Date: 2016-06-15
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Stony Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Roller was all packed up as I rolled out of bed. I managed to be pretty quick out of camp again, though. After 90 days, I'm finally getting the hang of it. I said goodbye to Mad Dog and headed on up Killington. The last time I had hiked Killington was in a gray, miserable drizzle. Oh what a change. The hike was gorgeous, and near the intersection with the Shrewsbury Peak trail, Killington came into view through the spruce. I made it the mile and a half over to Cooper Lodge and dropped my pack in order to hike up the .2 to the summit that I skipped last time because it was so ugly out. The trail to the summit was crazy steep, jumping up almost 400 feet in under .2. But the payoff was unreal. I came out to a set of ledges next to a fire tower and cell tower at the top of Killington. The day could not have been any clearer. Perfect blue sky without any clouds, and visibility forever. The entirety of the Green Mountains was spread out before me. The big town of Rutland was away to the west, and Champlain was hidden, but the ADKs were in full view. Looking beyond the fire tower, I could see the ski trails of Stratton and Glastenbury beyond that. Looking north, I saw the long ridge of Monroe skyline terminating with mount Ellen, the sharp top of Camel's Hump, the boxy summit of Mount Mansfield, and beyond even to Haystack mountain in the north. If you craned out over a ledge, you could see mount Washington nearly hidden behind some evergreens. The ridges of the south are fun to climb on, and have great views, but only in the north can you get a peak like this that absolute dominates everything, and allows you to see so clearly where you have been and where you are going. I was astounded by the fact that I could see all but three days' worth of my long trail hike, probably 250 miles of trail in a single panorama. And the feeling of excitement for the whites has been building and bubbling to the surface for every hiker I've met. I continued along the side trail to the Killington gondola to get a better look at the whites. The restaurant at the top wasn't open yet, but considering they sell a PBJ sandwich for $9, I doubt I would've eaten there anyway. I went back over the top and descended back down to my pack. I stopped for delicious spring water at Cooper Lodge and began the long descent to Route 4. I passed a number of day hikers, but nothing else was noticeable about the hike down. It was all very pretty though. They make you climb back up a couple ridges, which is silly. As I dropped onto Route 4, I remembered how my girlfriend Ali had picked me up here last year for a zero day at the Inn at Long Trail. That was a lot of fun. I cracked out the AWOL guide. Decision time. I had been planning to go to Rutland, but just didn't need enough supplies to merit the trip. I decided it would be enough to stop off at Killington on a short side trail in a few miles. So across the road I went. A mile in, I hit a very important place along my hike. After climbing up the side of a hill, I dropped into a clearing full of signposts. This was it: Maine Junction, where the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail finally split after 105 miles. Last year, I took a left and continued North to the Canadian border, but not before going and touching the first blaze along the AT, wondering if I would ever make it back here, hoping that I would. Now here I was. 1700 miles from Springer Mountain, just under 500 to Katahdin, and about to embark on what I have been building up in my mind as the last leg, the final, toughest stretch of the entire trail. I took the requisite pictures, then stood in the middle of the clearing. I paused. Then sighed. Then smiled and began walking, this time headed straight East towards Hanover. Let's go to Maine. It might have been a psychological thing, but I noticed a difference in the trail for the rest of the day. It's less worn, less blazed, more winding. It may be because very few days hikers use this section of the AT. I descended through Gifford Woods State Park and failed to hitch for about 10 minutes along Route 100, and so consigned myself to walking to town. I continued on to Kent Pond, though, where a poorly-marked half mile side trail brought me up to Base Camp Outfitters. I stopped in to see what they had before making my way over to the Killington deli, where I bought some supplies for the next few days. I also ordered a delicious sandwich called the Wobbly Barn, with real, rare pieces of steak, provolone, tomatoes and horseradish. It was so good, I ordered a second one, ate half of it, and wrapped the rest up to go. I walked back to the outfitter, and saw that he sold the brand of insoles I like. I had been meaning to replace mine with a thicker insole: I feel too many of the rocks. So I traded them out and threw my old ones rather unceremoniously in the dumpster out back. Goodbye, old friends. I walked back on the side trail and soon found myself at Mountain Meadows Lodge, which is just a pristine place that I'm guessing holds 20 weddings a summer. I stopped by to get water from their hose, and was nearly convinced to stay by an employee there, who promised a hiker rate room, shower, breakfast and - gasp - beer. I looked at the AWOL guide, though, and there was no good way to get to Hanover in two days if I stayed here. So I thanked her but kindly said no. Nearly killed me. The trail putzed through the woods and dropped down to a beautiful boardwalk before beginning an absolutely relentless climb up Quimby Mountain. This climb gave me more trouble than any in recent memory. Part of the problem was that my insoles are not broken in yet, and with the extra padding, I was losing blood flow to my toes, making my feet very sore and tingly. I stopped halfway up and loosened my boots considerably, which helped quite a bit. Gosh was I tired going over this mountain. My heavy pack, my huge lunch, and the taxing climb up Killington all combined to make me feel exhausted going over the unforgiving ridge line, which includes three more Short and steep climbs. I came back to myself about a mile and a half before the shelter, in time to pay attention to the descent. I am the only one in Stony Brook Shelter tonight, and every sound from the forest is freaking me out. But I'm spread out and happy. Today was a good day.