Date: 2016-07-21
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter and Tenting Area

To: Summit of Mt. Killington 
Miles today: 24.0

Jul 21, 2016 - We had another slow, lazy morning, but had some pretty ambitious plans for the day. We were to hike 24 miles to the summit of Mt. Killington where we hoped to make camp. That meant a long 4 mile climb to 3908 feet at the end of a longer day. I booked it out of camp around 8 am and flew to the first road crossing where I hoped to catch a hitch into Wallingford, VT to pick up a resupply package from Mom. To my dismay, the road had barely any traffic. It took Slim Rims and I nearly 30 minutes to catch a ride. Conversely, as soon as I got to the post office, no less than 3 people offered me a ride back to the trail. Two of these offers I was forced to refuse since I needed to sort through my package first. As usual, my Mom outdid herself with the contents of my package. However, I did request my spare ground sheet for my tent - instead, she sent me a synthetic sleeping bag liner. Close, but not really, Mom. I ended up giving the liner to the guy who gave me a ride back to the trail head. I hiked another 6 miles to the Clarendon Gorge parking area where Goldberry again surprised us with Trail Magic! This time, she brought us homemade keish and fresh rhubarb squares along with watermelon, chips, sodas and Gatorades. Honestly, it was just good to see her again. After dunking my shirt in the nearby river to help me cool down, I resumed hiking up Beacon Hill. While not especially long, Beacon Hill was very steep. A false summit and the subsequent incline had me panting for breath and forced me to stop several times. Over 100 miles in 5 days and that damn swim across the pond yesterday had finally started to wear me down. At the top, I still had about 8 miles to go. About 5 miles before the summit of Mt. Killington, Great P, Peach and myself took one final break under a bridge on some rocks next to a river to grab a snack. We had passed probably our most significant milestone yet - less than 500 miles to go to Katahdin! We took a moment under the bridge to reflect and think about that for a bit while Peach and I drank a celebratory beer. For the next 5 miles, as I worked my way up to the summit, I thought about this milestone. While it is extremely exciting to have the end of this endeavor in sight, did I really want this trip of a lifetime to end? Maybe it was just the renewed energy supplied by Vermont that may soon wear off, but no, I did not. I thought back to my worst moments on trail - getting noro in the woods, my infected toe, the pain in my knee, getting flooded in a thunderstorm - and realized that I now appreciate those obstacles more now than I do my triumphs. People always marvel at all the small sufferings thru hikers go through and immediately dismiss them in deference to the comforts that normal life offers. But I know that going back to work at a company in a field that doesn't especially interest me, whether it's in an office or in the field, will have me absolutely craving those sufferings. There's a reason people return to the mountains again and again and seek out the mental clarity provided by nature, that special focus born of high stakes undertakings. I'm beginning to have a true understanding of this sentiment and to realize with a stark calmness that there are things in life more important than a large, steady paycheck and the approval of my peers with respect to conformity. The last 0.2 miles to the summit of Mt. Killington was alarmingly steep, but was so incredibly worth it. The world opened up below me as I stood on the bare rock and looked around. I crossed to the other side of the mountain and stood next to the gondola as I gazed at the surreal looking ski signs. I made camp in a small copse of pine trees and watched the intense wind rock my tent. It would be an interesting night, but dam-nit the sunset was awesome.