Long Trail Adventure Day Ten

The good news is that there were very few bugs out today.
The bad news is that we accidentally went to Harrington's View instead of continuing on the trail. Whoops!

Last night, there was a crazy thunderstorm with Nickel-sized hail banging on the tin roof of our shelter. Man, it was LOUD! I think it rained much of the night, and we were finally lured out into the open around 11am when it finally stopped raining and the sun came out. Little did we know we'd be caught later in two thunder storms while climbing Bolton Mountain.

The first wasn't too bad, but the second one soaked us completely through, plus added even more water to the dangers and obstacles. I fell twice on the super challenging, slippery terrain. We've decided we're much better at going up mountains than going down mountains.

While climbing, we kept hearing this loud banging noise. It wasn't thunder, it sounded more like a hammer. I think it was before we hit the shelter that we saw on our map that the trail ran along the Ethan Allen Firing Range. Eeek!

Today's awesome sightings included another Moose tree (a tree that looked suspiciously like a moose head), great views of surrounding mountains. Although we can't see them, this cavey, waterfally, streamy, mossy, everygreeny Bolton Mtn must be full of faeries and elves!

Due to the storms we had to make it a short hiking day, so we're "behind" 3.4 miles. Freezing and wet, we changed into dry clothes, pitched our tent inside the shelter to get and keep warm and shared a sleeping bag until the shivers dissipated. Believe it or not, even in summer, hypothermia is a threat.

No Red Eft sightings today.


Distance: 4.5 miles

Start: Buchanan Lodge

Destination: Puffer Shelter

Weather: Thunder Storms

Damage: Fell twice, no injuries

Morale: "It's alright"

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins

Dinner 1: 1.75 bags of Beef Top Ramen, Reese's

Dinner 2: Tuna, Granola bar.

Long Trail Adventure Day Nine

Daniel's dad drove us to the Long Trail at Jonesville on VT Route 2 where we started our 4 day danger-hike. We encountered one large slippery boulder after another to climb up and over, miles of deep, wet, gushy mud puddles, and lots of large, fat spiders in outhouses and shelters.

Within the first couple miles I took a serious fall, slipping down a root system and slamming/scraping my left elbow on a huge tree root. I was pretty stunned from the fall and sat there for a minute assessing the situation - was I okay, could I safely get up, was anything broken, did I need assistance?

I determined my feet, ankles, legs and hips were still in working order, although I had slid some distance on my bum, and decided to get up and see if the horrible pain in my elbow and the numbness spreading to my hand was going to mean the end of our adventure. Nausea spread over me as I hobbled around trying to collect the various things that had spilled out of my mesh side pockets while simultaneously trying not to cry or move my left arm.

Daniel had taken a short break just before my fall, so arrived a few minutes later and heroically cleaned my scraped elbow, applied the special ointment which came with our first aid pack, and then applied the appropriate sized bandaid to my wound. I shot Daniel an incredulous stare at seeing the small bandaid he was going to apply to what I imagined was an enormous gash. "That's it?" I asked. He smirked back "Yep." And we continued on.

Although I couldn't keep the water out of my shoes, I was able to keep the bugs away with new hiking pants from EMS and a newer bottle of bug repellent. And none of this mattered once I entered the first privy for a bathroom break and had to kill a gigantic spider with a penny-sized body. Although I am petrified of spiders, I felt horrible that I killed this plump little guy who probably just wanted me to go away, and I cried.

Daniel saw his first-ever snail - a transparent white body with a brown shell the diameter of a Quarter. How is it possible, growing up in Vermont, to not see a real snail until you are 22 years old? And we saw orange slugs, huge white mushrooms that looked like empty carnations (frilly edges, smooth inside), a toad, a Red Eft, and heard some bullfrogs. My favorite sighting was a half-pie-sized burnt orange mushroom that looked suspiciously like a Thanksgiving turkey.




Distance: 7.6 miles

Start: Jonesville VT 2

Destination: Buchanan Lodge

Weather: Wet AM, Sunny PM, Warm

Damage: Bruised and cut elbow.

Morale: Good.

Lunch: Tuna, Granola bars

Dinner: Chicken Top Ramen, Rice, Reese's PB cups.

Not hiking is a serious drag

Believe it or not, spending 4 to 8 hours each day walking over endless miles of rocks, roots and dirt carrying 20 to 30 lbs on my back, sweating profusely even in the rain, and sludging through mudholes each the size of a truck is actually incredibly enjoyable.

Even sitting around camp for antoher 4 to 8 hours looking at the trees, paths, and other hikers, and looking for the birds you can hear chirping wildly or whatever is making that leaf-shuffling ruffle over yonder is splendidly and endlessly entertaining.

I am rested. Well rested. And it's deathly boring.

