(Mountain Day During High School in 2010)
I had hiked a few times since I
came to the U.S. The first time was during high school. In my high school, we
always had one random day off during the week in October for hiking. My school
always did not tell us which day is our Mountain Day because they wanted to give
students a surprise and encourage everybody to go hiking. The interesting thing
was that if anyone of us was trying to skip the Mountain Day for a day off, we
had to prove certain reasons; otherwise, we might get an absence if we did not
go hiking.
(Snow Mountain Hiking in Seattle in 2010)
(Snow Mountain Hiking in Seattle in 2010)
(Snow Mountain Hiking in Seattle in 2010)
(Snow Mountain Hiking in Seattle in 2010)
Unfortunately, I did not make it to the
top for the first time because I ran out of times and I did not have any
experience hiking in the U.S. Hiking in the U.S is a little different from
China since there are no stairs in mountains here. What we had are just some
directions and a not very obvious trail. I regretted that I could not make it to the
top, but I promised myself that I must make it to the top next year.
After my second time hiking with my
school, my perspective of hiking was completely changed. The moment that I
could see the landscape on the top just made me feel wonderful. I was telling
myself that the hike was really worth it even though the trail was long and hard.
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
(Hiking Mansfield Mountain in 2013)
After I moved to Vermont, I got much more
excited for hiking, because here are numerous mountains we can hike. The first mountain
that I hiked is the most challenging one in Vermont, and that is Mansfield
Mountain, the highest mountain in the state. There were two trails I could
choose; one is more steep, dangerous but short, and another one is easier but
much longer. I chose the dangerous one because I wanted to challenge and remind
myself why I could not make it to the top for the first time!
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
As I had mentioned in my previous blog,
most Vermonter and visitors go hiking in the fall season in Vermont because of the
“red sea.” The fall season in Vermont is just like the Garden of Eden, a realm
of paradise that is almost gone in human minds. So I still go hiking this year,
I want to go back and look for the paradise again.
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
This time we chose another mountain in Vermont.
It is call Killington Peak, which is about 90 miles away from the campus.
This place is more like a tourism area because Killington Peak is the highest
ski area in Vermont and has the most vertical drop of any ski mountain
in the New England area. It's nickname is also “the Beast of the East.” So the
mountain that we hiked is also prime for skiing in the winter.
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
There are many trails that we could choose to hike the
mountain, and the destinations are the same spot on the peak. Since we had some
hikers in our group who do not have enough experience for hiking, we choose the
second most difficult trail.
Same as Mansfield Mountain –- the easier the trail, the longer the
distance. However, the second most
difficult trail in Killington Peak is so much easier than any mountain I hiked
in the country. It is probably why this is
a tourism area and a professional ski area which is not designed for hiking.
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
However, the Vermont landscape has not changed. It is
still as gorgeous as usual, with breathtaking views. After we got the
destination, there is a huge restaurant on the top. Around the restaurant, it
is surrounded by glass, so people can eat while they watch the landscape. The
difference from hiking Mansfield is that we can see the landscape anywhere
before we reach the top and there is no restaurant on the top of Mansfield;
everyone had picnics on the rocks on Mansfield. For me, hiking Killington Peak
is more like walking in the Garden of Eden, but Mansfield is more adventurous. No matter where you
hike in Vermont, it is always awesome hiking the "red sea" during
Vermont' fall!
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
(Hiking Killington Peak in 2015)
No comments:
Post a Comment