blacknblue
Active member
It's been 11 years since I moved away from Vermont to conquer the world. I moved back from Colorado to the ole hometown about two weeks ago and was happily reacquainting myself with the Green Mountain State. Amazingly, my best friend since little league, Tony, moved back from Wisconsin two days after me, and moved into Rutland.
August 16 was our first hike back in Vermont since...? We debated whether to do an old favorite like Moosilauke or VT's Mount Abe, or to try something new. Since we spent our late teens with the attitude of "look briefly at a map, drive to the trailhead, and hope for the best," we decided to invoke those days.
Tony drove from Rutland and I drove from Quechee, meeting in West Bridgewater. From there, he hopped in my Jeep and we drove south on Route 100 before turning up the CCC Road toward Shrewsbury. Not really knowing where the trailhead was, and relying on maps that turned out to be inaccurate and/or out-of-date, we parked where we thought was "right enough," and started hiking.
We spent the first half-hour saying things like, "Remember that time....?", "Why are we going downhill?", and laughing at everything. It was incredible.
We reached a south-facing outlook in about an hour, with tremendous views from Ascutney to Monadnock to Equinox. Just a minute later, we were on top, with views to the east and northeast. We could make out Mendon, Little Killington, and Killington Peaks through the trees to the north and northwest. I think I read that it is 1.8 miles from trailhead to summit.
Just off the summit on the north, there is a trail leading to the left (west) that wasn't on any map we had seen and we still can't figure out where it goes. We continued straight, roughly north, dropping 700 feet, and then gaining it back going up to the Long Trail. From the Long Trail, it was about a mile and a quarter to the Cooper Lodge and the Killington Peak Trail, which was steep and fun and everything that I remembered New England hiking to be.
The views from Killington are wonderful. You can see nearly 360 degrees, including great views of Pico, Mendon, and the Adirondacks. We were noticing the pale rust-colored trees at the higher elevations and wondering if there is some kind of sickness going around. It seems much too early for foliage. (There is a VFTT thread on this already.)
We returned the same way for a roundtrip of 10.2 miles, best as we can figure. The trail was dry and without any blowdowns the whole way. The Shrewsbury Peak Trail is less-traveled and narrow, having to wade through encroaching underbrush a few times, but delightful, with soft pine needles under your feet. The Long Trail, of course, is much more trampled. We got back to the car at 6:00, having started at 11:30 and lounged on both peaks as well as the Lodge and the LT junction and pretty much any bug or plant or tree that caught our eye. Hustling was not a priority!
11 years... It's great to be back.
Pics here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesh...26305.107866099305.1155858373693&conn_speed=1
August 16 was our first hike back in Vermont since...? We debated whether to do an old favorite like Moosilauke or VT's Mount Abe, or to try something new. Since we spent our late teens with the attitude of "look briefly at a map, drive to the trailhead, and hope for the best," we decided to invoke those days.
Tony drove from Rutland and I drove from Quechee, meeting in West Bridgewater. From there, he hopped in my Jeep and we drove south on Route 100 before turning up the CCC Road toward Shrewsbury. Not really knowing where the trailhead was, and relying on maps that turned out to be inaccurate and/or out-of-date, we parked where we thought was "right enough," and started hiking.
We spent the first half-hour saying things like, "Remember that time....?", "Why are we going downhill?", and laughing at everything. It was incredible.
We reached a south-facing outlook in about an hour, with tremendous views from Ascutney to Monadnock to Equinox. Just a minute later, we were on top, with views to the east and northeast. We could make out Mendon, Little Killington, and Killington Peaks through the trees to the north and northwest. I think I read that it is 1.8 miles from trailhead to summit.
Just off the summit on the north, there is a trail leading to the left (west) that wasn't on any map we had seen and we still can't figure out where it goes. We continued straight, roughly north, dropping 700 feet, and then gaining it back going up to the Long Trail. From the Long Trail, it was about a mile and a quarter to the Cooper Lodge and the Killington Peak Trail, which was steep and fun and everything that I remembered New England hiking to be.
The views from Killington are wonderful. You can see nearly 360 degrees, including great views of Pico, Mendon, and the Adirondacks. We were noticing the pale rust-colored trees at the higher elevations and wondering if there is some kind of sickness going around. It seems much too early for foliage. (There is a VFTT thread on this already.)
We returned the same way for a roundtrip of 10.2 miles, best as we can figure. The trail was dry and without any blowdowns the whole way. The Shrewsbury Peak Trail is less-traveled and narrow, having to wade through encroaching underbrush a few times, but delightful, with soft pine needles under your feet. The Long Trail, of course, is much more trampled. We got back to the car at 6:00, having started at 11:30 and lounged on both peaks as well as the Lodge and the LT junction and pretty much any bug or plant or tree that caught our eye. Hustling was not a priority!
11 years... It's great to be back.
Pics here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesh...26305.107866099305.1155858373693&conn_speed=1
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