August 18 - 19, 2014, Whiteface (Sterling) Section of LT - Smuggler's Notch (108) to Lamoille River (Rt. 15)

This turned out to be a really wet, difficult hike.  Much longer than we'd remembered it 15 years ago!  The newer section out of 108 was wet, rough and heavy with wet root systems which raised difficulty to old knees - side to side sliding with each step.  It was really wet, muddy and slippery that day.  By the time we got to Whiteface Shelter, my (Cindy's) knee was in quite a bit of paint.  But, it seemed to quiet down overnight. Then, on the 19th, it was the long, slog out from Whiteface - mostly downhill - with many steep, very wet sections we have to slide, hop and slosh down.  After the miles of descending my knee was screaming at me.  Yuck.  We made it. I'd always wanted to sleep at Whiteface Shelter and we had it all to ourselves, too.  We even set up our tent inside of the shelter for extra warmth.  Naturally, we would have set it outside if others had come to camp.  What a beautiful shelter view it had.  What a blessing to have stayed there and just being alive in Vermont! Found out a few days later, I had damaged an IT Band and had to do some PT.   - Cindy

Having done this section twice already as day hikes we decided to do it this time as an overnight hike. First was a alone about thirty years ago and more recently with Cindy about 20 years ago. The trail back then was a bit short, probably 5 miles because it start on the Sterling Pond Trail and you could pack your car  part way up the West Settlement Road. As has been the case for most of our hikes the trail was very muddy in places especially on the on 2.5 miles. After the Sterling Pond Shelter we only met one large group of hikes coming from the north head for Smugglers Notch and one other person. We were the only hikers at the Whiteface Shelter so we set our tent inside the shelter for extra warmth.  This shelter has a great view. We were up and on the trail by 7:30 for the climb up to the summit of Whiteface. Fairly steep. The first part of the descend was steep with several very difficult climbs down on bedrock. Met a couple of women heading south, could have been mother and daughter, they were headed to Route 4. In 2010 they had done the AT and this trip was to complete the LT. Stopped at Bear Hollow for a light lunch before the final push to Route 15. Met several hikes heading up the trail, looked like they were going to spend the night at Bear Hollow. My or my to we hate road walks, the last couple of miles on logging and dirt road was boring. We did see some great views on this hike, not the usual Green Tunnel. ON to the next section. - Ira

August 8 - 9, 2014 Glastonbury Section of LT-Route 9 to Kelly Stand Road

Stayed the night before we started hiking at the Black Bear Lodge in Stratton Village after parking the truck at the trail head on Route 9. We dropped our parks on FSFS 71 where the LT crosses, gives us 2 miles of hiking without packs. We meet numerous AT thru hikers north bound coming out of Story Spring Shelter. Also met a father/daughter section hiking the LT that were from Calais. Stopped at the shelter for a break and continued on with out hike. We watered up at the old Caughnawaga Shelter for the final push to Goddard Shelter. We had planned on stopping at the old fire tower and climb to enjoy the view. When we got to the tower it started to sprinkle so we  went on to Goddard to make sure we set the tent up before it really started to rain. It never did really rain. The shelter and tenting sites were filling up fast so it was a good thing we got at the site when we did. A large group of AT'ers were at the site and they were having a ball. They finally went to bed at duck so the woods were nice and quite. We were on the trail at 7:30 trying to get to Route 9 knowing the long drive back home. The hike was, for the most part, downhill. The last bit was very steep as the book advertised. Spent sometime at the river by the bridge to clean off some of the sweat and dirt accumulated over the last two days.  This was the only section of the LT we, as couple, had not completed before we started to redo the LT and document it.

