Killington Redux

The day I hiked off the Long Trail, I managed to secure a few rides from considerate locals in Vermont. I was back at my own car in Pico. John called me around 1500. He would soon arrive. Where would I like to meet him?

I had been out four days in the mountains, and was very tired. The heat and terrain had beaten me up, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to turn around and go north again. I knew John was not that particularly interested in section hiking, but would prefer to hike the mountains in Vermont to complete the New England 67.

I asked him to meet me at the Brewers Corner parking lot near Killington. We could overnight off trail and finish it in the am. After that, we’d go home and regroup for another trip later in the summer to the peaks near Lincoln Gap.

It was at least 7 years since I had climbed Killington on a cold winter day.

I washed up a bit and managed a late lunch before John arrived. I was glad to see him as we had not hiked in a few months. We sat around in camp chairs (a luxury) before hiking in a quarter mile off trail to camp for the night.

The temperature had begun to come down, but the night was still warm enough for hammock camping. Just before sunrise I could hear John packing up. I dragged myself out of the hammock and broke camp. It would be wise to get going before the full heat of the day was upon us.

The hike to the summit is a mere three miles, and starts relatively easily. John was much faster than i at this point. My time in the forest had broken me down, and I was at half my normal speed. I traveled today with a small pack, having unloaded all my backpacking gear into the car before beginning the hike to the summit.

The trail allows a gradual ascent through the Vermont forest following Brewers Brook for a mile and a half before you begin to gain elevation. The brook crossings are easily accomplished with the help of two bridges.

We would climb steadily until we reached the Long Trail. I had passed by the summit trail a year before on a backpacking trip of this section and knew that a shelter was located just below the peak. We had stopped there briefly on my winter hike as well. Before meeting John I had watched a group of boys and their minder set out for the shelter yesterday for a summer camp outing. The last thing I wanted to encounter on my vacation hike was a gaggle of teenage boys. As John and I approached the hut at this early hour, we could hear them. We passed the shelter without stopping. The spur trail to the summit is perhaps a quarter mile from the shelter. It rises steeply, and it requires putting away your poles and scrambling over and between the boulders of quartzite and quartz schist. Looking up, the end of our climb was shrouded in fog.

We pulled ourselves up and out of the treeline just below the peak. The wind was blowing at 10 to 15 mph, and the fine views of the mountain were obscured by the cloud that sat on the summit. Rain would be coming later today, and the clouds peppered us with a few wind driven drops of precipitation, a hint at what was headed our way.

The tower was barely visible through the mist.

I was quickly transported back several years, when I climbed the mountain with a younger man’s body. That winter day, the tower was covered in rime ice, and the temperatures were no higher than 20F.

John and I ducked out of the wind, shielded by some stunted trees. After a quick trail bar and a little water, I wanted off this rock. The descent down the steep section is always quicker, but we were careful with foot placement. There were some areas with loose stone, and a fall here would be unforgiving.

Our descent was without incident. We passed two gentlemen from New Hampshire on the way. One was climbing the NE67 peaks in pursuit of the list. He was over 70, and greeted us with a smile and a nod.

Our round trip was approximately seven miles, and we were up and down in about 4-5 hours with our break at the top. It would be a hot summer day. We stopped along Route 100 for lunch. Vermonters care about their food, and locally source much of the ingredients in their offerings at restaurants and even the road side eateries.

John and I parted ways and turned back for the Ocean State along different routes. We would return again hopefully before summer’s end.