Thursday 22-Aug-02 Buon Amici Motel in North Troy
When I told the customs officer at North Troy I was planning to hike the Long Trail, he warned me that they'd been having a rash of vandalism at the trailheads and recommended I not park there if I could avoid it. I met Buckeye at Buon Amici Motel in North Troy, had a good supper, and so to bed.
Friday 23-Aug-02 Gifford Woods State Park
The next morning, mindful of yesterday's warning, we left my car at the motel rather than the Journey's End trailhead as we'd originally planned. Drove in Buckeye's car to Sherburne Pass, where the Appalachian Trail branches off from the Long Trail (we'd already done the first 100 miles of the Long Trail, which are in common with the AT).
We'd planned three resupply points, the second a maildrop at the PO in Jonesville and the third at the Long Trail Tavern in Johnson. The problem was the first one, where there was no convenient PO for another maildrop. In the end, we decided on a cache at Lincoln Gap on the Lincoln-Warren Highway. It was the first time either of us had done this, and we had no idea if it would be safe from bears. We made sure all the food was freeze-dried and carefully wrapped, and we put it all in freezer chests liberally sealed with duct tape. The freezer chests were then securely fastened to a tree with heavy rope. We weren't concerned about a person finding them. We'd hidden them so well we wondered if we'd find them ourselves!!
The Inn at the Long Trail was full, so we camped at the Gifford Woods State Park.
Saturday 24-Aug-02 David Logan Shelter
We had a sleepless night at the Gifford Woods State Park because a bunch of morons were getting high and yelling at the top of their voices until about 4:00 am.
After breakfast, Buckeye left his car for safekeeping at the Inn at the Long Trail, and we were quickly on our way. As soon as we passed Maine Junction, where the AT branches off, we were finally on the Long Trail proper. We stopped for a break at the Rolston Rest Shelter, and as soon as we left, the rain started, and we walked in a light drizzle all afternoon. We stopped for the night at the David Logan shelter, where we caught up with the four young people who passed us earlier in the morning. In addition to Buckeye and me, there were five others at the shelter - one a southbounder. One of the northbounders - Gadget - was very worried as he'd been stung by a wasp and was afraid he was allergic to wasps. Guess he wasn't, though, because nothing disastrous happened.
Sunday 25-Aug-02 Sucker Brook Shelter
I walked with Gadget for a while this morning, and he told me he would stop at Brandon Gap. I guess he was still feeling a bit queasy after his scare yesterday.
The climb up Mount Horrid was challenging but not at all horrid. I'm finding the hills quite easy as long as I take them REAL SLOW.... My technique for climbing hills is quite simple, really. I just start very slow - almost creeping pace - and gradually increase my speed until I reach a pace I think I could keep up all day. I'm very unusual in that I'm the only hiker I know who does double poling (i.e. pushes with both poles simultaneously). Most of the time, on the flat or modest uphill, I take four paces for each double pole push, then when it gets steeper, I change gear and take three paces per double pole push, and then if it's very steep, it's down to two. At the other extreme, if it's flattish and I'm feeling very energetic, I'll go into overdrive and do five paces per double pole.
Anyway, when climbing, I try to get to a nice steady plodding pace that I can keep up all day. And then I never stop for a drink or a breather; I sip water from my Platypus, and as I go, I try to "zone out" or go off into a daydream. It seems to work well for me as I often find I'm at the top before I expect to be. So much better than racing up with burning muscles and gasping lungs, wondering if you're ever going to make it to the top. The only problem I've ever had with "zoning out" is when I wake up, I'm always anxious for a little while in case I've gone off on the wrong trail.
I plodded past a husband, wife and daughter team halfway up, and they later hiked into the Sucker Brook shelter where Buckeye and I were planning to spend the night. Buckeye and the husband tented, and I shared the shelter with the two ladies.
Monday 26-Aug-02 Skyline Lodge
We almost got lost around the Middlebury ski area, where the signs were very confusing, so to compensate, Buckeye and I had a skinny dip in Lake Pleiad and afterwards stopped for lunch.
We eventually ended up at Skyline Lodge, a pleasant, spacious, enclosed building. The spring was dry so we tried to pump water from the weedy-looking Skyline Pond right in front. All Buckeye succeeded in doing was completely blocking his Pur filter so that even a backwash wouldn't clear it. Fortunately, I had an MSR Miniworks, and I was able to pump enough water for both of us, although I had to clean the ceramic filter element two or three times for every litre I pumped.
