Appalachian Trail Days 65-72: Vermont Restart

Day 65 – Drive back to Vermont (0 miles)

Day 66 – Vermont Route 11/30 to USFS Route-10 (17.7 miles) 

Day 67 – USFS Route-10 to Vermont Route 103 (14.7 miles)

Day 68 – Upper Cold River Road to VT Route 103 (5.7 miles)

Day 69 – Upper Cold River Road over Killington to The Inn (VT Route 4)  (12.1 miles)

Day 70 – The Inn to Deer Leap to Thundering Falls  &  Greengate Rd to VT-12 (5.6 + 6.4 = 12.0 miles) 

Day 71 – Greengate Rd to Thundering Falls (13.2 miles) 

Day 72 – Drive to Maryland (0 miles)

 

Day 65        3^rd

We returned to Vermont where I left off.  I had taken much more time than I had hoped which badly affected my schedule.  Once off the trail, everyone else expects you to do all the things you normally do.  But now I was physically recovered, I had caught up on those things, and was ready to return to the trail.  I am OK with everything on the trail, except that I still have questions on where I will be able to resupply going forward.  So, we drove back to the Green Mountain Hostel in Manchester Center during the 4^th of July holiday period.  Decent weather is forecast for a few days which should help.

I decided to get some help from my wife and ease back into the routine by slackpacking (hiking without my backpack).  She dropped me off at the beginning of the day, and picked me up at the end. This would mean finding convenient access points – which is a real challenge in Vermont.  

We’ll stay a couple days At the Green Mountain Hostel and a few nights at The Inn at the Long Trail in Killington, further up the trail.  Then I’ll decide what’s next.  We had a private room at the Green Mountain Hikers Hostel which was quite nice and very comfortable. This hostel is great with lots of extras and very low prices on supplies and treats such as $1.00 for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and $1 Gatorade!

Day 66        4^th   

My patient wife dropped me at Vermont Route-11/30 where I had left off.  I cooked myself eggs for breakfast (provided by the hostel along with pancake mix and cereal).

The weather was warm, but not overbearing in the shade of the woods.  The humidity, however, was nearly 100%. The dew point was so high that the rocks that were embedded in the ground were cool enough to be below the dew point, and were covered with condensation!  Oh, boy! More slippery rocks

The path to Bromley

At the top of Bromley

I started out very strongly uphill to the top of Bromley Peak (1,500-foot climb) and Peru Peak (another 1,000-foot climb). The trail alternated between nice and rocky, but still better than southern Vermont. Bromley Peak had nice views including north toward Killington, and south toward Stratton Mountain.

Looking back at Stratton Peak – about 17 trail miles back

I passed a group of 6-8 guys hiking naked.  Hike naked day was on the Solstice, 2 weeks ago, but they said they were celebrating independence from clothes…  (Sorry, no pictures. Or maybe you should thank me that there are no pictures?)  The rest of the day saw a mix of through hikers, section hikers, and day hikers out for the holiday period. 

And, there were still a lot of muddy sections, even though it hadn’t rained in days. 

Having been off trail, I was pretty tired when I was picked up at the end of the day at US Forest Service Road-10. 18 Miles and some serious climbs would normally be a longer day for me, but I was without a pack.  I felt tired but good.

We returned to Manchester Center to eat and then to the hostel, showered, did laundry from the day. I was trying to decide the itinerary for the next day – Not a lot of elevation change, but what will the trail be like, and can I find decent drop-off and pick-up points?

Day 67        5^th   

After cooking breakfast again, we packed up from the Green Mountain Hostel, and I started back at USFS-10 continuing north.  The trail was OK up to Vermont Route 140, then it became even better.  I passed a lake, but otherwise the trail was pretty uneventful.

Unfortunately, I was still tired from yesterday and the humidity was still terrible.  I sweat so badly that by the end of the day, I could barely walk from chafing.  Unfortunately, my Glide (for chafing) was in my backpack.  This was too bad, because the trail, itself, was the best I have seen in Vermont. On the other hand, the flies have been relentless since arriving back in Vermont.

At the end of the day was a steep descent to a suspension bridge over Clarendon Gorge.

Clarendon Gorge

The Suspension Bridge

Meanwhile, my wife had checked us in at The Inn at the Long Trail in Killington, Vermont. The dinners at the pub at the Inn were very good, very hearty, and very inexpensive. Plus, it being Friday night, there was a live Irish band.  A great way to end the day (except for the severe chafing).

The Inn is actually built around the jumbled, giant rocks. Thankfully, I did NOT have to climb them as part of the trail.

The Inn at The Long Trail – What looks like a boulder is a boulder

Day 68        6^th

A hearty breakfast comes with room at the Inn, but doesn’t start until 07:30. That means a late start to the day.  The chafing improved a lot overnight, but I decided to keep the mileage low.  I started at Upper Cold River Road – a dirt road access point with no parking lot (so no pickup possible here!), and headed south this time back toward Vermont Route-104 and Clarendon Gorge.  The route was mostly very good, except:

1)   Near the beginning was a stream that was overflowing (in spite of no rain) that required me to take off my shoes and cross barefoot; and,

No way to hop across this stream

2)   At the end, the descent to the gorge was a very steep, technical climb.

