Date: 2018-07-26
From: VT 103

To: Vermont Rt 4
Miles today: 17.7

Went down for tea followed by a nice breakfast which is included with your stay. Enjoyed the omelet of the day and some orange juice and hot tea. The first bus didn't leave the Inn until 8:21, so we got to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.Once on the bus I asked the driver about making the connection with the Ludlow bus to get back to VT 103. He informed me that there were no more buses until after 4 pm. This put a damper on our "well crafted plan". Already on the bus were Grandma Shortie and Plodalong. They advised us that another hiker had told them that there was a dangerous water crossing on the way up Killington, and they were going to save that climb for a day when they would have a nice view.We arrived in Rutland and made our way to the Yellow Deli Hostel to see about possibly getting a shuttle. One of the hikers at the hostel suggested we call a shuttle driver he had used that was listed on the bulletin board. We called and he said he was available and asked us to see if anyone else needed a ride as he wouldn't be available later on in the day. We saw Carly, who stayed at the hostel. We hadn't seen her since Delaware Water Gap. As we were waiting for the shuttle we saw Honeybadger and Smiles who also stayed at the hostel and were going to zero today.Our plan was to hike 19 plus miles, but since we didn't get an early start we were starting to wonder if this would be possible. The trail started right out with a steep climb up to a view. After hiking a section that was fairly flat and crossed several gravel roads and some streams we decided to stop for lunch. Had our peanut butter and fluff sandwiches sitting on a log beside the trail. Franklinstein and his hiking partner passed by, we had seen them earlier on by a stream. We soon started the long climb up Killington on a trail surrounded by spruce. It was a wet climb, but we didn't have any problems at any of the water crossings. We decided not to take the steep .2 mile side trail to the summit as there was no chance of a view and it was starting to rain. We did stop at the Cooper Lodge Shelter to stretch and call my parents to secure a ride home for a family reunion in Maine.Water poured down the trail as we traversed the trail near the summit. We slowly made our way along the trail wondering if we would be able to make the full 19 + miles. When we came to the road crossing at Rt 4 we decided we better call it a day as it was getting late and we still had over 2 miles to go plus a half mile walk out to the Inn. We decided to hitch the half mile up the hill to the Inn and had no sooner stuck our thumbs out when we were immediately picked up by two young girls, Journey and Taylor. Unfortunately, in our tired state, we had hitched in the wrong direction. Taylor soon mentioned to Journey that she thought the Inn was the other way, and I realized of course she was right since the Inn was at the top of the hill.Once back at the Inn we quickly got our laundry started (the last load had to be in by 7:30 and we just made it) and took showers and headed down to the pub for dinner. It was a long day, but tomorrow we will be heading home and then to Maine to enjoy some time with several members of Mary's family.