Date: 2010-08-12
From: Gould Brook (at 500 miles to Katahdin)

To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 12.7

Day 121: Up and Up to Killington PeakWoke up early at 6am, but rolled over and laid there until Scatters got up a little before 8. She had taken benadryl to help ease her allergy to her down sleeping bag. Normally, she's almost always awake before I am. We packed up and ate breakfast. The Aussies stopped by to say good morning, then Miles, then TC did, too. Boss flew by with headphones and a wave, and then we got on the trail. We knew it would be a short day of mileage, but a big day of climbing. Slow start. We stopped at a shelter for a snack and everyone caught up. It was 4.3 miles up to Killington, then a .2 mile side trail to the very top. Over 2500 feet all in all. We were all warmed up and ready. Climbing! It was a nice, steep ascent, but really beautiful. After 2.7, the trail opened up so that I could see Killington peak. It's nice to get to see where you're headed. Without stopping, I made it to the top. My legs burned a bit, but I felt good. Once the whole crew was up, we had a snack (Boss made a lap-full of pbj sandwiches), then we left our bags and climbed the .2 VERY STEEP side trail to the top. We brought cameras, and it was a lovely sight of Vermont. We had pretty good visibility - better than the overcast morning made it seem we would. Apparently, on a crystal clear day, one can see the White Mountains in NH. We spent a good 30 minutes at the top and then descended back to our bags. More snacks then onwards down the mountain to Rutland. It was Miles' birthday today, so he, Boss and the girls were going to get a hotel room. Scatters and I had planned to stay at the Back Home Again Cafe hostel in town to meet up with one of her hiker friends, Rorschach. After the long descent (which included hidden uphills that really burned my legs!) in beautiful afternoon weather, Boss, Scatters and I made it to Route 4. We got an easy hitch with Wayne (thanks!) to the hostel, and Boss left us for a meal at Wendy's. He'd hook back up with the other three as soon as they made it into town. We were hoping to catch them later for a drink, but then we found out about the 10:30 curfew at the hostel. Oh boo.  We were given the tour of the nice hostel, which is above a cafe/restaurant, and Rorschach appeared. He and Scatters caught up, and soon we were all doing work-for-stay. (Rather than take money from hikers, many of the hostels offer a work-for-stay option where we do errands/tasks for a few hours to help out. We hadn't had the opportunity to work-for-stay yet, so we thought we'd give it a go.) I got to do laundry, which I secretly enjoy, and the other kids made salad dressing in the basement. Good times. We felt productive. We cleaned up and organized a bit before the dinner bell at 8pm. We met Miss Pinky, Oheeyo, Bulldog (the BLIND AT thru hiker we had heard about), and his camera man, Gary. We ate French onion soup and delicious homemade bread and talked about our adventures on the trail. Rorschach, Scatters and I walked over to Walmart and Price Chopper after dinner for a few things, then we chilled on the back porch of the hostel for a bit. It's now lights out / quiet hours and time for bed. Too bad we couldn't stop by the hotel to celebrate Miles' birthday tonight, but if they are as tired as we are right now, it probably wouldn't have been too much of a party. Happy Birthday, Miles!!Full blog and photos at http://maine2010.blogspot.com.