Mt Killington is one among Vermont’s 4000-foot peaks. It’s on the Lengthy Path (LT), the place the LT and the Appalachian Path (AT) coincide earlier than the AT veers east and heads towards New Hampshire. When you can hike Killington as a day hike by climbing the Bucklin Path from the west, I approached the height from the east and the south bagging one other peak and a few extra aspect trails on my quest to complete mountain climbing trails resulting in the Lengthy Path from the east and the west. The Inexperienced Mountain Membership awards an end-to-end patch for finishing the Lengthy Path (which I completed in 2008) in addition to a side-to-side patch, which is the purpose of my present quest.
Let me restate that. The purpose of mountain climbing the side-to-side path isn’t to get a patch and even to finish the spreadsheet used to trace my hikes however to expertise lesser visited areas of Vermont and to take a look at the small cities that border the east and west of the Lengthy Path which run south to north up the center of the state. This venture jogs my memory of John Steinbek’s Travels with Charlie in Search of America (1962), when he outfitted a camper and set off together with his canine, Charlie, to go to small cities throughout America to attach with the individuals he met. I relish my interactions with individuals on these journeys, and whereas I’m “studying” Vermont within the course of, these encounters are the excessive factors of my hikes, along with the paths and mountains I climb.
My route for this 1-night journey was as follows:
- Park at Trailhead on CCC Rd (additionally referred to as Shrewsbury Rd)
- Shrewsbury Peak Path 3.8
- Lengthy Path North 1.8
- Bucklin Path 7.0 down and up
- Tent at Cooper Lodge Campsite
- Killington Peak Spur 0.4 up and down
- Lengthy Path South 1.8
- Black Swamp Path 2.2
- CCC Rd (Highway stroll) 1.5
- Journey Plan w/miles (19.5 miles w/5k elevation acquire)
I journeyed to the Shrewsbury Peak Path trailhead alongside the gravel CCC street within the Calvin Coolidge Forest. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps within the Thirties, it’s a marvel of development: it’s good and broad and appears to have a strong basis. I’ve heard it mentioned that the majority of Vermont’s roads are unpaved, and primarily based on my expertise, I imagine it.
My plan was to hike up the Shrewsbury Peak Path over Shrewsbury Peak and past it to the Lengthy Path earlier than heading north to Cooper Lodge, a four-sided shelter slightly below the Killington summit. I parked on the trailhead and tucked my automobile into some foliage, so it wasn’t seen from the street. I then began up the Shrewsbury Peak Path and shortly handed a coated nicely. It was an off factor to search out so near the trailhead. Shortly after, I got here to the Russell Hill Shelter, which was a shock because it wasn’t listed on the Inexperienced Mountain Membership map I had.
Sadly, the Inexperienced Mountain Membership maps and guidebooks concentrate on the Lengthy Path however pass over a number of details about the aspect trails that result in it. It is a disgrace as a result of the aspect trails, which represent near half the miles managed by the GMC, are in all probability used extra by native Vermonters than the Lengthy Path itself. I like the method of ferreting all this info out, however I doubt many individuals are as obsessive about it or skilled at it as I’m. It’d be good if the Inexperienced Mountain Membership revealed one map and guidebook protecting the Lengthy Path and its aspect trails quite than the mishmash of data it presently supplies.
I handed the shelter and continued climbing up the Shrewsbury Peak Path, passing a junction with the Catamount Ski Path and a few apparent snowmobile trails earlier than passing into the Shrewsbury Peak Pure Space. There’s an indication on the peak summit in regards to the Pure Space and defined that it’s dwelling to a number of uncommon birds, together with Bicknell’s Thrust, the Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, the Blackpoll Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush and Philadelphia Warbler. I additionally favored the quote on the signal, which reads, “I got here to this place to be quiet, to gaze out and to hear and let the enterprise of life go on.” Sure.
The Shrewsbury Peak path will get wilder within the stretch from the summit to its junction with the Lengthy Path, and I discovered myself skirting many blowdowns. This culminated in a very wild stretch simply earlier than the junction, the place I needed to bushwhack via a stand of fallen spruce and excessive grass. I used to be ready for this, nonetheless, and had already realized to put on lengthy pants or at the least convertible mountain climbing pants when mountain climbing the GMC’s aspect trails.
