Background and Disclaimers: We began thinking about the five Vermont 4s in one day about four years ago when I accompanied DT on three Vermont 4s as part of his NE100 list quest (I had already completed the NE100 in winter a few years earlier). After a leisurely day hiking the Skyline traverse (north to south over Ellen and Abraham, spotting cars at Appalachian and Lincoln Gaps) and Camels Hump, we realized that by merely getting started a little earlier we could perhaps climb all five Vermont 4s in daylight. In the meantime, Stinkyfeet, Frodo, and Jeffrey (search for their posting on VFTT trip reports) used a combination of trails and ski slopes on February 28th 2004 to complete the five over 20.3 miles, 9700 ft elevation gain, in 14 hr, 50 min (10.9 hr hiking, 3.9 hr driving). We had no intention to complete the five this quickly, although I suspect that beating their time in non-winter conditions would be a challenge for anyone other than a mountain runner (DT and I are hikers, not runners). Coincidentally, Matt Gilhuly and three friends completed the five on the same day we did, September 5th 2004, but in reverse direction (see their separate posting). Great minds think alike? We never saw one another, however, as we were a couple of hours ahead of them on the Abraham/Ellen traverse, we having completed Killington, they having started 2.5 hours earlier and already completing Mansfield and Camels.
I awoke at 2 am to leave my place in Thornton at 3 am to meet DT in Concord, NH, at 3:50 am (DT leaving MA an hour earlier). We decided to go with one vehicle to save gas. After gas stop in Lebanon, we arrived at Killington base lodge, 165 mi from Thornton, at 6 am, where a guy was punching cards for mountain bikers already involved in a multi-event adventure sport race. We began our hike up the steep ski slope under the Gondola lift at 6:15 am, reaching the summit at 7 am, along with some of the mountain bikers, who took a road route; we avoided the steep slippery trail down by taking the longer Great Northern ski trail / tote road, arriving at the base at 7:55 am (approx. 3.0 mi., 1800 ft up, 1 hr 40 min).
We drove 49 miles on Rt. 100 to Lincoln Gap, arriving at 9 am. We began hiking AT at 9:20 am, reaching Abraham at 10:30 am, Lincoln Peak at 10:50 am, and Ellen at 12:10 pm. At 6.3 miles, the distance was a couple of miles longer than DT had measured on the map, so we were wishing that we had spotted a second car somewhere, preferably at the base of Sugarbush North chairlift. Miraculously, we met Bill Norland, who had hiked up Jerusalem Trail and offered to drive us back around to Lincoln Gap. So, the 4.2 mi down saved us a couple miles, and probably close to an additional 1000 ft vertical gain along the ridge had we back-tracked. Although we reached the Jerusalem Trailhead at 1:55 pm, we took some time to visit Bill’s house (fellow geologist, so lots of mutual acquaintances to discover in conversation), returning to Lincoln Gap at 2:55 pm (10.5 mi, 2800 ft up, 4 hr 35 min).
We drove 29 miles to Burrows Trailhead on Camels Hump, arriving at 3:40 pm, and began hiking at 3:50 pm, reaching the summit at 5:10 pm. We left summit at 5:15 pm (all summits were in clouds, as Matt Gilhuly et al. also noted), arriving at base at 6:15 pm (5.2 mi, 2800 ft up, 2 hr, 25 min).
