AT and the Long Trail - Bennington to Killington, VT

The night of July 4th, Bird, Strider, Pizza, and I camped at the top of Harmon Hill, 1.8 miles outside of Bennington, VT. Coors arrived in town the night before to meet his girlfriend. We stayed up way past hiker midnight to watch fireworks..we gathered in front of a clearing in the trees to see the fireworks go off in Bennington. We could also see fireworks from three other distant locations - it was a pretty cool perspective, we were watching the fireworks from above them. Spirits were high knowing that we had stuck to our target miles and now only had to average around 16 miles a day to reach Katahdin on our intended finish date.

Coors and Karen were going to meet us at Route 9 at 9AM on July 5th. Since we only had 1.8 miles to walk that day I tried to sleep in but I woke up in a very soggy tent from the dewy grass at the top of the mountain. I got out of my tent around 6AM and sat around, bored, until around 7:30 when we packed up and left. The 1.8 miles were all downhill but the last mile of the descent was slow because of the steep rock steps.

Bird and Strider were already in the parking lot eating apples and drinking water provided by an older man offering trail magic. We arrived about 20 minutes before Coors. When they arrived we all piled into Karen's rental car, stinky and sweaty - Bird had to sit in the trunk. Our first stop was to get breakfast, even though we were all disgusting. After we ate we got a room at the Paradise Inn for the 4 of us to share - Coors and Karen already had a room there. After a trip to Walmart for a two day resupply we returned to the hotel for laundry and naps. That afternoon Coors and Karen hung out by the pool and the rest of us walked to Cilantro to get burritos for a late lunch and eventually ordered pizza for dinner.

Rain and thunder came in over night and we were glad to be dry inside. We had been lucky timing our town stops with the rainy days. The next day (Friday July 6th) we planned to nero out of town so I woke everyone up at 8AM (I of course was up by 6). We went to a diner for a big breakfast - I was actually able to finish all of my food which included chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, toast, potatoes, and coffee. Pizza doesn't eat breakfast foods so she stayed in the hotel and ate leftover pizza. We returned to the hotel after everyone was stuffed to pack up and clean - we had 7 Walmart bags full of trash.

We checked out of the hotel at 11 and Karen drove us back to the trail. Bird and Strider stayed in town to watch both of the World Cup games and planned to meet us at Goddard Shelter 10.1 miles out of town that evening. It was cool, cloudy, and windy. The climb out of the road was steep with moss covered rocks which were wet and slippery. We ran into a lot of section hikes and Long Trail hikers who were just starting their thru hikes. Suddenly it started pouring. I instantly got soaked, but it didn't last long. The sun came back out when we got to the shelter around 2:30PM and most of my clothes had dried by the afternoon. It was getting chilly and I claimed a spot in the shelter since a lot of the good tenting spots were taken. I wasn't used to fighting for space with this many hikers. It got colder throughout the afternoon and I put my puffy on and got into my sleeping bag at 5.

Pizza and I took inventory of our food bags and realized we had tons of food - we only needed enough to get us to Manchester Center two days away but found that we had enough food to get us to Killington/Rutland 83 miles north. We decided to skip Manchester Center and Coors and Strider decided to try to make it 83 miles on the food they had as well - Bird still wanted to go into Manchester Center, there were other supplies he needed. Coors packed out a liter of wine and drank it all and then taught a group of hikers how to play cribbage.

That ended up being one of the coldest night we had in several hundred miles - down into the 40s. I was warm in my 20 degree quilt, which I never sent home, but Bird had a rough night sleeping with only his bag liner. He had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and had stepped on a south bound (SOBO) hiker who had come in late and fell asleep on the floor of the shelter. The SOBO hiker then moved to the bench and woke everyone up at 5AM when he rolled off and landed on the porch floor with a loud thud - very startling!

Bird was up and hiking a little after 5AM because he was too cold and had to start moving. I was the next out (on Saturday July 7th) at 6 - Pizza, Strider, and Coors were still asleep when I left. Only a third of a mile up the trail was Glastenbury Mountain which had a lookout tower on top. I went up briefly to see the view but it was too cold and windy to stay long. Around 8 I stopped for breakfast at Kid Gore Shelter, 4.3 miles into the day. The shelter looked pretty crummy but had a nice view of some nearby lakes. A couple of Long Trail thru hikers were still there eating breakfast and packing up. After another 4.6 miles I took another break at Story Spring Shelter but there were lots of noisy teenagers there so I didn't stay long. I'm continually reminded that it's summer vacation and a long holiday weekend - the trail and campsites are crowded.

There were a lot of good water sources flowing by the trail, which twisted and turned over moss covered rocks and roots. Vermont is known to be muddy - commonly referred to as Vermud..I tried to avoid my puddles by hoping from rock to rock but sometimes I would misstep and the mud would almost suction off my shoe.

I took another snack break at Kelly Stand road, just before the climb up Stratton Mountain. The climb up Stratton was about 3.6 miles and and 1,700’. I started the climb at 12:15 and reached the top at around 1:45. It wasn't that bad and I was just glad I didn't have to deal with bugs or cobwebs all day! Except for the flies…the flies liked to circle above the head, just out of view and no matter how many times you swat at them they seem to avoid the strikes and continue to buzz in your ear. At one point I had three circling around my head, which made it awkward when I passed several day hikers climbing up Stratton - I said hello and they would try to be friendly as their eyes followed the swarm of flies above my head…

The climb seemed like it went on a little too long and then all of a sudden I was at the top of Stratton Mountain with dozens of people around. Apparently there is a ski lift that you can take to the top. I waited in line to go up the lookout tower. Since the platform was small and unstable only 4 people were allowed up at a time. I could see Killington Mountain in the distance, where I would be in three days. I started the 3 mile descent down the mountain to Stratton Pond at 2:15. I found Bird hanging out by the water with the caretaker. Most of the campsites in Vermont where the AT/LT coincide have a caretaker and charge a $5 fee - they have a deal for thru hikers that if you pay for one then the rest of them are free.

