Ever since Bill bought his camp in Vermont, we have been trying to configure our hikes around his central location in Vermont. This year, we managed to route a hike up and over Killington, mixing up local trails and the infamous AT/LT that makes its way through the middle portion of the state. This hike, like most of our recent adventures, was planned over many beers at our favorite spot, Blackie's.
This year, Bills buddy from home, Rob, was joining us. You see, Bill, Mark, and Rob had a September trip planned to the famed Machu Picchu in Peru, and this would be a great break-in hike for Rob. Byronn and I couldn't manage to make the trip this year due to having so many little ones at our respective homes, but it's certainly a bucket list item for both of us that will hopefully be crossed off our lists simultaneously. Bill, Harry, Mark, Byronn, and Rob all met at Bill's camp on Friday night, whereas I met them at the trailhead at 8:30am due to a work issue that kept me late Friday.
Myself, Bill, Harry, Mark, and Byronn headed out at around 9:00am on Saturday. Our route would bring us around three miles into the woods along the AT/LT where it would eventually cross Route 4 at the base of Pico Mountain, where we would meet Rob. Rob joined up with us a little before noon, and the six of us, along with Harry's dog Demba, continued on. The trail slowly finagled its way up and over Pico Mountain, before riding the saddle between the two peaks and rising gradually to the top of Killington. Between 10 and 11 miles later, we found ourselves setting up camp - but not without a minor hang-up. In a first for me, I raced through my water (and some of Byronn's) and found myself rather dehydrated by the time we reached camp. I have hiked in hotter weather, and at higher altitudes, and for some reason this was the trip that beat me up. Luckily, there was a natural spring about a mile before camp so I filled up and nursed the ice cold water until I could drop my pack. Once my tent was set up, I crawled inside and let a belly full of cold water slowly rehydrate me. A half-hour later and I was back outside, mingling with the mongrel group I had hiked up with. An hour or so before sunset we decided to hike the final half-mile to the summit of Killington where we would have 360* unobstructed views. It was one of the most treacherous sections of trail I've ever hiked, but it was a safe and uneventful up-and-down. A killer sunset in the bag, we decided it was time to break out the mini, single burner stoves and fire up dinner. Each guy had their own concoction, but I stuck with old faithful: dehydrated food. Unlike past trips, though, I ventured outside of my comfort zone and purchased (for a small fortune) a meal by the company Good To Go. Made in Maine, these meals claim to be more nutritious and better tasting than other dehydrated meals. They're right. I has the penne in marinara sauce, and it legitimately tasted like I had ordered it from a restaurant. Needless to say, these Good To Go meals will accompany me on every hike I go on in the future. After dinner, we sat around and solved all of the worlds problems just like we've done in years past.
Morning came after a comfortable, toasty warm sleep, and with it came the promise of breakfast in the form of maple & brown sugar oatmeal. My piping hot oatmeal and two cups of black coffee got me rearing to go, and once we were finished and all packed up we hit the trail with only one thing on our mind: Lunch. The only thing separating us from mountainous plates of BBQ was six miles of moderate, Green Mountain hiking. We were back to Bill's Land Rover, and more importantly his cooler of beer, in about 3 hours. After downing a couple frosty cold IPAs, we all piled in and made our way to the Back Behind BBQ Restaurant. As you can see from the last picture in my slideshow below, we got our money's worth. After eating to the point of nausea, we said our goodbyes and headed south to our respective homes. Another successful trip was in the books, and hopefully 2017's hike will be just as much fun.
This year, Bills buddy from home, Rob, was joining us. You see, Bill, Mark, and Rob had a September trip planned to the famed Machu Picchu in Peru, and this would be a great break-in hike for Rob. Byronn and I couldn't manage to make the trip this year due to having so many little ones at our respective homes, but it's certainly a bucket list item for both of us that will hopefully be crossed off our lists simultaneously. Bill, Harry, Mark, Byronn, and Rob all met at Bill's camp on Friday night, whereas I met them at the trailhead at 8:30am due to a work issue that kept me late Friday.
Myself, Bill, Harry, Mark, and Byronn headed out at around 9:00am on Saturday. Our route would bring us around three miles into the woods along the AT/LT where it would eventually cross Route 4 at the base of Pico Mountain, where we would meet Rob. Rob joined up with us a little before noon, and the six of us, along with Harry's dog Demba, continued on. The trail slowly finagled its way up and over Pico Mountain, before riding the saddle between the two peaks and rising gradually to the top of Killington. Between 10 and 11 miles later, we found ourselves setting up camp - but not without a minor hang-up. In a first for me, I raced through my water (and some of Byronn's) and found myself rather dehydrated by the time we reached camp. I have hiked in hotter weather, and at higher altitudes, and for some reason this was the trip that beat me up. Luckily, there was a natural spring about a mile before camp so I filled up and nursed the ice cold water until I could drop my pack. Once my tent was set up, I crawled inside and let a belly full of cold water slowly rehydrate me. A half-hour later and I was back outside, mingling with the mongrel group I had hiked up with. An hour or so before sunset we decided to hike the final half-mile to the summit of Killington where we would have 360* unobstructed views. It was one of the most treacherous sections of trail I've ever hiked, but it was a safe and uneventful up-and-down. A killer sunset in the bag, we decided it was time to break out the mini, single burner stoves and fire up dinner. Each guy had their own concoction, but I stuck with old faithful: dehydrated food. Unlike past trips, though, I ventured outside of my comfort zone and purchased (for a small fortune) a meal by the company Good To Go. Made in Maine, these meals claim to be more nutritious and better tasting than other dehydrated meals. They're right. I has the penne in marinara sauce, and it legitimately tasted like I had ordered it from a restaurant. Needless to say, these Good To Go meals will accompany me on every hike I go on in the future. After dinner, we sat around and solved all of the worlds problems just like we've done in years past.
Morning came after a comfortable, toasty warm sleep, and with it came the promise of breakfast in the form of maple & brown sugar oatmeal. My piping hot oatmeal and two cups of black coffee got me rearing to go, and once we were finished and all packed up we hit the trail with only one thing on our mind: Lunch. The only thing separating us from mountainous plates of BBQ was six miles of moderate, Green Mountain hiking. We were back to Bill's Land Rover, and more importantly his cooler of beer, in about 3 hours. After downing a couple frosty cold IPAs, we all piled in and made our way to the Back Behind BBQ Restaurant. As you can see from the last picture in my slideshow below, we got our money's worth. After eating to the point of nausea, we said our goodbyes and headed south to our respective homes. Another successful trip was in the books, and hopefully 2017's hike will be just as much fun.