Hiking Vermont's Long Trail

I'm seeing some hikers planning a Long Trail adventure and decided to go ahead and share this blog back from 2012 when I did my southbound hike of it. I found the End to Ender's Guide and the map sufficed. I did not carry the Long Trail Guide as it only has descriptions for a northbound hike and I was hiking southbound. I also took a GPS device as well that really did come in handy on a few of the situations I found myself in. 

On September 23, 2012, I completed a southward trek of Vermont’s Long Trail. What began back in 2010 with the completion of the trail from Maine Junction (where the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail part) to Rt 2 in Massachusetts, I hiked from the Canadian border to the Maine Junction this fall. 

Looking into Quebec, Canada at the start of the Long Trail

So what is the Long Trail? As taken from the Green Mountain Club's web site – “Built by the Green Mountain Club between 1910 and 1930, the Long Trail is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States. The Long Trail follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from the Massachusetts-Vermont line to the Canadian border as it crosses Vermont's highest peaks. It was the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail, which coincides with it for one hundred miles in the southern third of the state.

Although the Long Trail is known as Vermont's "footpath in the wilderness," its character may more accurately be described as backcountry. As it winds its way to Canada, the Trail climbs rugged peaks and passes pristine ponds, alpine bogs, hardwood forests and swift streams. The Long Trail is steep in some places, muddy in others, and rugged in most. Novice and expert alike will enjoy the varied terrain of the trail as it passes through the heart of Vermont's backwoods.
With its 273-mile footpath, 175 miles of side trails, and nearly 70 primitive shelters, the Long Trail offers endless hiking opportunities for the day hiker, weekend overnighter, and extended backpacker.”




Some noted observations made while on my hike –

Atop Mt Mansfield looking toward the Adirondoacks of NY and Lake Champlain

Best part of the trail – Except for a bit of a nerve wracking ascent up the chin and then the calamity with my backpack on the forehead, Mt Mansfield was one of the trip's highlights for stunning scenery.

The Presidential Range of NH from the Lincolns

I also liked very much a lone mountain called Laraway Perch. I had a beautiful view of Mansfield that day. The trail also meandered below huge rock formations.

Another favorite was Mt Abraham in the Lincoln region. My last views above tree line as I headed south.
  
Worse part of the trail – I attempted to climb Camel’s Hump in sixty mile an hour winds and heavy rain. It got so bad that I was obliged to take a side trail to avoid the exposed summit. On a clear day, this would have been a great mountain. But on adverse weather, it made for a treacherous and rather frightening experience.

What I’m glad I took – I accepted a fellow hiker's generous offer to carry his GPS with me. This served me many times when the trail became a bit confusing in ski areas such as Jay Peak (and the trail crosses many ski areas). It also helped me navigate back to the trail when my backpack fell out of the “Needle” portion of the forehead on Mt Mansfield and careened down 100 feet into a ravine. After retrieving my pack, I was able to bushwhack back using the GPS. I'm also glad I did take a 15 degree bag and outerwear for my September travels. Many hikers out there were pretty cold in their 30 plus degree bags in September.

Regrets – I didn’t need the mail drop at all in Jonesville, even though the post office is directly trailside. Between Jeffersonville (which has a nice general store) and Waitsfield, there is good resupply for the northern hiker. I ended up ditching some food at the inn at Waitsfield.

Speaking of which, the B&B's I stayed at (Nyes Green Valley and the Waitsfield Inn) were first class, friendly to hikers, did up laundry for free, and provided shuttles. Great breakfasts too. Worth the hefty price.  

Favorite place to stay on the trail – I had a great time at the ski lift hut on Spruce Peak. And I had wet gear that dried quickly that night inside the hut. The view overlooking Stowe was lovely. Stark’s Nest is another great place to stay, with views from the porch extending toward the Presidential Range of New Hampshire.

