Date: 2004-08-05
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was another great day.It started by going to the Whistletop restaurant in Clarendon a half mile off the trail. I ordered two eggs with ham and pancakes. It was all yummy and the pancakes were the size of a large dinner plate! At the nearby general store I called and reserved a room at the Inn on the Long Trail, then got a pint of milk to gulp down and a day's food. That way I won't need to get a shuttle from the inn to buy food in Rutland, so aside from laundry I can spend my stay just resting.This morning I found more berries than all the rest of Vermont put together! Blackberries, red raspberries and lots of blueberries. Yum yum yum.A trail angel had sodas waiting for us in a stream. Trail Magic is one thing Vermont has excelled in; I have had some every day and it really boosts the spirits.I stopped for lunch at the Governor Clements Shelter. It is odd, being the only one I know of that hikers are advised in the guidebooks NOT to stay in overnight because of locals coming to drink, party and harass hikers. A Long Trail hiker had warned us a few days earlier, saying a woman had stayed there alone recently and they had come at 11pm in four wheel drive trucks driving in circles right around the shelter. Sure enough I could see tire tracks circling the shelter so I suspect the story is true.The afternoon I spent ascending to the top of Killington Peak, Vermont's second highest mountain at over 4000 feet. I am spending the night at Cooper Lodge just a few hundred feet from the top. The Trail goes to the top of nearby Little Killington, then along a ridge to the main peak. The path there was level and easy to walk despite being so high up and the sky was that deep blue it just never is down at sea level. I found myself singing "I'm on the top of the world" out of utter silly happiness.I had not planned on doing the steep climb from the shelter to the summit, just as I had not planned on doing the Half Gallon Ice Cream Challenge. But seeing how flat the trail was gave me the idea of trying to get to the snack bar at the summit before it closed at 4pm. I ran along the trail as fast as my legs would carry me. At the shelter I threw down my pack and grabbed my wallet then charged up the steep path to the top. Two male northbounders stormed past me yelling "They've got Ben and Jerry's up there!" Just short of the top I saw them coming back empty-handed looking dejected, reporting that the snack bar had just closed.Being a resourceful Mouse, I dashed to the Gondola Lift and asked how long it was still open. Just enough time and I could go down for free, so I hopped into a gondola and made the ten minute ride to the shops at the bottom of the mountain. At the bottom I prudently asked first about a return ticket and how much time I had. The worker there told me the return was free for thruhikers and I had fifteen minutes. Running inside, I found all the food places were closed, but the sports shop was still open and it had premade subs and other snacks. I got a sub, some chips and a Ben and Jerry's ice cream bar, gulped down the ice cream then dashed back to the lift with minutes to spare. Then back to the top with my loot! Woohoo, Success!!!The view at the top was the best all around view I have yet seen on the Trail. I could see the valleys far below and mountains marching off in every direction as far as the eye could see. Being just below 4000 feet, it was getting quite chilly well before dark. For weeks I have slept laying directly on my air mattress and using my sleeping bag just as a cover to keep from getting too hot. I am sure this will be the coldest night I have seen in months and I will have my bag zipped right up to stay warm.