Vermont Appalachian Trail

Killington Ridge Appalachian Tral                        Vermont

     During the entire process of planning, conducting, and completing the Vermont section of the Appalachian Trail there were many doors closed and miraculously reopened again.  The scheduling of flights, security checks, equipment problems, rainy weather, dangerous trails, high waters, no rental cars, no bear spray, no cell coverage, and many closed restaurants and businesses were some we experienced.  Every time we had a problem God was there to make it right again.  There was no other explanation for completion of this hike.

1 Peter 5:6-7,  "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exhalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

A view from Killington Ridge on the Appalachian Trail part of the Green Mountains of Vermont.

The Plan

      I finished section hiking the Appalachian Trail in October, 2021.  It was  a long awaited adventure, my son-in-law Rob, and I had been planning it for three years.  Because of the COVID virus outbreak and other obligations, 2021 was the year.  In the previous year we had made all the arrangements - scheduling flights, motels, and, shuttles for the trip.  But 2021 was the year it was going to finally occur.   We planned to fly to Lebanon, New Hampshire, from Roanoke, Virginia, rent a car, drive to Rutland, Vermont, and begin the hike. 
       The Appalachian Trail (AT) in Vermont is also known as The Long Trail and was the last section of the entire 2,180 miles I had not completed.  
     Our original flight schedule was to fly from Roanoke, Virginia, to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then to Boston, Massachusetts, and finally to Lebanon, New Hampshire.  There are no large airports in Lebanon and we planned to rent a car and drive the last twenty miles to Rutland, Vermont, for the beginning of our hike.    Our return schedule was the reverse of this process. The first flight from Roanoke was scheduled to depart at 9:30 AM, and there were only short layovers between flights. 
      We shipped our food and some of our other equipment, such as stoves and trekking poles.  The equipment such as cooking fuel and bear spray were not allowed on the plane.  These items would be purchased the day before the hike in Rutland.  It was critical that we remained in close contact with our backpacking gear.  Everything was planned to the smallest detail.  

The Travel

     The day before departure we were sent an email from the airlines telling us that all of the flight departure times had been changed due to COVID and pilot shortages.  The flight from Roanoke was now departing at 6:19 AM to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a five hour layover and then to Boston, Massachusetts, with another five hour layover before leaving for Lebanon, New Hampshire.  There were no rental cars available in Lebanon.

While inside the airports we had to wear masks.

We successfully flew to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while wearing our masks.

     I enjoyed eating a snack between flights in the Admiral's Club.  ​My son-in-law travels a lot, so he became a member of the Admiral's Travel Club.  
    As part of the club’s benefit's the airport makes available a separate lounging area to  provide a  little extra comfort. ​Free Wi-Fi, food, and, relaxation are provided.  We ate breakfast at the club and five hours later caught the flight to Boston on time. 

       The next flight to Lebanon was by Cape Air in a small plane. In order to board the plane we had to catch a shuttle bus outside of the airport to the farthest part of the airport.   We boarded the shuttle bus and rode to the small plane terminal.  We did not realize we had to recheck all of our luggage and go through security again.  After doing that we had only fifteen minutes to go through a security line of about fifty people. 
      There was no way we were going to make the flight.  A miracle occurred just after we moved only a few feet. Airport security opened a second security check point lane just in front of us, and we were the first ones in line.  We zoomed through the line and did a mad quarterback scramble to the gate where the plane was sitting.   But no one was boarding it, as the plane had been slightly delayed.  
​      Shortly afterward we were lead down steps and out to the tarmac where a really small two engine plane was parked. The pilot explained that we had a full flight with six passengers. We boarded the plane and we took off right behind a 727 jet liner.

     ​The plane flew at an elevation less that 4,000 feet all the way to Lebanon.  Many of the hiking trails along the mountains are only slightly more than 4,000 feet tall.  We flew so close to the ground that I felt that if I tried hard enough I could see the expressions on people's faces who were walking below. The plane vibrated so much that it gave new meaning to the words shake, rattle and roll.  

 A view from the wings trailing edge of the plane.  We never flew above the clouds.

Auto Rental 

     We arrived in Lebanon not knowing how we were going to go the remaining twenty miles to Rutland.  Again another miracle occurred, and a rental car had just been turned in from Canada to rent. 

 
Equipment Pick UP

     We picked up the hiking equipment that we had shipped, and Rob rented the car.   We had no luck finding many of the supplies we planned to purchase in Rutland.  Several of the items we could do without, but Vermont is known for it’s large black bear population, so we really wanted to purchase bear spray for protection.  No bear spray was available because most of the outdoor hiking and camping stores were out of business. We had to rely on keeping the bears away by making lots of noise.

