My 1st (of 5) Vermont 4,000 footer (Mount Killington)!

Wendy signed up for a two-day conference in Burlington, Vermont. I like driving with her, and I want to start climbing the five 4000 footers in Vermont:


I want to do a long hike tomorrow, and therefore a shorter hike today - Mount Killington (4,235 feet):


Since the hike will be about 8 miles, it should take about 4 hours. The trailhead (Brewers Corner) is about 2 hours from Burlington, so I had some time to SEE A WATERFALL! I read about the "Falls of Luna", and the book ("New England Waterfalls") gave it 5 Stars, and said "Difficulty: Moderate side of difficult"; so it sounds perfect for me (and a little outside of Wendy's comfort range). It turns out that the Falls are RIGHT ON THE WAY to Mount Killington:



Early Morning at Thendara was beautiful:


And it seemed like getting to the Falls of Lana was a no-brainer:


I have to KEEP REMINDING myself to READ THE GUIDEBOOK!!! If you "just follow the trail", you come to some very nice babbling rapids:

Well, it turns out that following the "traditional" trail only gets you to the TOP of the FALLS, and not the bottom:

Better Luck Next Time.

Down at the Mount Killington trailhead, I started up Bucklin Trail at 12:30:

which was a nice relatively-flat walk-in-the-woods for the first 2 miles, occasionally crossing a stream:



After the first 2 miles, the trail goes up the mountain, making it a real climb:

You cross The Long Trail, and head up Killington Spur Trail


When you break-out of the trees, the view is GREAT:


a dad and his 3 kids on the mountain:


My selfie - good to be in Vermont, and to be healthy:


looking northeast:


and north:


and northwest:


The trail back down from the summit:


Thank You God for a GREAT DAY! 8.26 miles in 3 hours 33 minutes, with an elevation gain of 2,322 feet!




Thursday, June 23, 2016
left Wendy in Burlington at 9:30 - 12:30 at the trailhead
11.43 miles -- hiking (5 hours 23 minutes)
6:15 at Alex and Nancy's for dinner! (Wendy pickup at 9)

My (Loud Rock) Music (with my windows rolled down on the highway) today was:

before the hike:
The Kinks - Greatest Hits! (original album)


The Kinks - selections from The Ultimate Collection


Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow


after the hike:
Grateful Dead - the white album


Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Art Museums and National Parks (on May 2, 2016 I finished a 4-day trip to NJ-PA-VA-DC)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/