We met at 9 at the Richmond Park and Ride and took two cars to the trailhead, since Wes had to be back in Burlington by 2. There was a little snow on the ground, but the summer parking area at the Duxbury trailhead was still open, and we started up the trail from there at 9:30. It was overcast and around 30 F, and the footing was a little slippery, so although we’d started off without them, was all put on microspikes a little ways past the Dean Trail junction.

Of course Dean’s dog, Sophie, had no trouble, and had so much energy that she probably went 3 miles running back and forth for every one we hiked. We made good time and saw only one other person on the trail before reaching the hut clearing just before 11:30. We debated whether he had time to make it up and still get down when he needed to, and decided to go for it. He raced ahead, reaching the summit and passing us on his way back.

It was very windy at the top, and we didn’t stick around for long. We got back to the hut clearing to have lunch as Wes was finishing his, and saw several other people, some with dogs for Sophie to play with. Wes raced down ahead of us and we left the hut clearing right around noon, arriving back at the car (with Wes long gone) just before 2:30.

David Hathaway (leader), with Wes Volk, Dean Weiderin, and Sophie (Dean’s dog).