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| First time on the Long Trail, VT |
I drove the three hours from Kennebunkport to Killington, Vermont to spend some time with two of my best friends, Courtney and Michael. I'd never been to Killington before. My goals of the trip was to spend time with my friends and get outside. Although at the time, we had not had much snow (Dec. 15-16), I brought my downhill skis in case we could go skiing at Killington Ski Resort.
I arrived Saturday morning around 10:30 am. I dropped off my stuff with Courtney at the Econo Lodge in nearby Mendon on Rt 4.
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| Maine Junction - on Long Trail |
It was a sunny, chilly day and Courtney and I decided to go for a little hike. We noticed a few miles up the road the was a parking lot and a sign for the Appalachian Trail. Without a map, we took the trail from the road and enjoyed an easy, graded trail for a few miles through hardwood forest. We never reached a peak or good viewpoint and after a couple hours turned around and returned to the road. I've heard rumor that the Long Trail portion of the AT is nice hiking but mostly "in the trees" as apposed to the White Mountain portion where you get frequent wide views. Still, it was exciting to try a new portion of the AT and see the beautiful Vermont woods.
On Sunday, Courtney and I headed to the ski resort. Tickets were $80 which was steep considering many of the trails were closed due to lack of snow. The trails that were open were good, but crowded. A snow storm blew in starting around 10 am and continued through the day and night. We were really grateful for the gondola which made it possible to have a comfortable ride to the top of the runs. I would love to go back and experience Killington skiing when their runs are open and there is more snow.
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| Hiking with Courtney |
I drove back through the storm on Sunday night. What should have been a 3 and half hour drive ended up taking over five hours in the storm. I got home, happy to be safe and sound with my kitties.