We drove 30 miles to the gate at Underhill State Park on the west side of Mansfield, arriving at 7:15 pm, and after paying $2.50 each for our hiking passes, started up Sunset Ridge Trail at 7:30 pm as darkness encroached. The trail was steeper than I had remembered on my only previous trip in winter, but that was during daylight, albeit with a pair of tele-skis in tow (that trip is fodder for another story, having brewed tea in a snow cave on the summit, meeting two snowboarders from Stowe who did not know how to get down, and I thrashing my way down the Tear Drop Trail while friend Walter carved big turns in the powder). The exposure on the ledges was quite breezy and we were once again into the cloud at about 3800 ft. We reached the summit area at 9:45 pm, tripping over lots of string but could only find one vandalized benchmark. We could not remember from our past trips to the summit whether there was a signpost or not, so spent the next 35 minutes or so looking for other clues, including walking out the AT in each direction, both leading us down in elevation. My altimeter read 4200 ft, which seemed close, but I was convinced that we were still a couple of hundred meters too far south. After talking to a bunch of folks, and DT looking at his old photographs from a few years ago, it seems like we were probably there, but were deceived by the darkness and cloud. Kevin Rooney replied to my query about the summit under Matt Gilhuly’s thread that there may be a second benchmark within a few hundred feet of the other, and also mentions a “chimney” just below the summit that we remember hiking through. Our hike down Laura Cowles Trail was slowed by wet steep slabby sections, or so it seemed in the dark; we arrived back at the gate at 12:15 am, or 18 hours after we began at Killington base lodge (6.2 mi, 2600 ft up, 4 hr, 45 min).
The drive back to Concord was long, with two short naps for me, as I had driven the entire trip, and my return to Thornton at 7:30 am, 28.5 hours after my departure (DT got home in MA an hour earlier by skipping the naps, but had left home an hour earlier, so was also out for about 28.5 hours).
Totals for trip: about 24.9 mi, about 10,000 ft elevation gain, in about 13 hr, 25 min for hiking; about 110 mi and about 3 hr 50 min driving between the three hikes (including about 12 mi and circuitous 1 hr shuttle from Jerusalem Trailhead to Lincoln Gap by Bill); and 45 min changing clothes, etc.; so 18 hours total (not counting drive time to Killington and home from Mansfield). I think that we could have saved at least an hour by hiking Abraham and Ellen separately (Ellen via a ski slope under chairlift that tops out just north of the summit) and at least another hour by hiking Mansfield during daylight, but not sure when I will want to try this trip again (at least not for a year or so; I am a few years longer in the tooth than DT, Matt Gilhuly and friends, Stinkyfeet, Frodo, and Jeffrey).
I would rate this trip similar to the Kilkenny Range, Presi, and Wildcat-Carter-Moriah traverses, easier than the Pemi Great Horseshoe Loop (without side trips) for hiking mileage, but harder than all of these when the driving mileage is added. On the other hand, the driving breaks are nice for changing into dry clothes and socks, tanking up on water, and ingesting some needed calories. As a side note, I have always liked Vermont’s politics better than New Hampshire’s. As another side note, there is a classic driving/hiking trip in the UK that involves getting to the tops of Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales) in 24 hours. Another spin on this UK trip involves using a sail boat and bicycle instead of an automobile, which takes considerably longer than one day.
I awoke at 2 am to leave my place in Thornton at 3 am to meet DT in Concord, NH, at 3:50 am (DT leaving MA an hour earlier). We decided to go with one vehicle to save gas. After gas stop in Lebanon, we arrived at Killington base lodge, 165 mi from Thornton, at 6 am, where a guy was punching cards for mountain bikers already involved in a multi-event adventure sport race. We began our hike up the steep ski slope under the Gondola lift at 6:15 am, reaching the summit at 7 am, along with some of the mountain bikers, who took a road route; we avoided the steep slippery trail down by taking the longer Great Northern ski trail / tote road, arriving at the base at 7:55 am (approx. 3.0 mi., 1800 ft up, 1 hr 40 min).
We drove 49 miles on Rt. 100 to Lincoln Gap, arriving at 9 am. We began hiking AT at 9:20 am, reaching Abraham at 10:30 am, Lincoln Peak at 10:50 am, and Ellen at 12:10 pm. At 6.3 miles, the distance was a couple of miles longer than DT had measured on the map, so we were wishing that we had spotted a second car somewhere, preferably at the base of Sugarbush North chairlift. Miraculously, we met Bill Norland, who had hiked up Jerusalem Trail and offered to drive us back around to Lincoln Gap. So, the 4.2 mi down saved us a couple miles, and probably close to an additional 1000 ft vertical gain along the ridge had we back-tracked. Although we reached the Jerusalem Trailhead at 1:55 pm, we took some time to visit Bill’s house (fellow geologist, so lots of mutual acquaintances to discover in conversation), returning to Lincoln Gap at 2:55 pm (10.5 mi, 2800 ft up, 4 hr 35 min).