July 30, 2014 - LT Section to Journey's End

We are riding four hours, round trip, to hike only 2.6 miles on the Long Trail. The section starts at VT Route 105 at the top of North Jay Pass and continues to the end of the LT at the Canadian Border. At which point we will take Journey’s End Trail, 1.3 miles to the parking lot. Finding the parking lot at Journey’s End for the truck was not very difficult even with the absence of signage. We decided to park at an old log landing .01 miles from the actual parking. The Journey’s End parking really only had room for 1 car. There was no visible signage stating it was the start of the Journey’s End trail. You had to walk on a trail for 20 yards or so before there were signs for the trail. We then head to the height of North Jay Pass to start the hike. It was probably in the mid-50s with some clouds in the sky. The hike up to Carlton Mountain was uneventful except for the ever present mud. It had rain very hard on Monday so it’s wasn’t much of a surprise. On top of Carlton there is a side trail to a view site, limited because of tree growth, which look’s south toward the Jay range.  We started our descend off Carlton Mountain toward the Canadian Border, and what did we fine, what appeared to be horse manure. There was not just one pile but a huge amount along the trail for at least .25 miles and then it disappeared. The trail to Canadian Border had a few bumps but the majority of it has a downward slope off the mountain. The border just appears without any warning, except today; right on the Vermont side of the border there was a thru hike sleep on the ground without a tent. He just kept on sleeping as we took pictures of the border, which is a cleared area about 100 or so feet wide. The last time we were here there was very little growth, now it is starting to very brow over. From the border there was no signage pointing toward the Journey’s End Trail, we followed what appeared to be a path and finally found blue marks on a tree a way’s down the trail. The trail to the Journey’s End Camp was very muddy and appeared to not have had any water bar work in years. We met a couple from New Jersey just before the camp telling us how muddy it was on the lower part of the trail. Turns out it wasn’t very muddy at all, I suspect they were a bit shocked at the mud we had just come through. The camp is fairly new, 2003, and was in great shape. As we left Journey’s End Camp the woods opened up a bit and there were piles of rocks stacked all over the place along the trail for a bit. It appeared this must have been a farm field at some point, in fact, we did see what appeared to be a cellar hole beside the trail. The rest of the trail used old road beds to the parking lot. Total miles for the day were 3.9 miles, of which 2.6 were LT miles. We have now hiked 109.6 miles of the LT or 40.15%.  Currently, all LT miles from Vermont 15 north are finished. We are now planning on heading south next week to complete the Glastenbury section and a couple of day hikes to complete miles from the Mass. Border to Route 103.

Acrylic Painting of Journey's End I did after the hike - Cindy

July 24, 2014 Tillotson Section of the LT - 118 to Hazen Notch (58)

The storms of last night help reduce the humidity and lower the temperature. This morning we are starting at Route 118 going to Route 58 at a temperature in the mid-50s. The trail is a bit wet from the heavy rain of yesterday. Once we got to the saddle on Belvedere Mtn the sun was poking through the overcast. Decided not to go up to the fire tower having been there numerous time. We arrived at Tillotson Camp at about lunch time, there was a young lady there doing the LT south bound. We eat 1/2 of our lunch and rest a period before heading out. We started meet people on this section from from the north, one group was about 6 to 8 kids with two adults, they were heading to Tillotson Camp for an overnight. Met a couple other folks that appear to be hiking the LT southern bound. When we reached the junction at Haystack Mtn we decide not to do the .2 miles since it was getting to the later part of the day. Met a couple from NJ headed up to Haystack, from the conversation we overheard it appear they weren't going to get to the top. When we were part of the way down the steep climb down into Hazen Notch we met a gentlemen heading for Tillotson Camp, he'd been out for only 45 minutes and was asking how far it was to the Camp, he still had 4.6 miles to go and it was 4:45. I bet he was going to get to the camp in the dark, not a good trail to be hiking in the dark. It stayed mostly in the mid 60s during the day.  10 miles @ 8.45 hours

July 21, 2014 Hazen Notch (58) to Vt. Route 242 of LT

Another day of a lot of driving to spot cars for this 6.8 mile section. The LT book states it is a fairly level hike from Route 58 to start with, well it isn't a level section it drops probably 400 feet before it starts the climb up to the ridge. Once we got to the ridge it was basically a up and down hike. Met a gentleman on Buchanan Mtn about a day and half from the finish. He was hoping the restaurant on top of Jay was going to be open. It was a very warm day hiking, but no rain. 6.8 miles @ 5.40 hours.

July 17 - 18, 2014, Clarendon Gorge/Little Rock Pond Section of LT(USFS 10 - Rt 140) Then next day (Rt. 140 - Rt 103)

Day 1:  Today we decided to hike north to south to get the climbing done in the cool morning air. Part way up the first climb we met numerous AT thru hikers coming from Greenwall Hub. Once we made it to the west side of White Rocks Mtn it was either fairly level or a down hill hike. Met a couple of AT thru hikers at the Homer Stone Brook bridge and talked with them for a while. Also met one of the counselors from the day before hiking this section to see if it would be a good hike for the kids. Had lunch at the northern end of Little Rock Pond. As we were hiked past the caretakers tent we met Jean Haigh, Dave Hardy  from the GMC along with several other folks having a meeting. After we talked with them we finished the last 2.2 miles to the truck. Great day. 8.5 miles in 6 hours

Day 2: Did this hike south to north. Was another great day, temperatures in the 70's. Met a few AT thru hikers at the beginning of the hike. When we rested at Airport Lookout we were joined by a group of kids from the Rutland area attending a summer program. Talking with the counselors it appear they were trying to do several sections of the LT. Cindy saw a deer as we approached the Clarendon Gorge bridge. Finished the hike and went back and picked up the car and went to the Hampton Inn for the night. 6.3 miles in 4 hours.