I can't wait to get out there for another 5 to 6 day stint. We start hiking a more northern part of the LT tomorrow - a more difficult part. Then we'll be back for a couple days and head out for another 5 days or so.

Long Trail Adventure Day Eight

If my feet weren't blistered I could walk forever! I feel fantastic! Alas, my feet win out this battle. DB's shoulders are also super sore and this makes for bad hiking morale.

We made it to Manchester Center - the first 6 miles were pretty easy. But the descent to VT 11/30 kicked our asses (or in my case, kicked my feet and DB's shoulders). Adding on another few miles of walking to town didn't help.

We planned to stay at one of the local lodging places mentioned in the Long Trail guide book, but when we arrived we were told the owner was on his honeymoon and the place was closed. Ouch. We proceeded to call around, finding the rates to be a bit out of control... $120 - $290 per night for double occupancy!!!

We decided to get some grub and think over our options which we concluded were:

• Hike 10 miles back to a Long Trail shelter and stay there for a couple days till we recover and can continue hiking
• Keep looking for a hotel/motel that we can afford and hope we find something within walking distance
• Pay a ridiculous amount to stay in town at one of the swanky places we called for pricing
• Make friends with some locals and ask to camp on their lawn, offering them $25 to use their shower and toilet
• Hope DB's dad was working in White River Junction today and would be willing to pick our tired asses up and bring us home

We went with the last option and called DB's dad, deciding after an awesome first week we could really use a longer break to recover before getting back out on the trail. So, DB's dad picked us up around 7pm. On the way home, we stopped at the Inn at the Long Trail for dinner. Lucky us, it was live music night with a traditional Irish folk group! This place is pretty damn cool and we plan to stay a couple nights when we get there on our hike.

Distance: 9.9 miles

Start: Stratton Pond Shelter

Destination: Manchester Center

Weather: Sunny, beautiful, warm

Damage: Super-blistered toes, itchy bug bites. DBs shoulders wicked sore.

Morale: ALBs is high, DBs is low.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins

Lunch: 16" Pepperoni Pizza, Pitcher of Rootbeer, Pitcher of Water, Ice Cream Sundae

Dinner: Mozzarella, Tomatos, with Pesto and Cheese Burger at the Inn at the Long Trail.

Long Trail Adventure Day Seven

There was no way in hell we'd make it over Stratton Mtn today if we had tried. Our bodies are in serious disrepair and 10+ miles up and down a mountain is likely to kill us. So, we did what most of the first-timers we met did... we went around instead, shaving off 4 miles and any kind of ascent or descent we'd have encountered. We'll return another time to hike to the summit - perhaps as a day hike or a short overnight.

Saw tons of fresh moose tracks, and received our trail name, "Jack and Jill," which turn out to be quiet ironic since Jack and Jill went around the hill today.

The shelter is enormous, possibly able to hold as many as 30 people in the 12 bunks plus the huge loft. Unfortunately, its so large because it is so heavily used... and it was heavily used on this very night. Many AT (Appalachian Trail) hikers stayed in the shelter with us, and I'm hoping they aren't an accurrate representation of all AT hikers since they were obnoxious! DB and I even have gone so far as to give two trail names to the same guy - we like to call him "Chatty Patty" and "Know-it-all".

We're in serious pain and plan to take two days off to receover in Manchester Center.

Distance: 6.0 miles

Start: Story Spring Shelter

Destination: Stratton Pond Shelter via Stratton Pond Trail (not over mtn)

Weather: Drizzly

Damage: Super-blistered toes, itchy bug bites, sore ankles. DBs shoulders wicked sore.

Morale: ALBs is high, DBs declined throughout the day/night.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins

Lunch: Tuna, Snickers, Snickers and more Snickers

Dinner: Top Ramen, Rice, Snickers

Long Trail Adventure Day Six

Summer Solstice - a beautiful day, although our roughest in terms of morale.

Morning brought a Jack Rabbit (or Hare). It hopped right out of the spruce trees looked around for a bit then jetted back under cover. A little bit later it returned, venturing further out before bolting.

Not far from the shelter, we climbed the fire tower for an incredible 360 degree view with blue skies and 8 giant wind-powered generators we saw on our drive to the start point. This photo does not capture the incredible beauty of our view, but gives you an idea of what the things looked like.


Other sightings included a beaver the size of a laborador retriever at a beaver damn (and no, it wasn't a dog - it really was a beaver), lots of humongus dragonflies (some red with black dots, and some black and white) so big I thought they might be humming birds.

A very buggy day - something that doesn't help with morale.

Several older folks at the shelter who are avid hikers told all kinds of great stories about their hiking adventures. This lifted our spirits, as did receiving a giant bag of mini-snickers which we promptly set to work on devouring.