At the shelter, we met Tom and Liz Russell and their four delightful children. We had some interesting conversation during supper and then listened spellbound while Tom read a gripping story to his children.
Meeting the Russells was a lucky chance for us as we hadn't realised up to then that we would be arriving in Jonesville on the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend when the Post Office would be closed. This would make it impossible for us to pick up our maildrops until Tuesday, losing two days. The Russels immediately solved this problem for us by volunteering to pick up our maildrops for us ahead of time.
They were also kind enough to offer us a night's sleep in their children's treehouse in the garden.
Tuesday 27-Aug-02 Cooley Glen Shelter
We stopped at the Emily Proctor shelter, where Buckeye tried to clear his filter - to no avail. Then we had four modest peaks to negotiate - Mount Wilson 3700. Mt Roosevelt 3628, Little Hans Peak 3348, Mount Cleveland 3482 - and we arrived at Cooley Glen shelter, where we found a good supply of water. Flying Monkey joined us and spent the night tenting. Then a young couple arrived from the north looking for Mount Abraham. They were horrified when we told them they were walking the wrong way. They had started at Lincoln Gap and, by mistake, gone south instead of north. They were way out of their way; they turned around, and I've no idea what they did then.
Everybody else tented, and I spent the night by myself in the shelter.
Wednesday 28-Aug-02 Gables Warming House at the top of Castlerock chair lift (just north of Nancy Hanks Peak)
We had an easy hike down to Lincoln Gap, where we found our cached food resupply with no problem. The bears hadn't found it either, and there was no damage. We'd tried to ensure that there was nothing in the food cache to attract bears, but now, partly as an experiment and partly to get rid of it, we decided to leave all our smelly garbage in the cooler chest cache for later pick up. We sealed it up as well as possible with the old duct tape and reattached the ropes. We shall see if it works.
We'd been told that water in the next section could be problematic. There was a place called Holt Hollow where there may or may not be water. so not to take a chance, we stocked up at the Battell shelter and humped it all over Mount Abraham, looking for a suitable place to stop. We eventually found an absolutely perfect place in the warming house at the top of the Castlerock Chair lift. Apparently, they leave these huts open during the offseason, maybe partly to be kind and partly to prevent people from breaking in. Anyway, it was just perfect, and since we already had sufficient water, we decided to stop there whether or not we found more at Holt Hollow. But since Holt Hollow was only a bit further on, we checked there anyway and were delighted to find all the water we needed. We filled up a big water bag and hauled it back to the warming house. This place is magnificently located with a clear view to the east. We had it to ourselves and looked forward to a good night's sleep.
Thursday 29-Aug-02 Birch Glen Camp
We'd heard that water was unreliable between Holt Hollow and Birch Glen Camp (and even there too) so we stocked up with as much as we could carry at Holt Hollow and set off. Fortunately, it wasn't a very challenging day - just ten miles and a few fairly modest ups and downs - Cutts Peak 4100, Mount Ellen 4083, then down to Appalachian Gap at 2377 the up and over Baby Stark, Molly Stark and Beane and then, at last, the Birch Glen Camp where we found an abundance of water and enjoyed a peaceful evening.
Friday 30-Aug-02 Montclair Glen Lodge
This was a very tough day of continual steep rock scrambling. It was only 8 miles, but both Buckeye and I agreed that it was as difficult as anything we'd done on the AT. The ladder north of Burnt Rock Mountain was particularly hair-raising as you had to get on to it from the side, and besides, it didn't seem to be all that securely fastened. I took great care, but even so, I had the impression I was going to fall off. Then it was an up-and-down rock scramble all the way up and over Mount Ira Allen, then a rocky descent finally to this cosy cabin. We were cooking our supper when Eliza, the caretaker, arrived. Then later, Amy, the caretaker at another shelter, arrived then what with Joe, a weekender, and a feisty southbound lady from NJ; there was a convivial group and some lively conversation.
Saturday 31-Aug-02 Russell Tree House
We left in good time as today was the day to get up and over Camel's Hump, Vermont's third-highest mountain and famous because it features on the State Quarter. As we got closer and closer, it seemed so incredibly steep that we had no idea how it would be possible to ascend without ropes and climbing gear. Almost miraculously, though, the trail led us in a perfectly doable though not easy ascent and our work was rewarded by a superb view at the top in all directions. Considering this was Labour Day weekend, very few others were up there enjoying this view.