The Stay in  Rutland, Vermont

     The Town of Rutland is known for its large deposits of marble.  By the time we drove to the Rutland motel it was evening and  time for dinner.  The hardest part was trying to find a place to eat.  Most restaurants were still closed due to the pandemic.  Even the McDonalds carryout line wrapped around their building.  
​      We drove around for what seemed like hours before we found a deli that Rob said served the best sandwiches and pasta he had ever eaten.  We spent the night in Rutland.
​

Hiking Shuttle to the Trailhead 

     The next day we prepared to catch a shuttle bus to the trailhead.  The city of Rutland runs a shuttle called "The Bus" to all parts of the area.  At 7:00 AM  a shuttle was scheduled to take us from the motel to the central station.    We were to take a second shuttle to our trailhead.  We could be hiking on the  trail by 7:30 AM.  We packed all our gear and waited outside the motel for the shuttle bus to pick us up.  Our rental car would be left at the motel.  
     A shuttle stopped in from of the motel and informed us that the schedule had changed and that our bus would not be there for another hour.   The bus driver said that his shuttle did not go to the station and that the shuttle we wanted had been cancelled.  We would have to wait for another shuttle at 8:00 AM.  If we did that it would put us at the trailhead at 8:30 AM, much later than we wanted to start the hike.  
     We decided to drive to the bus station and leave the car at its parking garage for two days and from there catch the shuttle to the trail head.  The bus station was downtown and provided hourly parking in a multi level deck parking garage.  The cost for parking was exorbitant, and there was  no other provision for overnight parking.  
     The bus station manager, who looked like a homeless person, said since the parking garage was being remodeled we could leave our car on the second level for two days with no charge and that the garage would take no responsibility for the vehicle.  We declined that offer and decided to drive to the trailhead and find a roadside parking place.
​    We found a ski lodge near the trailhead, and we parked our car with hopes it would still be there at the end of the hike.
​

​The Hike 

     Our hike began at the Route 4 trail-crossing to just below the peak of Sherburne Pass at Route 103, a total of 18.4 miles.  It ascends some of the highest elevations in Vermont, along the Coolidge Range of the Green mountains, descending to foothills, winding through pastures to open fields, as well as through hardwood and evergreen forests. The trail is often rocky and muddy, especially during the mud season of April through June.
     The trail crosses within .2 mile of the top of the second highest mountain, Killington Peak, at 4,235 feet. The trail also passes by the Pico and Killington Ridge Ski Lodges. The Killington Ridge ski area is considered the largest ski resort on the east coast.  It has 200 slopes with 31 ski lifts and 90 miles of trails.  
​     At the beginning of the hike the elevation is 1,880 feet, ascending to the spur trail of killington Peak at 3,900 feet, to the end of the hike at 860 feet at Route 103.

Appalachian Trail map

Elevation map of the hike

Day 1
 
     Our first day hike was a 4.2 miles hike to the Pico Camp shelter.  The hike started at the Route 4 highway, then entered the woods, crossing a bridge over a brook turning left off an old woods road.  It ascended gradually to the Pico Camp Shelter with an elevation of 3,457 feet through an area called “Jungle Junction,” named such due to a hurricane in 1938 that left a jungle of tree blowdowns
​       The trail was muddy and slippery because it had just rained the night before.  The deciduous tree leaves had just changed color and the trail was illuminated with beautiful multi-colored leaves.  It was hard to stay on the trail because the  thick layer of leaves covered the well-worn path.  The Appalachian Trail's white blaze marking on the trees assured us that we were on the trail. 
     The trail crossed the Pico and Killington ski interceptor slope and a 12-inch water-line that provides water for the snow making machines.  We had to crawl over it.                          
      Because the trail also goes to the Pico Ski Lodge we passed several people hiking to the ski lodge.  At this time of the year there are very few AT thru hikers because most north-bound hikers who begin hiking in March from Georgia have finished this section of the  hike by October.  

The temperature was in the 60's and overcast. 

     This section of the trail is also called the Catamount Trail.  It was not originally part of the Appalachian Trail (AT).  The AT originally followed the Sherburne Pass Trail that passes by the ski lodges, but later the trail was rerouted due to the heavy AT hiker traffic on the trail.  
​     The leaves were at their fall peak and the brilliant colors almost took our breath away.

Time to take a break after climbing part of the way up Pico Mountain.

 A large rock just outside of the shelter gave my back some much needed rest.

      The Pico Camp shelter is an enclosed four-sided, framed cabin built by the Long Trail Patrol in 1959 at an evaluation of 3,510 feet above sea level.  It has a composting privy and a water source forty five yards northeast on the Shelburne Pass Trail.
     There is usually a caretaker at the shelter, but due to the COVID virus outbreak there are no fees or caretakers.  
      In the shelter there was no furniture except bunk beds.  We had intended to set up our tents nearby, but signs posted on the cabin said no tent camping allowed.  The cabin had spaces for twelve hikers,  but no one else came alone.