Distance: 8.9 miles

Start: Goddard Shelter

Destination: Story Spring Shelter

Weather: Beautiful sunny, warm day

Damage: Roughed up toes (blisters), lots of itchy bug bites, sore ankles. DBs shoulders super painful, and an upset belly.

Morale: Pretty damn low, although much better by bedtime.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins

Lunch: Black Beans

Dinner: Chicken Top Ramen, Rice, Snickers

Long Trail Adventure Day Five

Late start due to drying out the tent. Wet-tent phenomena is getting to be a drag. We weren't sure how far we'd make it today, but since tenting was allowed along the trail we didn't pressure ourselves to make it to the shelter. We enjoyed a more leisurly pace and got to take in more of the surroundings - my favorite was the Moose Tree (a broken tree that looked remarkably like a giant moose head) up toward the top of our spruce covered Glastenbury Mountain (3748 ft high).

Quote of the day "It's easy when you don't try so hard." Apparently the "day off" yesterday made a huge difference. Our legs, shoulders and backs were well rested and strong. We easily made it to the next shelter.

As we reached the shelter there was a refreshing gusty wind and we decided to sleep in the shelter to avoid the tent-drying ritual the next day. It didn't hurt that Goddard shelter is pretty new and fancy with neat fixtures and a beautiful view of the mountains. The composting privy is the best I've ever seen or smelled - with wood shavings to toss in after you go!

DB and I stayed up almost till dark watching the horizon. We saw the most incredible display of weather over Mt. Greylock. Completely out of harms way with clear skies above us, we saw a beautiful storm cloud hovering over Mt. Greylock and watched the incredible lightening streaks and flashes above and below the cloud.


Distance: 8.5 miles

Start: Melville Neuheim Shelter

Destination: Goddard Shelter

Weather: Sunny and Warm, Stormy Skies but barely any rain

Damage: Thighs and calves from day before

Morale: Super High Spirits - resting helps lots.

Breakfast: Refried Beans

Lunch: various snacks throughout the day

Dinner: Chicken Top Ramen and Couscous

Long Trail Adventure Day Four

The condition of our shoulders and backs necessitated a break in the nearby town of Bennington today. So, stashing our backpacks in the woods and toting our laundry and trash, we descended 1.4 miles to VT 9 and walked 5.1 miles into town, stopping at the first diner for an order of chicken strips.

Post laundry we checked out the town and hung out at a cafe for a couple hours enjoying the music, atmosphere, college art display, a large chai and a rousing game of chess - which, by the way, I won with a total of three queens and one rook. I'm not the most efficient chess player, but I can get the job done.

Believe it or not, we started to get bored just sitting around a bustling town. So, we headed to a brewpub for an early dinner and shared a veggie sandwich. Daniel also had a honey brown ale, which he rated as "the best brewpub brown ale".

While eating I noticed a severe weather alert being broadcast on TV. Naturally, I asked our server which county we were currently in (note: Bennington is in the county of Bennington) and was temporarily relieved since this was not a county mentioned in the alerts. Our server did inform us that it would be only an hour or two before Bennington county would see the storm.

Needless to say, with our backpacks exposed to the elements out in the woods, our tent still pitched but without stakes (its a freestanding tent), and being 6.5 miles away (1.4 of which is a steep uphill climb) and only an hour or so to get there before it all got soaked and blown away... we started to get concerned.

So, we finished our meal and headed out. We called a taxi but declined the ride after our driver picked us up and started driving the wrong way, explaining we could ride along with her for an hour while she stopped at JC Penny's, Weight Watchers and then picked up a few other riders before she'd have time to take us to the trailhead. Clearly she didn't sense our urgent need to return to camp due to the impending storm.

Fortunately, we were able to hitch a ride with an emergency paramedic (in her own truck, not an ambulance) back to the trailhead.

DB and I raced the storm 1.4 miles up the mountain, grabbing our bags and tossing everything into the tent (except our properly bear-bagged food), staking it down, and hopping in just as it started to pour. DB credits the beer for providing the needed energy to run up the mountain. I credit fear of our stuff getting soaked or blown away.


Distance: 7.9 miles

Start: Melville Neuheim Shelter

Destination: Melville Neuheim Shelter

Weather: Started out Sunny and Warm, 5pm severe Thunder and Lightening Storm

Damage: Thighs and calves from the steep descent/ascent back to VT 9

Morale: Started out high, dropped as we walked the 5.1 miles into Bennington, lifted as we rested, and peaked when we actually made it back to camp and saved our backpacks and faces from being drenched in the storm.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ Raisins

Lunch: Chicken Strips at a diner in Bennington

Dinner: Veggie Sandwich at Pub in Bennington

Long Trail Adventure Day Three

Woke up at 6:45am, hung our clothes and tent to dry in the morning sun - a time consuming, annoying ritual, ate, packed and headed out. TJ was right when he said "You'll have it all figured out by Day 3." At this point we have a pretty good idea about how to pack our stuff, how often we need breaks, how much we need to eat to feel okay, and how slow we are moving compared to others. So, when a young hippie couple left the shelter at about the same time as us we offered to let them pass. They insisted they'd be slower than us, so we all just plodded along. For a while we were a bit quicker, but eventually they caught up. As he passed, the hippie guy hilariously said "We thought you didn't know the meaning of slow. You taught us everything we know about it."

