A quick trip up to visit my mom for Labor Day weekend meant poking around for something to do right in her theoretical backyard. My grandfather was born in West Rutland and eventually made his way back semi-permanently to build a vacation home in Clarendon in the early 1970s with Killington ski resorts right around 20 mins away. While I’ve never been skiing (definitely someday!), my mom had hit the slopes there dozens of times. No one in my family, however, had ever hiked up it. I somehow convinced my mom it would be a good idea to come with me.

We started around 9:30 am up the Bucklin trail, the sloping first 2 miles were misleading for what was to come as it was straight up from there. As we climbed, the trail conjoined with a grassy summer ski path - I’m not sure if the lack of roots and rocks made the ascent easier or harder, but it was a welcome change of pace as we began to see the cascading green and lots of familiar places like VT Rt. 4 and Killington village. Nearing the top, there’s a wooden stairway up to where the trail meets the gondola where visitors can take a ride to the restaurant and tourism center around a third of a mile down from the actual summit which is only accessible by a rocky spur trail.

It was a windy, chilly bluebird day and it meant so much to be able to share it with my mom. We spent around 20 minutes at the top admiring the near 360°, wishing the fire tower was still accessible to climb up and smiling over the fact that this was my mom’s first ever four thousand footer. She didn’t need to check off any lists, but I could tell the trip meant a lot to her too. I’m so thankful to have her as a mom - she has inspired and fostered my independence, love of the outdoors, and so many other positive qualities I’ve found in myself. We exchanged pictures and spoke with a few other hikers, then headed back towards the lodge and back down to the parking lot. That night, we cooked veggie burgers out on the grill and raised a pint of The Shed Mountain Ale by the fire pit - it doesn’t get much better than that.

NH 0/48
New England 2/67
New England 2/100 Highest
Northeast 3/115