The rest of the gang eventually showed up and we ate dinner by the pond. Pizza went swimming, more cribbage was played, but I went to my tent at 7PM to pass out. Sunday July 8th I was slow to get up again - it was chilly out and I was cozy in my quilt. I finally started hiking at 6:20AM. The morning miles were easy, the mud had mostly dried but there were still a few wet spots - lots of boardwalks and rock hopping. Lots of good water sources. About 8 miles in I stopped for a break at Spruce Peak Shelter, Bird had passed me a couple miles earlier and was already there snacking.

Bird was the only one going into town that day and got an easy hitch into Manchester Center from VT Route 11. It was a beautiful day, perfect hiking weather. The climb up Bromley Mountain was about 3 miles and 2,500’ but went by quickly. I passed several day hikers hiking south down the mountain wearing enough bug spray to leave a trail behind them - no bugs bothered me for the rest of the climb. At lunchtime I stopped at the Bromley Shelter ⅔ up the mountain - only had 8.3 miles left to go for the day! The top was beautiful - it's a ski resort with an open summit and a chair lift. It got hot and sunny so I didn't stay long.

The next climb was Styles Peak, in the Peru Peak Wilderness, which caught me off guard. It was only 1.6 miles and about 935’ of climbing but there were some really steep sections with a steep descent to match. I was the first of the group to make it to Peru Peak Shelter, 20.7 miles for the day at 4:15PM. There were limited tenting spaces so we had to squeeze. Strider was next to arrive just before 6, the others came in within the next hour.

I woke up Monday July 9th comfy again and didn't start hiking until 6AM. Since we were able to relax, take more time to enjoy the trail, and worry less about mileage I was able to sleep better. The first mile walked next to the lake with lots of boardwalks. There was a short climb up Baker Peak - I had phone service at the top! The rest of the day felt like a typical hiking day: took a break at Rock Pond Shelter, lots of good water sources, walked through pine forests that provided cushion under my feet and smelled like car air fresheners.

I didn't see anyone in the group all day until Bird caught me halfway up Bear Mountain. The afternoon miles were tough and slow. I took a break at Minerva Hinchey Shelter, 19.6 miles in, and found Bird and some other thru hikers there. I left there around 4:10 to do the last 3.6 miles. The trail descended to Clarendon Gorge which we crossed on a large suspension bridge and watched people swimming in the river below. There was a view of an airport from both sides of the gorge so of course I stopped to stare at it for awhile. The climb out of the gorge was a very steep rock scramble. After 23.3 miles I got to Clarendon Shelter around 6PM - it was very crowded since Long Trail hikers and AT hikers were still overlapping but there were plenty of good tenting spots. It had gotten into the 80s during the day and the night stayed rather warm.

I was up and out of camp by 5:30AM on Tuesday July 10th, motivated by the upcoming trip into Rutland that afternoon. It was warm so it wasn't too hard to get out of my quilt. Pizza had gotten up early and left just before 5. The trail went up a steep climb right from the beginning of the day without giving me a chance to warm up. It took us up Beacon Hill - 500’ in ½ a mile. Coors passed me at the first road crossing and we walked most of the way to the next shelter together, 6.1 miles further. After Beacon Hill the terrain was pretty gentle but it would go up a steep incline away from the river and then descend quickly back down to the river - it did that several times which just made me mad. Strider caught up to us at Governor Clement Shelter - the shelter was pretty gross, it was made of stone with a fireplace and used to be a hang out for locals who left plenty of trash around.

From there we had 4.3 miles to Cooper Lodge, which was at the base of a short side trail to the top of Killington Mountain. It was just after 8AM when Coors, Strider, and I started the climb. It started up a dirt road before heading up the mountain. Parts of the climb were really steep and slanted with rocks and roots. It was also the first time I saw piles of moose droppings, which made me oddly excited.

Cooper Lodge was about 10.4 miles into the day. When I got there Coors and Pizza were sitting on the tent platforms at the base of the 0.2 mile side trail to the summit. We usually don't do side trails (unnecessary miles!) but Killington Mountain was worth it. It was very steep - 350’ up in that ¼ mile but the view was awesome. We found Strider at the top and walked the additional 0.2 miles together to the ski lodge. The four of us sat inside the almost empty ski lodge - the ski lift still run in the summer so day hikers and tourists can enjoy the scenery. I charged my phone and bought a can of Coke and some chocolate milk for $6.50...Coors and Pizza spent about $20 on lunch. Ski lodge prices!

Around noon we started the 6 mile descent, which was actually kind of fun. Sections were nice enough I could have run down. We got down to US 4 before 2PM. The 4 of us tried to hitch into Rutland, VT but no one picked us up before the bus came and we paid the $2 for a ride downtown. Bird had family in Killington, VT, the other direction off of US 4 and was getting picked up by his uncle to visit them.

The bus dropped us off near the Walmart but went to eat lunch at Subway before resupplying. Next we wandered around Walmart for awhile and then walked to the nearby Price Chopper. While we were shopping a huge storm came in and it poured like crazy. We had successfully skipped another drenching with a perfectly timed town stop!

Pizza had made up her mind that she wanted to stay at the Yellow Deli - a hiker hostel/well known cult… It was within walking distance so she headed over there once there rain stopped. Coors, Strider, and I were trying to get motivated to either get back on trail to hike to the next shelter or find a room to split in town. That's when Bird called and said his aunt had a free cabin for us to stay in...