The Climb to Mount Ascutney

Vudthichai Phothisuk
Aug 10, 2016
4 min read

Recently, I did a trip to Vermont with my good friend Maya and her sister Iza. We met up with my teammate Derek who was able to house us for the week. There was a lot in store for us and we surely made the best of it. If you want to read more about our stay in Vermont, click here. The rest of this post will be dedicated to our amazing time hiking up Mount Ascutney.

The cool wind brushed our faces as we took a rest. Derek turned to Maya and asked her, “do you guys want to turn around?” Maya promptly answered with “Lucas will die if we don’t make it to the top,” and so we pushed on. Was it the lack of water we brought that made the hike miserable at points? Or was it the absence of snacks that taunted our empty stomachs? Ill prepared? I’d say so. Before the story progresses, let me explain to you how we got to this point.

After a long Wednesday exploring the wonders of Burlington, we retired to our home exhausted, knowing we would do some sort of hike the next day. It was around 10:00 AM when we regrouped the next morning. Iza was smart and bought two bagels while in Burlington knowing one would be for breakfast. I had three eggs. Nothing special, but enough to hold me over till lunch. Derek’s roommate, Holly, was getting ready for work while we finished our meal. I asked her what some good hikes to accomplish around here are. She told us that if we wanted to see spectacular views, Mt. Ascutney was the way to go, it’s the highest mountain in southeastern Vermont. She casually warned us that the three-mile climb gets extremely steep. None of us took that comment seriously; three miles didn’t seem that bad anyways. Maya, Iza, and Derek took a few bottles of water while I filled my up my two-liter and we were out the door.

I had just finished a 7s tournament the weekend prior to this trip, so I would consider myself in great shape. If it weren’t for the intense demands of rugby, the climb to the top would have been rough on my legs. The first mile of the trail was a slow, windy incline. A scent of fresh pine filled the air and grew stronger as we followed the blaze-marked trees. Our first stop was at Little Cascade Falls. It was empty that day, but the sight was still worth a couple minutes to admire. Pressing forward through the route, I noticed Maya was taking it a little slow. I found her pace very odd, but I didn’t bother to comment.

The four of us crossed fallen down trees bridging together small valleys and climbed up wooden steps built into the mountain where it led us to the first worthy viewpoint. There were many along the trail, but the only one I was eager to see was the summit. I knew we had ways to go, but I was unaware how much further we needed to push. Eventually, the footprints in the dirt took us to Cascade Falls. Standing at 30 feet wide and 85 feet tall, the dried up spillway gave us front row seats to an incredible vista. The views stretched on for miles with a panoramic outlook of the mountains from afar. This scenery was a reminder of how Mother Nature herself can craft greatness. We continued to pick our feet up for the next hour. You could tell we were elevating as the climb got steeper and the trees grew shorter.

At first, none of us understood Holly’s claim of the vertical incline, but after passing Cascade Falls, the trail really tested our endurance. Everyone’s water supply was diminishing quickly since we stopped more frequently. Suddenly, I regretted having only three eggs for breakfast. Maya’s asthma seemed to put a dent in her pace as well. This brings us back to Derek’s proposal of a forfeit on the day; Maya’s witty response brought out a smile that I couldn’t hide. I hugged her and we continued journeying upwards. Vertical was almost an understatement of how much the trail was ascending. The blazes were getting harder to see since they were painted on the rocky terrain, but the voices that echoed from above assured us we were close. It sounded like there was a party, and I didn’t want to be left out. An opening in the trees presented itself, and I ran towards it to discover a bigger picture of Vermont.

Gus’s Lookout was nothing short of mesmerizing. One could sit there for hours gazing out at the valleys below. We reached the actual summit over 100 feet higher up, putting us at an elevation of 3,144 feet. It was a strong sea of green that faded into a musky blue meeting the horizon. The clouds felt as if they were in reaching distance, projecting shadows on the hills below. They slowly danced as we sat there, looking out and worrying about nothing. Every couple minutes a strong breeze would swing by, cooling the sweat from the intense journey. It was all worth it; the views from up there were euphoric. We were with the birds.

The hard part was getting back down. While gravity wanted us to move a lot faster, my knees became increasingly sore with every step. We were all tired, water-less, and hungry. It took us a while to descend to the parking lot, but we eventually made it and rushed to the nearest gas station, which provided what felt like the best tasting water after going hours without any.

Getting to the top was surely an achievement, but more importantly, it was a tease into what my future expeditions might be like. The summit on top of Mt. Ascutney was a self-reminder of how important it is to make adventures like this possible for other people. Hopefully someday, I will have an extension of The Adventures of Vudi as a foundation and send like-minded youngsters on their own adventures. So until the next one, may your day be filled with good vibes, and good vibes only.