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Vermont's Long Trail Click here to visit the Green Mtn. Club
265 mile hike along the ridge of the Green Mountains, from Massachusetts to Canada!

One year in September, I backpacked most of the Long Trail through Vermont.  This was one of the finest backpacking trips I have ever been on!   It mostly follows the ridgeline, so you go up and down every peak!  Check out some of the photos and links to this awesome trail!

 SUNRISE!  The typical bivy-sack setup (why carry a tent?) on the porch of an old ski-hut-platform near the summit at Mad River Glen Ski Area.   If it isn't raining, there is no need for a tent,  or even  the roof of a leanto.    Sunrise AND Sunset   from the Same Location!   Perfection!

The cabin on Killington Summit
  A typical cabin along the trail.  Spaced about every 2 to 5 hours, there really is no need to carry a tent (except in bug season, or if you have serious problems with snoring or flactulance!)
 

The breeze blowing me off my feet!
 Trying to get a self-portrait on the summit of Mount Ellen, the darn wind blew me over backwards, and of course I landed on my arse!
 
 

Another Lean-To.  A welcome sight at the end of a long day!
  Another typical Lean-To. There might be a breeze blowing through, and maybe even some rain leaking through a few spots in the old tin roof,,,,   But the best part is the cool folks you get to share dinner, cocktails, and breakfast with!

There are about six or seven cabins along the trail that are so awesome they will blow your mind!  I'll never tell you which ones they are, but they are pretty obvious if you buy and read the Long Trail Guide put out by the Green Mountain Club.  All the cabins are potentially subject to abuse by those who like to party irresponsibly, so it is up to the rest of us to utilize peer pressure as a means to educate those few neophytes.  The best of those cabins have (or had) wood stoves in them, so they were pretty awesome destinations for a winter backpack.  Unfortunately it seems that more and more of the stoves have been removed due to excessive abuse. The Long Trail in Vermont is absolutely one of the best moderate semi-long-distance trails in the USA.  It follows the ridgeline of the Green Mountains the entire way.  One note; the trail often makes no effort to utilize switchback-type trails.  Usually the trail goes straight up!  These are classic old New England trails.  Often the footing is tree roots, rocks, and mud.  If your knees are not accustomed to this type of abuse, it is best to limit your daily miles for the first week or so.  A lot of folks wear elastic knee and ankle supports.  If you don't wear them, you should at least carry them.
It is real easy to separate the
new hikers from the seasoned veteran hikers. Those who have been hiking the longest usually carry the lightest packs. You really don't need all the junk that a lot of beginning hikers carry in their packs. When your overnight pack weighs 20 or so pounds, you can bounce along the trail, and not even sweat. When your backpack weighs two or even three times that, you'll be huffing and puffing, stopping alot to get air, and even worse, tearing the heck out of your tendons and ligaments. I've spent a lot of hours in the doctors office, getting my knees and ankles rehabbed. Ever since I quit carrying all that heavy unnecessary crap, I can hike up and down all day, then go for a long stroll after supper. Here is a hint; buy a cheap used scale, and weigh all your "stuff". Do you really need a two and a half pound, fifty dollar thermarest pad to sleep on for six hours? I'd never trade my twelve ounce, nine dollar, ten year old black closed cell ensolite pad for your thermarest. Do you really need to dish out $$ for a camelback water carrier? Wake up! You are a heck of a lot better off using three or four (or more) 20 or 32 oz. plastic soda bottles!

Over the years, I've gotten to where I love the steepest, meanest trails!  Trails like "Profanity" going up the drainage from Taft Lodge on Mt. Mansfield to the summit. That is one awesome after-dinner workout!  The secret is to drink a ton of fluid,  munch a few high-energy foodbars, and take it slow at first.  Eventually the heartrate cranks up to about a buck-eighty or so! The steeps are always my favorite!

And,,, if ya wanna still be hiking years later, take this advice,,,
Go Light!!!


Click here for info on The Guide to...the LT
 

Mtn. Bob's Long Trail Trip Report

Spring Mud Season Hiking Discouraged     MAP of the Long Trail       History of the Land

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Green Mt. Club
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