We drove 29 miles to Burrows Trailhead on Camels Hump, arriving at 3:40 pm, and began hiking at 3:50 pm, reaching the summit at 5:10 pm. We left summit at 5:15 pm (all summits were in clouds, as Matt Gilhuly et al. also noted), arriving at base at 6:15 pm (5.2 mi, 2800 ft up, 2 hr, 25 min).
We drove 30 miles to the gate at Underhill State Park on the west side of Mansfield, arriving at 7:15 pm, and after paying $2.50 each for our hiking passes, started up Sunset Ridge Trail at 7:30 pm as darkness encroached. The trail was steeper than I had remembered on my only previous trip in winter, but that was during daylight, albeit with a pair of tele-skis in tow (that trip is fodder for another story, having brewed tea in a snow cave on the summit, meeting two snowboarders from Stowe who did not know how to get down, and I thrashing my way down the Tear Drop Trail while friend Walter carved big turns in the powder). The exposure on the ledges was quite breezy and we were once again into the cloud at about 3800 ft. We reached the summit area at 9:45 pm, tripping over lots of string but could only find one vandalized benchmark. We could not remember from our past trips to the summit whether there was a signpost or not, so spent the next 35 minutes or so looking for other clues, including walking out the AT in each direction, both leading us down in elevation. My altimeter read 4200 ft, which seemed close, but I was convinced that we were still a couple of hundred meters too far south. After talking to a bunch of folks, and DT looking at his old photographs from a few years ago, it seems like we were probably there, but were deceived by the darkness and cloud. Kevin Rooney replied to my query about the summit under Matt Gilhuly’s thread that there may be a second benchmark within a few hundred feet of the other, and also mentions a “chimney” just below the summit that we remember hiking through. Our hike down Laura Cowles Trail was slowed by wet steep slabby sections, or so it seemed in the dark; we arrived back at the gate at 12:15 am, or 18 hours after we began at Killington base lodge (6.2 mi, 2600 ft up, 4 hr, 45 min).
The drive back to Concord was long, with two short naps for me, as I had driven the entire trip, and my return to Thornton at 7:30 am, 28.5 hours after my departure (DT got home in MA an hour earlier by skipping the naps, but had left home an hour earlier, so was also out for about 28.5 hours).
Totals for trip: about 24.9 mi, about 10,000 ft elevation gain, in about 13 hr, 25 min for hiking; about 110 mi and about 3 hr 50 min driving between the three hikes (including about 12 mi and circuitous 1 hr shuttle from Jerusalem Trailhead to Lincoln Gap by Bill); and 45 min changing clothes, etc.; so 18 hours total (not counting drive time to Killington and home from Mansfield). I think that we could have saved at least an hour by hiking Abraham and Ellen separately (Ellen via a ski slope under chairlift that tops out just north of the summit) and at least another hour by hiking Mansfield during daylight, but not sure when I will want to try this trip again (at least not for a year or so; I am a few years longer in the tooth than DT, Matt Gilhuly and friends, Stinkyfeet, Frodo, and Jeffrey).
I would rate this trip similar to the Kilkenny Range, Presi, and Wildcat-Carter-Moriah traverses, easier than the Pemi Great Horseshoe Loop (without side trips) for hiking mileage, but harder than all of these when the driving mileage is added. On the other hand, the driving breaks are nice for changing into dry clothes and socks, tanking up on water, and ingesting some needed calories. As a side note, I have always liked Vermont’s politics better than New Hampshire’s. As another side note, there is a classic driving/hiking trip in the UK that involves getting to the tops of Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales) in 24 hours. Another spin on this UK trip involves using a sail boat and bicycle instead of an automobile, which takes considerably longer than one day.