Now a long descent from more than 4000 feet down to 300 on the Winooski River. Now we had to do a long road walk along the Winooski River to cross the bridge at Jonesville. At first, I didn't want to bother Tom and Liz, so I called Mama Bower and the Victoria Inn and both of them were booked. So then I called Tom, and he very kindly drove and picked us up along the road to save us the long and tedious road walk.
He drove us back to their house and installed us in their very well-appointed treehouse at the bottom of their garden. These generous people then offered us a shower, washed and dried all our clothes and treated us to a wonderful supper, topped off with three Long Trail Ales. What a transition - I look and feel almost human again. After supper, Tom read another of his gripping stories for the children, then Buckeye and I retired to our treehouse, and I slept like a baby.
Sunday 1-Sep-02 Mama Bower's B&B Jonesville
This was a pleasant, and although I say it myself, much-deserved rest day. Tom and Liz gave us a good breakfast, and their youngest took me on a tour of their estate, proudly pointing out all its interesting features. Tom then drove us to Mama Bower's B&B in Jonesville. We were spending the night here to get back on the trail easily tomorrow morning. This is a quiet, peaceful place, although a bit sleepy when it came to finding a place for supper. People told us not to go to Zachary's Pizza, but we found, in the end, it was the only place open. In spite of all the warnings, the pizza was good, especially when washed down with a pint of Long Trail ale.
Buckeye and I had a discussion about our planning, noting that the Long Trail was getting considerably more challenging than it was at the beginning. We decided that we should probably base our plans on hours rather than miles. The trouble is although hours between shelters are noted in our guidebook, neither of us has paid any attention to it before, and we didn't know how realistic these figures were. And we didn't know how they matched our pace either.
Monday 2-Sep-02 Buchanan Shelter
Had a marvellous breakfast at Mama Bower's. Then Papa Bower drove us out to the start of the trail.
The trail was a steady climb through hardwood forest with a good treadway footing. The Buchanan shelter was beautiful, with a piped spring where you could see the water coming out of a crack in the mountain.
We arrived at around 3:00 pm and had a pleasant, relaxing evening. Buckeye tented, and I had the shelter to myself.
Tuesday 3-Sep-02 Twin Brooks Tenting Area
Today the going started to get really rough. It was only 9.7 miles, according to the guide, but a pretty ugly 9.7 miles it was. The descent of Bolton Mountain and Mount Mayo was a muddy, slippery tangle of roots that had to be negotiated very carefully. A ladder took us safely down the steep side of Mount Clark, and fortunately, this one was very well anchored and easy to get on to. So no adrenalin rush on this one. And so to the Twin Brooks Tenting area to rest up for what looked like a very busy day tomorrow.
Wednesday 4-Sep-02 Watson Camp
Today was our day for getting up and over Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont. The names of all Mount Mansfield's various peaks are based on the fact that viewing it from the west, it's supposed to resemble a recumbent human face. Thus the forehead, the nose, the lips, the chin and the Adam's apple. We started early up the forehead, which once again looked steep, but I didn't find it as unnerving as the camel's hump. We had a helpful ladder to take us up a very steep bit, but this time the ladder was well-anchored and easy to get on and off. We arrived at the top in good time and in good shape. I wondered briefly about the huge microwave antennas at the top, which seemed to be pointing right at us, so I didn't want to hang around too long and get my brain fried. We bypassed the nose and went over the lips. But when we got to the chin, I had a bit of fun with Buckeye. The white blazes led us along right to the very edge of a precipice and then disappeared. It looked as if they wanted us to jump off the cliff. I'd sneaked a look down when Buckeye wasn't looking and saw that there was indeed a way down. Then I teased Buckeye by saying the only way down was to jump, but not to worry; at least it was quick that way. For a while, I think he half-believed me because he got quite agitated when I said I was on my way, so much so that he didn't even want to go near the edge.
Actually, it was quite doable, but later on, there was a very steep rocky part, and I made the mistake of taking it facing forwards. It was so steep that the rocks behind me caught on my pack and very nearly pitched me forward face-first down the rocks. Once again, I was saved by my trusty hiking poles.
We passed by Smuggler's Notch, named for those Americans whose avarice exceeded their patriotism to the point that they supplied goods to the British army fighting against them in the War of 1812. You can read all about it here.
Sterling Pond Shelter was full, so we took a short detour to Watson Camp, which was a secure-looking enclosed building which we had to ourselves.
