14 June.

14 June.
From: Minerva Hinchey shelter
To: Cooper Lodge shelter
Mileage: 14.1
Weather: Sunny, cool, windy to cloudy, chilly, raining

Our morning included ridge line views of the Rutland VT airport, then a crossing of beautiful Clarendon Gorge on a somewhat bouncy suspension bridge (Penguin was not enthusiastic about that).

The trail up to the Cooper Lodge shelter (3,908 feet) near the summit of Killington Peak was long (~7 miles) but not too steep. I had to change into my poncho as rain picked up, and I lost sight of Penguin. The trail ascended into the cloud/fog on the mountain.

I hoped that the restaurant at the summit lodge was open, but rumors were that it had not started summer hours based upon last year's start date later in June. However, it gave me incentive for the climb.

I had some concerns for Penguin, who had developed a persistent cough recently, especially with the exposure to cold, damp air while exerting effort climbing the mountain. She mentioned needing a zero day to recover.

When we reached the shelter, we found a father with four 19 year old sons from Florida, hiking to Rutland VT for a flight home tomorrow. The shelter was in poor condition. The window frames had no panes so fog was blowing in. The roof had many leaks. The door latch was broken so the door was kept shut with a rock. One of the two double deck bunks had broken slats on top, and the lower deck had a collapsed corner so had a slope. There was graffiti on the walls. Not pretty, but the only option was hiking another three miles to the four person Pico Camp shelter, and we decided to stay put.

The father also told us the restaurant had not opened for the season, yet, but the staff was onsite preparing to open in a few days. Bad timing.

A more ambitious hiker stopped in to eat before proceeding to Killington VT for the night. An elder (60s?) brother and his sister on her first hiking trip arrived and took the broken top bunk, and he punctured his inflatable pad on the broken slat so he relocated to a tent site for the night.

It was a miserably cold, rainy night, but we were happy to be inside the shelter, even as it was. Penguin and I shared the sloping platform feet down, and I did my best to avoid rolling into her overnight (only kicked her feet once!).