Hiking Bald Mountain (Green Mountains of Vermont)

Memorial Day weekend was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!  Aside from the constant rain and frigid temperatures the first two days, Monday turned out to be beautiful!  Saturday of Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Survive the Farm 5K Obstacle Course Challenge and you can read all about that here.  After the race I was pretty much down for the count, but after a hot shower and a 2 hour nap I was feeling somewhat human again; that night we had dinner with some of Adam's family and then called it a night.  Sunday morning we hit up the gym, Adam made a lentil salad and then we headed down to Kinderhook Lake to have a cookout with some of our friends.  Kinderhook Lake is where we spent last 4th of July but this time there would be no boating or swimming because it was rainy and cold.  Luckily it cleared up a couple of hours before we left and I was able to enjoy some time by the lake!

Kinderhook Lake during the nasty weather on Sunday.

 Angry lake!

The sun finally came out!  Enjoying some time hammock by the lake!

 

Waving from the hammock!

Kinderhook Lake!

 

Since Monday was beautiful we decided to go for a hike!  We settled on Bald Mountain which is located right outside of Bennington, VT (Vermont is one of my favorite places!) and is only about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Albany.  The hike took about five hours - approximately six miles round trip and had amazing views!  The trail was pretty rugged, not nearly as rugged as our hike in the Adirondacks but definitely less used and less maintenanced than other trails we have done.  It was also extremely muddy (what is with me and mud this weekend?) because of the amount of rain last week, on top of already being soggy from the spring snow melt.  At times long portions of the trail was a made into a stream by the rain/melt and we had to not only figure out ways around the water but also how to continue along the trail.  My foot did end up going in a stream and pile of mud at one point, but luckily that was on the way down.  The view at the top of gorgeous!  We stopped, ate lunch and enjoyed the view before heading back down.  Great way to spend Memorial Day!

 

Just as we began our hike - if you look closely you can see the Bennington Battle Monument!

Tunnel under the highway toward the start of the hike.

 View from the top of Bald Mountain!

Me and the awesome view!

Adam and another portion of the awesome view!

 

Surveying my land!

Bald Mountain, Vermont!

Adam perched on a rock!  Love this picture!

 

<3 Vermont

 

So by the time Tuesday rolled around and it was time to head back to work I was sore and exhausted from the weekend!  The combination of the Survive the Farm race, Sunday gym session and a strenuous hike pretty much did me in for the week.  It was also somewhat difficult to adjust my mind back to work mode after a three day weekend.  So after taking it easy for a couple of days - yoga and some biking - I will be gearing up for my third race this weekend, the 35th Freihofer's Run for Women!