Sadie
New member
Monday 5/31, we had a grandmother willing to babysit our little guys for a long day, so with that and the fabulous weather, we took the opportunity to leave the 2 and 4 year olds at home while we snuck off hiking—first hike of the season. After a bit of a late start and getting caught behind a bicycle race, we were not able to hit the trail until 11. Trail was nice and dry and pretty gentle! It was quick to the Pico peak camp—just over an hour/2.5 mi from the trailhead. We checked out the cabin that looked nice, but saved the Pico Spur until our way down since it was already after noon time and we wanted to make sure we had enough time. The trip between Pico camp and Long trail intersection was also quick, with moose skat everywhere! The trek on the Long Trail to Cooper Lodge was long but gentle overall. Cooper Lodge looked like it was more of a spot used by local high school students, but the 3 tent plat forms next to it were in good shape and seemed like it would be a nice spot to camp. The final stretch up to the peak of Killington was by far the steepest part we saw all day, but pretty short. Given that we had already hiked 5.4 mi, this stretch let me know how tired my legs were getting! It was 2 PM when we got to the top—so 5.6 miles in 3 hours seemed like decent time for us! We ate a quick lunch at the top—chased away by the black flies. Beautiful view at the top if your back is to the antenna stuff up there. It was a little hazy in the distance but overall did not see any signs of the smoke from the large fires in Quebec. The stretch from Killington back to Sherburne pass trail felt long, but it was a beautiful day to enjoy it! As we neared Pico cabin, we saw a strange kind of large animal on the trail that started climbing a tree—I didn’t know what it was at first, figured out later it was a large porcupine—definitely never saw one of those so close up before! We were beat, but managed to get a 2nd wind to do Pico as we passed the spur path on the way down. The top is marked by a blue marker surrounded by ski area and cell phone tower utilities—I’m not too thrilled with these developed peaks, but a nice view anyways. We got back to the car about 5:15—just over 6 hours to do the 12 mi overall and then a quick drive home. Good tired legs today, the day after! A nice hike—felt great to get out! 52/67 NE4kers. It has me all fired up to get out more! Time for me to start setting my eyes on the Maine peaks—daunting to me since most are ~5 h drive from my home in Boston area and difficult to find the time with the little ones—but feels like a nice adventure ahead!
