Violets and Trout Lilies bloomed for well over a week at home on the New York / New Jersey stateline, but the narrative in Wilmington, Vermont was different. We arrived on a windy night. A thin blanket of snow swirled over the New England town. By morning, the landscape was draped in fluffy white snow. Congrats – we traveled back into winter!

In the next 24 hours, the sun broke through the gray thickness above and the snow soon disappeared. Our ambitious gang of goldfish snack inhalers (and their parents, the coffee guzzlers) could not stay put for long. We set off on an adventure to summit Haystack Mountain!

The missus and I bundled ourselves and the little imps as if we were headed to the arctic. With bladders bursting and fingers already numb, we were ready for the trail! We carried our luggage (the kids) on our backs and shoulders through mud and rocks up 1,000 vertical feet. It was not long before we found the snow again. With sun blaring, snow became slush and feet became pruney.

We pressed on and the giant slushy stairmaster with complaining children soundtrack finally gave way to a tremendous vista at the top of old Haystack. Glory was ours! We had made it (all of us)! And then…we realized it was time to climb back down…oh shit.