Sunday, September 30, 2012

Killington - on the Bucklin Trail

 Something I've been looking forward to for a long time: Hiking the Bucklin Trail to the top of Killington (4,235 feet) in Vermont. It's 7 miles or so round trip.
 Craig "volunteered" to go hiking and picked Killington. He didn't know there'd be bridges!
 This was scarier than it looks... or maybe it is as scary as it looks.
 A relic of the native americans that occupied this area before europeans? Were they too lazy to build pyramids like natives of Mexico and South America? Maybe they had something better to do? Is it just a pile of stones? We may never know.
 Parts of the trail blended into the foliage. I thought that was kind of neat.
 Weather was crappy with a chance of crap. It was cool with heavy cloud cover for most of the trip up. Then it started raining. Yay.
 The signs told us what to do.
 This was the beginning of the "home stretch" to the peak. The rocks are the trail.
 Almost at the top.
 More and more "sunlight" near the peak.
 End of the line at the peak. We won! Normally you get a pretty good view here. Not today, as clouds were all up in here.
 Craig examining his walking stick for stress fractures. There were tons of shoobs at the top that cheated by taking the gondola (or is it gondola?). The shoobs were identifiable because they were eating potato chips and asking directions. You're at the top already! Every direction goes down!
 Going down from the peak was (for me) more difficult! Unfortunately this is when it started raining and the rocks were pretty slick.
 Cooper Lodge near the Killington Peak spur off of the Long Trail.
 Craig said this rock was worth $30 (U.S.), I thought that made it worth taking a picture.
 I call this rock "Weezy" (the Jeffersons?).
 I don't look miserable despite being completely drenched, cold and tired.
Craig sustained several non life-threatening injuries.
Of course, memories of the Chuck Norris videotape cover (seen at the Maclure Library Book Sale in Pittsford, Vermont) sustained us through the journey. Thanks Chuck!


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