This was a route that I’d been thinking about for some time, since I hadn’t yet been to the Vermont 4000 footers, besides Killington. When I learned I would be a camp counselor for a week in Vermont, I decided to leave a day early to attempt the record. My biggest logistical problem was that I needed to be in Castleton by 4pm, which meant going Southbound would make much more sense. However, after a little research I realized that to maximize my chances of an FKT, I would want to finish at Mansfield. So, I planned to begin my attempt at 3am at Killington.
Oddly enough, the Vermont 100 Miler took place on the same day (July 20th), so I drove from New Hampshire the night before and slept in the same field as all the racers. Everyone woke up at 2am, and I left the site and drove off to Killington, hoping to start up the ski trails at 3am on the nose. Luckily I got there at 2:55 and was able to chug some water, eat a little, and then got ready to go with just my phone and keys.
As soon as the clock stuck three, I was off! I powered up the “A” trail, which was very simple to follow. It went pretty much straight up the mountain, and was very wet. By the time I reached the top of the lift section, my shoes were soaked - but I had no time to complain! I found my way to Killington’s summit, which took longer than I expected. The view at 3:28am was obviously not great, but I could see lights scattered across the region, which was somewhat cool. I began descending and realized that the trail was far too steep, wet, and dark to run down, so I had to swiftly walk down and once it flattened out, I was able to start running again. When I got back to the ski lodge, I pulled up the directions to Sugarloaf Ski Area on my phone while running so that I could immediately get on my way once at the car. Time spent on Killington was 53 minutes.
I then drove over to Sugarloaf for the climbs of Abraham and Ellen. This drive took me 55 minutes and along the way I chugged some more water and housed a few snacks. My strategy was to not carry a pack to maximize speed, and fuel in between the climbs when I was at my car. I got to Sugarloaf as the sun began to rise and had a clear view of the daunting climb ahead of me.
I started Abraham and Ellen at 4:49am. I didn’t need a headlamp and initially followed the dirt access roads leading to the slopes. Once I got to a point where I could attack Lincoln Peak head on or follow a less-direct route up the roads, I decided to take my chances with the steep grass directly under the lift. I’m unsure whether this saved me time, but my shoes were drenched by the time I reached the top of Lincoln. I made my way through the woods, taking numerous photos of the beautiful sunrise, and eventually got to the top of Abraham at 5:42am, which was super cool. Then I headed back across the ridge, and made my way North to Ellen. I made my first of very few errors on the day by getting briefly lost trying to find the Long Trail at the top of the Northern lift, but eventually I was back on track and got to Ellen by 6:33am. With a goal of under 2.5 hours for this second hike, I scurried down, electing to follow the dirt roads the entire way down. I did take a tumble about a mile from the end of the hike, and had a bloody knee for the rest of the day. This only cost me a minute at most though - it was not a bad fall. I got back to the car at 7:21, missing my loose goal by only two minutes (though I forgot to stop my watch until I left, so Strava would say otherwise).
The drive to Camel’s Hump was easily the most interesting of the trip. Initially, I was planning to climb seven miles to Camel’s Hump from the East. However, as I was headed out of Sugarloaf, I realized that the Burrows Trail in the West was only 4.5 miles. Even though it was further away, I knew I could save a ton of time. I changed up my route, and in doing so I realized I would be forced to get gas. I made a stop along the way, taking the chance to eat a muffin while the car filled up. I then continued my drive, getting caught behind a truck going about 28 in a 40. I took this opportunity to pull over, quickly fill a bottle with electrolytes, and then catch up to the truck in front, losing no time! I got to the Burrows Trail at 8:40am and within ten seconds of parking near the top of the road, I was off and running!
Until this point, I’d forgotten that humans existed, because I hadn’t seen one yet on the day. The Burrows Trail was decently full, and I was dodging a bunch of hikers, trying to maintain a run for most of the ascent. Compared to New Hampshire, I was shocked to see quite a lot of people hiking without packs (although I shouldn’t talk since I wasn’t wearing one). The trail was a little wet but in general was very nice, and I made phenomenal time on my way up. I reached the top at 9:20am, got a very rushed photo, and was able to run the rest of the way. I got a lot of encouraging comments, and was starting to realize that the record was probably going down. I took a brief pitstop at some very conveniently placed port-a-potties at the trailhead, and began the final ride of the day at 9:47am.
The drive to Mansfield was uneventful. I had some more snacks and even more water. The road narrowed and driving through the cliffs of Smuggler’s Notch for my first time was awesome! Then I made my second error of the day - I meant to climb Mansfield via the Long Trail, but instead parked at Hell Brook. Without realizing that these two places were different, I had the last of my snacks and began the final ascent.
I started up Hell Brook at 10:58am, and knew I had 1h18m to summit. At this point, I set my eyes on nine hours, since I felt really safe regarding the record. I quickly learned that the trail was named “Hell Brook” for good reason, because it might just be the most brutal trail I have ever climbed in New England. I gained 2500ft in 1.5mi, and most of the rocks were wet. I also started to really lose my energy at this point, and even though I had just eaten I was terribly craving food. I had to pass by multiple families, many of whom should definitely not have been up there. Regardless, I made steady progress. There was a slight moment of doubt where I wasn’t sure if I would even break the record, but when I finally started to crest the chin I was definitively in the clear. I made sure to video my watch as I finished, showing 11:52:11, for an overall time of 8h52m11s. I laid down on the rocks, took some photos, and tried to enjoy the view. A bonus was that this was my twelfth state high point! On the way down I was still completely out of it but I wasn’t in too much of a rush so I didn’t really mind. Luckily, I did make it to my camp on time!
I know that if I, or someone else, were to go all in for this record, it could definitely be pushed way lower. Nonetheless, the whole morning was a grand adventure and I’m very proud to (assuming verification) claim that nobody has ever visited the five peaks in Vermont over 4000 feet in less time than me!