Thursday 5-Sep-02 Awesome View Hiker's Hostel
From Watson Camp, it was a 10-mile hike to Johnson to pick up our third resupply. Just three fairly modest mountains to get over - Madonna Peak, Morse Mountain, and Sterling Mountain and we were there. Our maildrop was safely waiting for us at the Long Trail Tavern. Unfortunately, the owner wouldn't let us camp on his large paddock at the back of the tavern, so we phoned around and were lucky enough to get two places at the Awesome View Hiker's Hostel. It was a long way out of town, so Al came to pick us up in his car. But not before we'd had a good meal in the town.
Friday 6-Sep-02 Roundtop Shelter
Al ran us into town early, and we had a hearty breakfast with him, after which he ran us out to the trail. This was a nice lazy day with not far to go. I spent a long time chatting with two very pleasant young ladies at Prospect Rock, where there was a very good view back over the Lamoille River valley.
Saturday 7-Sep-02 Spruce Ledge Camp
Another day with no special difficulty, either that or we're both getting a lot stronger. Just about 15 miles and another three modest peaks to negotiate. We haven't had any trouble recently finding good water, and since Buckeye's filter isn't working, he was drinking water directly out of the streams and ponds. I reminded him I didn't mind filtering water for him, but he told me he only rarely filtered water on the AT. I guess some people are naturally resistant. He just uses a tin cup which he calls a dipper, to drink water directly. Maybe I could do it too and get away with it, but I wouldn't dare try.
There were three others at the Spruce Ledge Camp, and two of them slept outside.
Sunday 8-Sep-02 Tillotson Camp
A fairly uneventful day with not far to walk. We soon passed Devil's Gulch, which our guide describes as a "boulder and fern-filled defile, a very special place; maybe the most interesting spot on the LT". It was pleasant enough, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and neither of us found it to be that special - certainly not the most interesting spot on the LT. Mind you, it was a bleak day, so that didn't help.
Monday 9-Sep-02 Hazen's Notch Camp
I had a nasty scare shortly after we left Hazen's Notch Camp. I hadn't been paying proper attention, and I walked right into a low-lying tree branch, and it got me right in the left eye. It was very painful, and I was concerned that I had badly damaged my eye. It was hard to be sure because I couldn't get the eye open, so much so that I had a heck of a time removing my contact lens. Buckeye took a look at it and assured me it was still in one piece. Based on his assurance, I decided to carry on, and I climbed Jay Peak with only my right eye open and tears streaming out of my closed left eye.
What a relief to get to the top of Jay and to find the ski lift house was open and there was clean running water. I rinsed out the eye with cold water, and it felt much better. We hung around the lift house for a while and made use of all the civilised facilities which were still operating - they even had an ice-cold soda pop machine. We were very tempted to spend the night there, but we decided that as the day was still young, we'd better get some more miles under our belt. If we could make it to Laura Woodward Shelter this evening, we should be able to finish our hike the next day; then if my eye looked as if it needed proper attention, I could get something done about it sooner rather than later.
Tuesday 10-Sep-02 Laura Woodward Shelter
When I woke up this morning, I was relieved that my eye seemed to be better. This was our last day - just a few small peaks to get over, and then we arrived at the terminus of the LT at the US-Canadian border, which merely consisted of a clear-cut through the woods with posts at various intervals commemorating the Treaty of Washington establishing the US - Canada border. We took several obligatory photos at the border post, and what with video surveillance and our crossing and re-crossing the border, we were probably causing a commotion in some customs and immigration office somewhere - especially this all being post 9/11. Anyway, nobody came to arrest us.
The walkout along the "Journey's End" trail seemed long, and I was somewhat regretting I hadn't parked my car there to meet us. But at least it should be safe where it is at North Troy. Where the trail ended at the road, there was supposed to be a cowshed where we could phone for a ride to North Troy. There was a cowshed but no sign of a phone. There didn't seem to be any houses where we could ask either.
In the end, we decided to walk to North Troy as we were wet and what with the fumbling around looking for a phone in the cowshed, we were starting to get cold. After a brisk walk out to North Troy, I checked that my car was still safe, and we had a celebration supper before a well-earned night's sleep.
Wednesday 11-Sep-02 Buon Amici Motel North Troy
We left in good time the next morning and drove back to Sherburne Pass to pick up Buckeye's car. On the way, we stopped at Lincoln Gap to pick up our caches with all the garbage in them, and they were still untouched by bears.
On the drive back to Ottawa, I took the ferry across Lake Champlain, hoping to get some shots of Mount Mansfield looking like a face. I could sort of see it, but it needed a bit of imagination.