July 10, 2015_Butler Lodge Trail to LT, to Needle's Eye, back on LT to Nebraska Notch Trail

Today was going to be in the 80's so we got an early start. Headed up the Bulter Lodge Trail and used the Wallace Cut Trail to get to the LT. We processed up the LT to the Needle's Eye and returned to the Wallace Cut-Off. From the Cut-Off we headed south to the Nebraska Notch Trail. We used the Nebraska Notch Trail to get back to the parking lot. By the time we got to the parking lot it had started to heat up and the parking lot was full. We stop at the small store in Underhill Center to buy chips and drinks and eat lunch on the green in front of the church. Great day.


10/13/2012 we hiked the Nebraska Notch Trail to Clara Bow and back!  Travel this trail to the Clara Bow Trail and back via the Long Trail to Nebraska Notch Trail. The temperature was in the mid thirties when we started out. We were on the trails for about 3 hours. Great trails and great day.   We have several times hikes up from Mansfield Lake, around to Clara Bow and back, too. 

July 6, 2015 Stratton

Started the day by dropping off the truck at the Stratton Pond Trail and went back to the Long Trail trail head. It was a beautiful morning with the prospect of a very warm afternoon so we were on the rail by 7:15am. When we gotten to the top we were met by the caretakers.Had a great conversation we them which lasted 30 or more minutes. They had over 250 people at the tower area the day before. We then climbed the tower and had lunch. At this point we had not met another hiker. Headed down the LT to it's junction with the Stratton Pond Trail. Took a break for water and snack, at this point we met a AT Thur hiker. He had been on the trail for 108 days and was hoping to get to the Whites in two weeks. The bugs were a bit pesky on our way out on the Stratton Pond Trail. Met several hikes on this trail. Actual hiking time not counting our visit on top 6.5 hours.

July 5, 2015_Bromley

Started the leaving home very early and dropping a vehicle at the parking lot on Route 11/30 and driving over to the parking lot on Mad Tom. It was a great day to hike this section. At least the second time around. Met very few hikers on the trail to the Bromley summit. We did meet a  young lady who had been doing a tru hike but had injured herself and had to get off the trail. She was doing this section to get back in shape to continue her thru hiker. Had lunch on one of the ski lift platforms, great view. We could see Stratton Mountain which is our hike on the next day. Quick hike down to the parking lot on Route 11/30. We stopped at the little Cilantro food stand and had a custard. Then off to get the Rav at Mad Tom and then to Stratton Mountain/Black Bear Lodge to spend the night before our hike the next day.

June 7, 2015 - Route 103 - Upper Cold River Road

Today, a beautiful day in Vermont, we hiked a small section just south of Killington Peak. This was a 5.5 mile section which had a varying number of beautiful characteristics:  Evergreen forests, hardwoods, farm fields, etc.  In one evergreen forest, the trees were so tall, that is completely blocked out ground foliage and there was really no trail - only needles.  We had to really watch for white blazes.  One forest had beds of Lady Slippers - and many, many of them.  Magical. One brook crossing had some trail magic, nice and cool in the little brook.  We did not take it as we are not long-distant hikers - only section hikers. We met a gentleman at Clarendon Shelter and we gave him 4 snack bars because we had many and he looked like he'd really like them.We met "The Martins" at Clarendon Shelter who volunteer for GMC too at a different shelter.  Very nice couple.  Had a GREAT hike on this day and all was right with he world! - Cindy

We choose a great day to hike this section. Morning temperatures when we left our house were in the high 30's. We parked one car at the parking lot on RT. 103 and drove to the LT crossing on Upper Cold River Road. There were numerous places along the trail on the where their were patches of Lady Slippers, and they were gorgeous. Bugs were minimal because it stay cool for along of the hike. Met numerous NOBO AT and LT thur hikers. Stopped at the Clarendon Shelter for a break and unload most of our snack bag to a NOBO AT hiker. Met the Martin's as we were leaving the shlter, they maintain the Minerva Hinchey Shelter. Stop for lunch at the Clarendon Lookout. Our reward at the end of the hike was a Maple Creamee.  - Ira

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