Killington Vermont Sky Ship Camping and Peace Park
Saturday afternoon, around 3 pm, I got home from work—it was an extra overtime day for me, working on the weekend to try and make it as a guy in his mid-20s. As I got home, I found myself pondering the looming question of what to do with the rest of my day. Typically, this is a fun time for me. I enjoy planning trips and going on adventures. However, this time, I was late to the party; the adventure had already begun. Some of my friends had spent the day at Killington Resort in Vermont, getting early turns on the groomers and spending the afternoon hitting the park and learning some new tricks—typical skiing good vibes only kind of day.
As I settled into the house and debated if I should drive there immediately, my friends had already started the post-ski day tailgating. It was time for me to go. Packing up the truck is a pretty simple process for me. I drive a 2011 F-150 with a 6.5-foot bed and a cab-height cap on the back. This portable storage container is always ready to go, with a camping buildout in the back, roof racks for skis, and a zero-degree sleeping bag—I am ready to go. The only things not packed are the camera gear, a small overnight bag, and the camping canine, Keona. A quick 10 minutes of running around, and the two of us are on the road.
The drive to Killington from Southern NH is about 2 hours. On a Saturday evening, the traffic is slim to none. We drive the empty highways, listening to my current podcast of choice, "The Modern Craftsman." With only one stop—a bit of fuel for the truck and two bundles of firewood—we anticipate needing more, considering the burn rate of the Solo Stove lighting the scene upon our arrival. I pull into the Sky Ship lot at Killington, which allows car camping in the winter.
The Sky Ship lot at Killington is an excellent place to camp, one of my favorite spots for sure. The biggest driver for me is that it is advertised, and there are other people. While we all generally keep to ourselves, it is comfortable to be in a place without having to be stealthy and surrounded by like-minded camping people. During this trip, we hung around the fire and enjoyed some classic chili cheese dogs and cheeseburgers. That night, temperatures dropped to a low 10 degrees—a tad bit chilly for me and Keona. Keona, being a dog, continued to get out of her sleeping bag to look out the back window. She’s a bit of a protector, making sure I was safe in the back there. Unfortunately for her, that meant she didn’t spend much time in her sleeping bag. I will have to figure out a way to work around that.
Now, it’s 6:30 am the next morning. I am packing up the truck and letting it warm up. The dual purpose here is unpacking the boots and putting them on the front passenger floor. Now that we have woken up the crew, we drive to the Vail lots at Killington. I actually don’t even know if that’s what they are called, but I call them that. We started our ski day spinning some all-mountain laps and chasing some groomers. Groomers are a lot of fun when you have a crew of people all with the same ski style. We spend the time hitting side hits and chasing turns, ending the day with some laps in the Peace Park.
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