Miles: 16.7; Elevation gained: 2,615 feet; LT mile reached: 104.5

Any day you get over a bump like Killington in good weather is a good day. We were bunking at the Inn, which always makes for motivated hiking. We did not do the rock scramble to the peak, which yes is a bit lame, but we hiked it a few weeks ago and we’d be on higher peaks soon enough.

Hikin’ nerdy: this section included the stretch on the trail that I am a “corridor monitor” for – volunteer work for The Green Mountain Club. The gist is that the feds bought up land to either side of the trail to form a corridor that the LT/AT passes through. After all, it’s a footpath in the wilderness, not people’s backyards. The corridor boundary is marked by aluminum “monuments” that look like the US Geological Survey discs on the top of mountains. My section (and my son Cliff’s) runs from Upper Cold River Road in North Shrewsbury to the junction with the Shrewsbury Peak Trail, about 3,700 up the south approach on Killington. There are 132 monuments on this stretch. Each of them can be found by finding the 3 “witness trees” that have been surveyed nearby. So if you cannot sight the disc, the survey tells you, as an example, that there is a 10″ inch beech tree 230 degrees SW. You then triangulate with another witness and should be able to stomp your foot right down on the monument. There are yellow blazes that mark the corridor, and there’s an app, but if the disc is buried or under a fallen tree, you have to go old school.

This means that by definition you are bushwhacking off the trail. I’m not gonna lie – I did not know how hard it would be – imagine going up a really steep section of trail, then going off it, say 500 feet to the left or right and continue up or down. The woods can be super thick, and the forest floor is a treacherous honeycomb of dead, rotting trees and other decaying organic matter. But hey, I can assure you that my section’s boundaries boast 100% integrity!

On this hike we passed through Jungle Junction, the 100 mile marker for the LT, and we got to the Inn to find the saintly Marcia waiting for us with another load of supplies. My original LT buddy, Cliff, joined, and we tucked into some thick Irish cuisine and soft warm beds. I slept on my side!! I slept on my side!!