. I’m usually pretty stringent when it comes to following the rules, but I had a brilliant idea, and I ran with it.

Perched on the edge of the world.

This was to be my friend Katie’s first backpacking trip, and my friend Jess’s second backpacking trip. Katie and Jess didn’t meet until the afternoon we met up to pack our bags and head off to the mountain.

Gus' Outlook.

I picked Mt. Ascutney because: it wasn’t too far of a drive from Massachusetts; it would be a moderately challenging trip with ~4 miles each day; it’s a relatively small mountain with a big reward; it has a fire tower and sprawling views; and, using two cars we could do a traverse to experience the best it had to offer.

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking…

We made it to the campsite!

We watched the sunset in absolute rapture.

6:00 am sunrise.

The morning sun kisses the hills and valleys below.

The view from the fire tower at 8:00 am.

Katie and Jess.