The going obtained a lot simpler as soon as I used to be on the Lengthy Path and headed north, and I quickly arrived on the Cooper Lodge Shelter slightly below the Killington summit. That four-sided constructing may be very darkish inside and uninviting, however there are three tent platforms you may camp on and a number of open woods beneath the shelter the place individuals pitch tents.
Whereas I might have stopped there for the day, I made a decision to choose up one other aspect path, the Bucklin Path, which descends the height to the west, quite than coming again one other day to climb it. I used to be drained at this level, however determined I’d quite hike down it after which again up once more on the primary day of my journey and never the second. It’d be a major reclimb, however I figured I’d scope out wild campsites on the best way down simply in case I didn’t really feel like coming all the best way again up once more.
As I headed down, I struck up a dialog with a lady named Caroline, who was along with her canine, a mini-schnauzer. I’ve recognized just a few well-known mini-schnauzers (Atticus and Pepper) so I requested whether or not they had impressed her to get one too. It seems she is from a city on the northern aspect of the White Mountain Nationwide Forest and knew precisely what I used to be speaking about once I talked about Atticus, who’s featured in Tom Ryan’s bestselling, “Ready for Atticus.” She was visiting Vermont to work on the Northeast 67 Highest Peakbagging Checklist. In fact, it began to rain on the best way down.
Once I reached the underside of the Bucklin Path, I used to be fairly drained. I feel I used to be affected by the smoke of the Canadian Forest Fireplace, which, unbeknownst to me, was exceptionally dangerous that day. I ate a bunch of meals, filtered some water, and determined to hike again up the Bucklin Path anyway. I hadn’t discovered any nice campsites alongside the path on the best way down and figured I might handle one other 2000 ft of elevation acquire earlier than calling it quits for the day.
That was slightly optimistic as a result of I began to bonk about 1000 ft beneath Cooper Lodge. There was no turning again at that time, so I merely counted out units of 100 steps, resting for a second between them, and made it as much as the spot the place I wished to camp beneath Cooper Lodge.
There was a pair there once I arrived, and we chatted for some time. They have been thru-hiking the Lengthy Path and have been having a “security assembly” once I arrived…a euphemism on the Appalachian Path for getting excessive. They’d hiked 15 miles that day and clearly wanted some ache aid. They’d pitched a tent on one of many tent platforms however have been inside Cooper Lodge, filtering water in a gravity system and making dinner. I spoke to them via the door as a result of it regarded darkish and terrible inside. Once I hiked the LT in 2008, I additionally tented outdoors Cooper Lodge quite than sleeping inside.
I arrange camp and ate an enormous dinner earlier than going to mattress, cozy and heat in my quilt and tent. I slept in late the subsequent morning and had one other huge meal earlier than packing up and climbing one other 250 ft as much as the summit of Killington on the 0.2 mile spur that climbs the height from Cooper Lodge. It was one other smoky day although and the views have been non-existent. I used to be simply glad to be on the prime of the Bucklin Path.
It took me just a few hours to hike again south alongside the Lengthy Path and again to Shrewsbury Peak, the place I completed the opposite half of this lollipop hike. As an alternative of descending the best way I’d come down the Shrewsbury Peak Path, I got here down the Black Swamp Path, passing one other lean-to not marked on the map. This one was condemned, nonetheless, and isn’t appropriate for tenting, so I can perceive why it has been omitted from the GMC’s Lengthy Path map. It additionally doesn’t have an apparent water supply.
I handed it and stored taking place the path, which terminated in an enormous area however not on the CCC street. It regarded like there was a snowmobile path headed to that street, so I began down it, strolling in excessive grass. It will have been good if there’d been an indication with some helpful info to that impact! Nonetheless, I wasn’t apprehensive, and I knew I’d get to my automobile ultimately, however I needed to chuckle at how poorly marked this aspect path was. Once I obtained to the CCC street, which took about 20 minutes, I turned proper and headed one other mile and a half to my automobile.
Regardless of my bickering in regards to the lack of fine signage or maps, I loved this journey as a result of I obtained to train my navigation expertise utilizing the instruments I had readily available and my instinct. I get a number of satisfaction from that as a result of I labored onerous to grasp these expertise, which have been largely self-taught. Whereas this hike had some bodily hardships, I persevered and achieved all my targets, letting the enterprise of life transfer on with out me whereas I loved myself within the Vermont woods.
Vermont Path Guides and Maps
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