The Finish at Maine Junction. I did the southern part on my 2010 hike of the AT southbound

What I Learned – When the going gets rough, listening to the still small voice telling me where to go and what to do (like trying to negotiate the rocky traverse of the Camel's Hump ascent) really saved my hike.   

My Long Trail Journal on Trail Journals.
 

Other Trails

BMT
Foothills Trail
Allegheny Trail

Trail Alert - Green Mountain National Forest Closed - updated 9/30/2011

Hikers: A statement has been issued on 9/1/2011 temporarily closing Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont due to the Hurricane damage. No hiker entrance permitted. This would affect both the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail. See links below -

Green Mountain NF Closure Notice 

Green Mountain National Forest Status Report of damage and closures to roads and facilities 

Other updates (9/2/11) for New York (including the Catskills and Adirondacks) and New Jersey can be found on the updated Hurricane Irene blog entry.  

Update - 9/6/2011

Check the Green Mountain Club website for updated status reports. The National Forest at this time is still closed.

Update - 9/16/11 from Laurie at the ATC

Opened now in Vermont:


An 18-mile continuous section:

• 86.8 – 104.2 Vt. 103 (just north of Clarendon Gorge) to US 4 (Killington/Rutland)

As best we can determine from GMNF closure maps, several small pieces of the A.T. throughout the state are also closed. Though these pieces are short, in some cases long-distance hikers may potentially need to miss much longer sections to get around them. We do not yet have specific re-route information. Trailhead closure postings will be the most accurate source of info; the information below is only our best reading of the maps and should not be considered definitive.

Short pieces that are closed:

• 51.6 - Spruce Peak Shelter area
• 54.4 Vt. 11 & 30 possibly a mile from road heading south
• 70.9 Big Branch Shelter and possibly from there 0.3 north to Danby-Landgrove Rd. (USFS 10)
• 109.7 - 109.9 Thundering Falls Boardwalk
• 127. 9 - Vt. 12 parking area and A.T. immediately south -- bridge is out over Gulf Stream

Numbers above are distances from the Massachusetts/Vermont line.

The official press release with more information and closure maps can be found at http://bit.ly/GMNFpartialOpeningPostIrene.

Both the Thundering Fall boardwalk and the bridge and parking area at Vt. 12 were damaged significantly by Tropical Storm Irene and will not be open anytime soon.

Many roads accessing the A.T. are closed.

9/30/2011  Update on Green Mtn National Forest - most open but 18 mile section of AT still closed.


 

Hiking Destinations and Tough Decisions

Plowing Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park, late May 2011. They still don't know when the road will open as of June 7th.

Our destination for this summer's hike starting July 7th was slated to be the John Muir Trail, the most scenic trail one can do, spanning the high Sierras in California. We set up for it way back in January through the Yosemite National Park lottery system (which had to be done then to secure a pass to hike at this date) and went on to purchase the airline tickets. 

Then the snows came. And they came. And record snows, according to Mammoth Lake. Still more record snow in March. Some late snow in April. But we stubbornly maintained our optimism. We began thinking in terms of microspikes, ice axes, hiking boots and not trail runners, long gaiters, getting a new tent (which we did), how to survive the water crossings, all the while hoping for blistering spring temps to melt the huge snow pack.

But the temperatures did little. The snow is melting, yes, but ever so slowly.  We had to make a decision soon with our July hike. Hike on what was projected to be miles and miles of snow pack in July (the only month we can do it with our schedules). Or try again next year, take the airline penalty and do something different with our plane tickets next fall?

How it looks right now in the high Sierra country, June 7, 2011

We opted to try again next year.

This summer we have changed to hiking the Long Trail of Vermont. Thanks to the generosity of a fellow White Blaze member, we have the guide book, and I purchased the Long Trail map and End to End guide from Campmor. Plans are being put into motion to salvage a summer of hiking. I still hate to think I will not be out on the JMT this year. That I have to pay fines to move airline tickets and suffer through the Yosemite lottery process all over again next year. These are tough decisions one must make. But I feel we made the right one.