Backpacking the Long Trail

From GRP Rower Sydney Michalak.

Over the past few weeks I got the opportunity to get out and explore some sections of the Long Trail (LT), a 273 mile footpath which runs through VT all the way from the Massachussetts border to Canada. In addition to providing plenty of fresh air, tough climbs, and stellar views, the trail gave me time to reflect, recharge, be present with friends and family, and really appreciate the world we live in.

Many people set off to tackle the whole trail start to finish, but due to time and logistics, I ended up hiking the northern section first with some friends, and coming back to hit the southern part of the trail with my sister, Mom, and her dog Neeko! Highlights were abundant, but I mostly loved the time spent with family and friends, the alpine zones, and the crazy ascents and descents where when you finish, you look back and think, “dang, my body is pretty awesome to have accomplished that”.

Although the southern section offered slightly more gradual terrain, the fire towers on Stratton Mountain, and Glastenbury were notably epic. My two favorite camping spots in this section were the Kid Gore Shelter (beautiful sunrise views from your sleeping bag in the shelter), and Bromley Mountain. I got to “cowboy camp” on top of Bromley, which means sleeping under the stars without any type of shelter (i.e. no tent, bivy, 3 or 4 walled structure etc.). The sunset, stars and sunrise were unreal! It was almost as if we were sleeping in a planetarium. Pretty fun to wake up on the top of a mountain with 360° views!

The northern sections of trail offered many more challenging climbs, but with that came extraordinary and rewarding ridge lines and alpine zones. My favorite summits were Camels Hump and the Mansfield Ridgeline. From both of these you could see Lake Champlain to the west with the Adirondacks as a backdrop, and to the east you could see all the way to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As far as camping goes, my favorite stops were Starks Nest and Taft Lodge. Taft Lodge is located about a mile north of the Mansfield summit. Starks Nest was located near the top of the only single chair in America atop of the Mad River Glen ski area. All along the way there were lots of good spots to cook Annie's or Ramen for dinner and loaded oatmeal for breakfast!

All in all, I felt very blessed to have had some epic adventuring in the woods, and time to recharge and reconnect with our environment. I hope to find time to finish the last 90 or so miles of trail, so I can say I have walked from Massachussetts to Canada. Cheers to more adventuring and smiles and I hope to see you out there!

"I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost