When we left for the hike, it was cloudy all morning, so we had faith that the hike wasn’t going to be too hot. If anything, we were hoping to avoid any rain storms. Hiking Killington started with a nice drive into the woods. The trailhead wasn’t too crowded, & we started out at a good clip. The first 1.5-2 miles of this hike is pretty level — or at least a very, very subtle grade: more of a walk in the woods than anything else.
Then began the ascent: a soul-crushing, thigh-burning, heart-exploding 1.5 miles. There were many bugs when we stopped to hydrate, but they weren’t really biting. About 1/2 way up, we started getting some of the winds cutting through the trees. That cooled us off and about that time our pace was tempered by a more level climb too the top of the mountain.
We hit Cooper Lodge just before the peak. It seems to be viciously vandalized by hoodlums ... fairly regularly. Next, a rocky ascent for maybe .2 miles, and then the summit in the clouds (see pic above). We got some snacks, water, cooled off, and started making our descent — as it was a bit chilly up top.
Heading down the same trail we ascended, the sun came out. The temperature climbed, and we were pretty thankful that we did not have to ascend the 1.5 miles in that sort of sun/heat. We reached the level part of the trail and enjoyed the rest of our walk in the woods. Shortly before getting back, we all took a moment to cool ourselves in the stream paralleling the trail as we returned to the trailhead.
Another 4000-footer in the bag. BAM.
Happy hiking.
Pictures
