Killington 7/21 and Dorset 7/23

[Tom Rankin]

We took the Bucklin trail from Wheelerville Road. It starts out flat and goes over a few small streams. After the 2nd bridge, a slight grade. Eventually the trail turns off the old road and up you go! There are a couple of temporary respites from the climb, such as when you meet the AT/LT. There is a spring here and a shelter. But if you want to summit, you need to take a short steep spur trail to the summit. The summit was socked in. Oh well, at least there was a fire tower up there! We wandered over to the ski area, took some foggy pictures and headed back the way we came. We were done by noon.

The trails are a little muddy down low, but not bad up high. The fog made the rocks a little slippery.

Saturday we took off from hiking and enjoyed the Vermont Brewers Festival!

Sunday we got up early and drove down to Dorset. There was light rain on and off. I'd been to this peak before, but things seemed a little different. When we got to the end of Dorset Hollow Road, we could only go a short way before the road became impassable, due to recent logging operations. When we got to the logging vehicles, we turned left at a fork. Another road goes right and up the hill. I didn't remember a junction there. Maybe the loggers have improved what used to be a very faint road. Anyway, left was correct, and we hit the old cabin, after a few easy stream crossings. From here, the trail goes up steeply. Eventually you come to a saddle. We turned right to follow an old road. The trail splits after a few minutes. Right takes you to Dorset, left to ?? There is another steep pitch. After getting almost to the height of the summit, there is an arrow on a tree and a small cairn. This leads to the South peak, where the ruined fire tower and BBQ grill are located. We stopped here for a quick break, photo op, and headed down the opposite side of the trail. Soon, you come to a 4 way junction where the famous door knob is located. (If you skip South Dorset, you reach this junction as well). We took a few more pics, and headed straight across to the Dorset herd path.

The path was very muddy, but we made it. About half way down the herd path, there is a junction and a very old sign that points to Dorset and South Dorset. The other trail might connect back with the first split after the col, does anyone know? The summit has what's left of the cabin (not much!), a pitcher, and a few other items littered about. No ties. We recorded a few more digital images and then headed back down, skipping South this time. We were back to the car at the stroke of noon, about 3.5 hours of hiking. It was starting to clear up, and we had thought about doing Equinox, but we decided to save it for a better day.

 

[MattC]

Sounds good Tom. I have a gig over near Killington the Saturday after next, so I may try to get in a hike during the day before I have to play.

Matt

 

[Tom Rankin]

Sounds good Tom. I have a gig over near Killington the Saturday after next, so I may try to get in a hike during the day before I have to play.

If you don't hang out at the summit, you should be able to get up and back in about 4 hours.

 

[Raymond]

Tom, check the map on Bob and Geri's site. That's the way I went up Dorset a couple weeks ago.

At the T, where there is a fire ring, turn right (natch). At the fork a quarter-mile later, it sounds like you turned right to climb steeply toward the doorknobs. I went left, taking the low road, which has numerous blowdowns, but none too difficult to pass. Eventually it brings you up to the ridge where there's a rubbery-looking thing in a tree pointing toward the summit. There's a nice herd path and several more pointers like the first one.

I continued on the herd path toward the south summit, but I turned right by the doorknobs to descend toward that steep intersection a quarter-mile from the T, rather than visit the tower ruins. I suppose the cairn a little ways down that trail marks a herd path which heads directly to the south summit.

I have some pictures here .

 

[Tom Rankin]

Tom, check the map on Bob and Geri's site. That's the way I went up Dorset a couple weeks ago.

At the T, where there is a fire ring, turn right (natch). At the fork a quarter-mile later, it sounds like you turned right to climb steeply toward the doorknobs. I went left, taking the low road, which has numerous blowdowns, but none too difficult to pass. Eventually it brings you up to the ridge where there's a rubbery-looking thing in a tree pointing toward the summit. There's a nice herd path and several more pointers like the first one.

I continued on the herd path toward the south summit, but I turned right by the doorknobs to descend toward that steep intersection a quarter-mile from the T, rather than visit the tower ruins. I suppose the cairn a little ways down that trail marks a herd path which heads directly to the south summit.

Your pictures look like *I* took them! Except for that guy in them!

I guess both forks lead to the summit, but I did not see any of those small wooden signs. I guess it's all good.

Yes, that cairn marks the other end of the path that ascends from the doorknob to South Dorset.

Did you see the enormous chunk of quartz just before the col with the fire ring? It was bigger than the one you photographed on Equinox.

 

[Raymond]

I think I vaguely recall a big piece of quartz, but I can’t picture it in my mind. I was probably too exhausted to really look at it. I couldn’t believe I was only ‘‘that far’’ into the hike at that point. And then my muscles started seizing up, and I had to keep stopping to massage my legs and eat what little food I had and drink some more Gatorade or water, and then I hit the blowdowns along that lower road... Man, I was hurtin’.

Those little pointers were all on the stretch of ridge between the northern end of the lower trail and the canister, and they were probably only facing toward the north, so that summit-bound hikers would see them. I think there were probably six or seven of them, all fairly high up.

 

[Rejean]

Killington in winter

Hi Tom if you want to return on Killington in the winter let me know
and I go with you. Next winter I will work on the Green,White and Maine
4000 footers in the winter.