The day was, of course hot and humid. Going in reverse direction, I passed a number of through hikers that I recognized.

We had another inexpensive, great meal with the band playing again.  

Good Food, Good Drink, and Good Music at The Inn

Day 69        7^th  

After breakfast, I started at Upper Cold River Road again, but headed north this time to cross over Killington Peak – 4,000-foot peak.  The humidity was a bit better, the flies were a bit better, and there was a tiny breeze near the top.

The trail started out great, but deteriorated slowly over the 3,000-foot climb.  However, near the top, the trail improved a bit. Near the top, the trail bypasses the peak, but I took a 0.2-mile, nearly vertical “trail” to the top. It was so steep, that I could touch the “trail” in front of my face. Between the climb up the trail, enjoying lunch at the top, wandering over to the top of the ski gondola, and working my way back down, I spent 1½ – 2 hours.  

View from Killington

Rutland about 10 Miles West of Killington Peak

A couple days later, I ran into another through-hiker called Story (in his early 40s and a fast hiker) who told me that he ran into another through-hiker Puffy (in his 20s) at the shelter at the junction of the steep side trail to the top. Puffy had already taken his shoes off for the day and replaced them with Crocs at the shelter at the trail junction, but he wanted to go to the top.  No problem – Puffy proceeds to motor up this ridiculous rock climb with Crocs and did it faster than Story!  Which leads me to question why am I still wondering why I’m the slowest one on the trail…

The trail down the rest of the mountain was rugged, and slowed me a bit.  I opted to take the old AT which goes directly to The Inn, so I could just walk across Vermont Route-4 and into my room at the Inn.  This route took me to the edge of Pico Peak ski slopes and great views of The Inn.  I would make up for the missed section of the AT tomorrow with a nicer side trail tomorrow.

From Pico Peak There is a Clear View of the rocks of Deer Leap and The Inn at The Long Trail

Day 70        8^th

Access to the trail in a convenient manner continues to be challenging.  Consequently, I decided to split the day into 2 smaller, but more convenient hikes.  After breakfast, I walked directly from The Inn up to Deer Leap for views back toward Pico Peak. This extra bit more than made up for the missed section of the AT and was much, much more rewarding than another walk in the woods seeing nothing but more woods.

Pico Peak from Deer Leap.  Killington Peak in distance at left

Killington Peak from Deer Leap

I then re-joined the AT and continued to past Kent Pond to Thundering Falls and ended at the boardwalk to be picked up.

Thundering Falls

We drove to a sketchy drop off point off Greengate Road where I then walked north to Vermont Route-12. This section was very nice and pretty easy.  It was very hot, but the humidity was off just a bit.  This ended up the farthest I would get into Vermont for now.  

Day 71        9^th

After breakfast, I returned to Greengate Road – this time for a southbound return to Thundering Falls.  A short distance in is a private cabin generally open to public access a short distance off the trail with great views from a platform on the roof.

View from The Lookout

The trail was mostly very good with few rocks. I passed a dozen through-hikers, a couple section-hikers, and a couple day hikers.  I recognized most of the through-hikers, having seen them at The Green Mountain Hostel and The Inn.

Now, the forecast had been <10% chance of rain, but the humidity was so high that thunderstorms built up, and it poured for over an hour. The good news was that this washed away a lot of the salt from furious sweating. The bad news is that it is not nice to find yourself going uphill a LONG way toward the top of the mountain in a thunderstorm because it is the only option. Nor is it nice to slog along trails that have turned to small rivers. Nor is it nice to know that the only way to end the situation is to keep going another 3-4 miles.  The rain finally ended with ¾-hour to go, but I had to slow way down to prevent slipping and falling.

I had originally planned to hike further tomorrow morning before driving back, but my soreness, my clothes that wouldn’t dry overnight, and an all-day rain forecast made it easy to skip knocking out another 3-5 miles.

Day 72        10^th

With my wife needing to return, and my left Achilles tendon and knee sore and swollen, I have opted to return to Harper’s Ferry and head south on what I believe is tamer trail. I have crossed the 700 miles mark.  I have not gone as fast or as far as hoped, but I’m not entirely dissatisfied.

I will take another brief healing rest, and continue on my way – this time southbound.  As for the Northern section of New Hampshire and Maine that I have not completed, I will have to return to the East Coast next year anyway.  What I have definitely learned on the trail is that while plans are necessary, I have to be flexible to change with the situation.  It happens literally every day.  Am I disappointed?  A bit, yes, of course.  Will I change plans and go from this point optimistically?  Absolutely. 

So next is the mid-Atlantic heat of summer as I head south, but I think a better trail.