OnAClearDay
New member
Started out without traction on hard frozen ground through a now active logging area (before the refreeze this would have been mess). A mile in I switched to microspikes on the now crusty snow cover and I made good progress on the old logging roads. On the bushwhack I veered to far to the East on the ridge to Mendon and had to get my bearings by climbing the elevated roots of a fallen balsam. Reaching the summit I found the Mendon can frozen solid and I gave up trying to open it after 5min. After a quick snack I made my way back down and I found the red evac stretcher I had missed going up.
Now back on the logging road and moving toward Killington the snow was in parts less supportive and I switched to snow shoes and again was able to make good progress. The "road" eventually runs out and then it's time to head straight up till one hits the AT. Only I never found the AT and kept bushwhacking up through fairly open woods. Finding a small opening on a ledge I was surprised to see that the Telecom tower was only a hundred yards away and in short order I was on the cold wind swept summit. This approach had been surprisingly pleasant and avoided all the steepness of the AT spur trail that I then used to descend. The Bucklin trail back to the TH was then fairly well traveled though even with snowshoes I had be careful of the deep holes caused by past barebooting traffic and that were now frozen solid.
Now back on the logging road and moving toward Killington the snow was in parts less supportive and I switched to snow shoes and again was able to make good progress. The "road" eventually runs out and then it's time to head straight up till one hits the AT. Only I never found the AT and kept bushwhacking up through fairly open woods. Finding a small opening on a ledge I was surprised to see that the Telecom tower was only a hundred yards away and in short order I was on the cold wind swept summit. This approach had been surprisingly pleasant and avoided all the steepness of the AT spur trail that I then used to descend. The Bucklin trail back to the TH was then fairly well traveled though even with snowshoes I had be careful of the deep holes caused by past barebooting traffic and that were now frozen solid.
