Emily and I had a blast this weekend doing something that we’re still shocked we actually pulled off. We’ve lived in the Burlington and Shelburne, Vermont, area for over four years, but we’ve never gone hiking or camping up here.

We take frequent drives to take in the beautiful views along Lake Champlain, the surrounding countryside, and the local mountains, but never really immersed ourselves in it. We’ve wanted to, but always seem to only talk about it or just plain wuss out.

This time it was different. We actually planned for it. We spent Saturday morning gathering supplies and packing our gear, ate a big lunch next-door at Sauce, then hit the road. We took the scenic drive from Shelburne, through Hinesburg and Huntington, and winding up Route 17 to the top of the Appalachian Gap¹.

We had decided to start from there and hike along the Long Trail up over Baby Stark Mountain and Molly Stark Mountain, and down to Birch Glen where we’d either camp or continue on to the next camping spot, depending on how long it took. After all, it’s only 2.6 miles from the App-Gap to Birch Glen.

Hah! Oh, how naïve we were! It took us nearly four hours to get there! Neither of us are in great shape (especially me, since I pretty much only ever sit at a computer), but that 5.2 mile (round-trip) hike, with 1500 feet of climbing (and 1500 feet of descent) with fully laden packs was brutal. Beatiful, but painful.

We laughed. We nearly broke down and cried. We froze our asses off during the night. We felt so great after resting for a few minutes and starting to hike again. And we agreed that this gets us major brownie points for the next 12 months.

Regarding the hike, all I can say is wow! The weather was absolutely gorgeous both days. The forest is beautiful and serene. And the view from Molly Stark’s Balcony made it undescribably worth it (at least when we were actually sitting there enjoying it)!

As you can see, it’s quite breathtaking. You can see Camel’s Hump in the center and Huntington is visible down in the valley to the left.

It’d actually be a reasonable day hike from the App-Gap up to Molly Stark’s Balcony, especially since you wouldn’t have to deal with the long hike down to Birch Glen. I don’t think I’d do that particular hike again with full gear, but it was well worth the pain that I’m still in.

It really hammered in what a beautiful state we live in… and I thought I already appreciated it.

¹ This is actually one of my frequent commute options from Shelburne to Waitsfield every day. It’s absolutely amazing. More about the App-Gap.