My day started with sleeping in and then off to sell Michele’s dining room set. I thought my day was over for doing anything.  After three I said to myself you need a hike and a fast one. Hell Brook is the fastest way up to something that takes me to another place. I sprinted to 108 parked, packed and set my timer. If I get up in an hour and a half I will have plenty of time to get out before dark. It was blown out for photos when I started but I always carry my gear just in case the weather shifts. It looked grey and flat until I hit the cliff section and the clouds started to dissipate then the sky opened all the way to Lake Champlain. The clouds lingered to collect the colors of sunset. I waited and said worse case I will be going down in the dark with my small LED. When the sunsets and you’re alone on top of a mountain it’s like seeing a painting unfold in front of you. The physical challenge and danger of hiking down in the dark doesn’t cross your mind. Hell Brook is the steepest mile in Vermont and the fastest way to a summit sunset.

"I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it" 
― Thomas Jefferson

Mount Mansfield, VermontHell Brook the steepest mile in Vermont (Mount Mansfield/Smugglers' Notch/Vermont)