hiking stowe pinnacle

Friday's plan called for an hour hike so I headed up to the Stowe Pinnacle trail. I thought that snow conditions would be pretty good for a snowshoe/crampon-less hike, and i was right. there was good traction and a well packed down trail. The weather was warming up a bit, mid-twenties and the sun was even poking through the clouds.

There was a couple in the parking lot when i arrived. they were trying to use every piece of brand new gear they purchased: snowshoes, poles, gators, crampons, hand warmers. i jumped out of the car and started my stopwatch and headed up before that expedition started clogging up the trail.

It's a steady, fairly steep climb - though not as steep as most trails around these parts. because i didn't have a lot of time. I was aiming for the vista, not quite the top. 

It took me 40 minutes to reach the vista and the views were gorgeous. I hung out and snapped some photos and then took off down the mountain. Sliding down the steep parts and running the not-so-steep, I got down in half the time it took me to go up. But the day after I realized that running wasn't such a hot idea. My quads are really painful and it was challenging to do a high tempo workout on the bike the following day. Two days later, they're still hurting and I'm facing a long ride with fried legs.