    The Pico Cabin was very rustic and had lots of holes for mice and other animals to get inside.  But the cabin roof did not leak and kept us dry from the heavy rain we had that night.

     We arrived early at the shelter anticipating the extra time to set up our tents and prepare our sleeping beds.  But the trail regulations posted on the door stated that tents were not allowed.

     The bunk beds gave me a good place to sit down, but the top bunk was not high enough to keep me from bumping my head.

     It was cool and damp in the shelter and we had to change into dry clothes because our clothes had gotten wet from hiking through the wet brush along the trail.  I boiled some water, put it in a Nalgene bottle, and put it in my sleeping bag.  The bottle kept me warm and helped dry my clothes for the next day.

Day 2 

Starting from the Pico Camp Shelter to the Governor Clements Shelter - a total of 7.2 miles.

       Lots of rain the night before produced very muddy trails.  The fog kept our clothes dripping wet.  In the beginning the weather was too warm to put on our rain gear.  In the afternoon it cooled down and we put on our rain gear.

     We stopped to have lunch.  Parts of the trail had been rerouted in an attempt to keep the AT hikers away from the ski trails.  It was very dangerous because the trail was covered with dead trees and deep wet leaves.  Many of the slippery rocks were covered with fallen deep piles of leaves.  It started to rain.

       All of the beautiful fall leaves were now under our feet.  Because it rained the whole day we arrived at the shelter very wet.

     The Governor Clement Shelter built in 1921, sleeps twelve and is a three-sided stone shelter with a dirt floor.  The shelter stands on a dirt road in an overgrown field.  The walls were repointed and new sleeping bunks were added in 2010. 
     The shelter was named after Percival W. Clements, Governor of Vermont from 1919 to 1921.  ​On one side of the shelter is a stone fireplace.
    By the time we reached the shelter it was dark.  Two men were already staying in the shelter, and two more came an hour later.  There was a fire in the fireplace, but because of the very wet wood it gave off little heat and lots of smoke.
        We prepared dinner using our head lamps.  It rained all night, but the roof did not leak.  

     The shelter fireplace and dirt floor had a raised floor for sleeping.

Day 3 

     Starting at the Governor Clements Shelter to Vermont Route 103 - a total of 6.8 miles.
      Due to the heavy rains during the two previous days we considered cutting the hike 1.0 mile shorter because the trail was becoming too dangerous to descend the almost vertical rock slopes.  
​     We had to cross several swollen and deep dreams.  One stream had a downed log we could walk across, but in another we had to take our shoes and socks off, as well as roll our hiking pants above our knees to cross.
    

A log crossing of one of the streams.

​Shuttle To the Car

     After several conversations with our return shuttle driver, she advised us to skip the last mile of our hike because of the extremely dangerous descend of the mountains in a heavy rain.  She had hiked it several times in dry conditions, and it was a very difficult and dangerous trail to hike in the rain. We skipped the last mile, as a heavy cold rain fell us on the trail.  We had already experienced difficulty descending Killington Peak due to the heavy wet rocks and leaves on the trail.
    Our shuttle drive took us to our car parked on Route 4.  We drove to the motel in Lebanon and returned the car to the airport the next day.  

Lebanon Stay 

​     On the our way to the motel Rob had seen a gas station with a deli that provided us with a good evening meal. The next day we drove back to the Lebanon Airport.

Flight Back to Roanoke,Virginia

​     Our return flights back to Roanoke Virginia were uneventful except for a slight snag in Boston.  
     We had to social distance and wear masks in the airport. In Lebanon Rob checked our box of extra gear to Roanoke, Virginia.  Airport security had a problem with a piece of our extra gear. A battery-operated air pump in the checked equipment box went off while it was being loaded in the airplane. The  vibrating sound made the inspector reopen the box and turn off  the gear.

      The Cape Air plane preparing to land at the Boston Airport.  You can watch the landing through the pilots wind shield.

     We landed in Boston.  The rest of the trip went smoothly except when we tried to go through security.  
     Rob's pack was held up three times due to the tent he had tied on top of his pack.  There were some metal collars on the tent poles that showed up in the X-Ray.  He had to go back and check his pack with the regular luggage.  They would not let him carry it on the plane.
     It did not cause us to miss the next flight, and I could still visit the Admiral's room for lunch.  We arrived back in Roanoke, Virginia safe and sound.

​Isaiah 40:31,  "But those who wait on the Lord
                        Shall renew their strength;
                        They shall mount up with wings like eagales,
                        They shall run and not be weary,
                        They shall walk and not faint."