As we ascended Harmon Hill we each smelled this incredibly sweet fragrance - like warm apricots. The view of Bennington was spectacular, Harmon Hill was picturesque with beautiful trees, berry bushes galore and tall lushous grasses, and if the flies weren't set on eating us for lunch we'd have stayed for our own meal. Alas, we had to move on.

After decending the steepest rock path ever, the Goddess of Mercy answered our prayers as we crossed VT 9 finding a small river. Imagine 3 days of sweaty hiking and you know we took the opportunity to wash up at this point. The water was freezing, but that didn't stop our stinky bodies from squating in as far in as we could and scrubbing ourselves with camp soap (biodegradable, fragrance-free soap for use in the backcountry). Sadly, the ascent immediately following our baths just got us all sweaty, salty, and grimey again.

At the shelter, we took the opportunity to build a little fire and roast a couple marshmallows. Sitting there, basking in the smoke of the fire (which helps ward off biting bugs) Daniel found the cutest thing ever crawling on his shoe- my first ever inchworm sighting. Although our inchworm was brown, the cutest image I could find was of a green one. In any case, these tiny fellas actually do scrunch up then extend their front out a step, bringing their hind-end up to meet the front in an "n" shape. I've never seen anything so adorable in my life. Seriously. Also, Daniel scooped this little guy up on a leaf and we watched with amazement as it inched its way to the edge, stood up on its back-end and peered over the side!



Distance: 5.9 miles

Start: Congdon Shelter

Destination: Melville Neuheim Shelter

Weather: Hot and Sunny

Damage: Sore shoulders and back, mosquito and blackfly bites

Morale: Steady pace and energy, exhausted for the last 2 miles

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ raisins

Lunch: Snacked on dried apricots, almonds, peanuts, granola bars

Dinner: Top Ramen, Refried Beans, S'Mores

Long Trail Adventure Day Two

Today's adventure had us pass a beaver dam at Stamford Meadows where I heard the *boing* spring-like sound of bullfrogs for the first time ever. We also saw Red Efts galore.

We did not, however, see the remains of a stone foundation of a nineteenth-century tavern or the well-traveled road as the guide book suggests and uses as indicators of how far we've gone or have left to go. In fact, we passed over three or four woods roads, all of which were equally traveled (hardly at all), and there were several bare locations a tavern might have lived in at one time or another.

Questions left unanswered: How did they get the beer and food all the way up the mountain??? And did Robert Frost choose a road less traveled because he couldn't find the well-traveled road???

It is confirmed, my new favorite tree is the Ash Tree (I'm not sure what my old favorite tree was)... they are this powdery grey color, so beautiful, smooth and solid. My favorite one on today's hike was one that looked like a deer head - wish I had a photo.


Distance: 7.4 miles

Start: Seth Warner Shelter

Destination: Congdon Shelter (2:30pm arrival)

Weather: Overcast w/ 2 rain storms

Damage: Shoulders and back bruised, a few mosquito bites

Morale: Energized for the first 3 miles, then pain and fatigue kicked in

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Packet of tuna, dried apricots, Reese's

Dinner: Top Ramen, Black Beans, S'Mores

Long Trail Adventure Day One

Daniel's dad drove us down to Williamstown, MA where we began our hike at Pine Cobble Trail. With a 30 lb pack on my delicate shoulders and 35 lbs on Daniel's, we hiked 6.3 miles joining up with the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail, crossing the MA/VT state lines, through sunshine, trees, and bugs to our destination - Seth Warner Shelter.

Before reaching the summit of the Pine Cobble Trail we saw the most amazing tree! I have dubbed it "The Scrying Tree". Three 8"-10" diameter tree trunks shooting up from the ground, grown together at the base to create a water-filled pool 2' - 3' above the ground. The perfect sitting rock was two feet away. I think the trees were Ash trees, which according to Novareinna.com were considered enchanted by Druids and Witches and used for wands, spears, spell casting, etc.

Distance: 6.3 miles

Start: Pine Cobble Trail - Williamstown, MA

Destination: Seth Warner Shelter

Weather: Warm sunshine

Damage: Shoulders and lower back are bruised, sinus headache, physically exhausted.

Morale: Good spirits. We made it!

Dinner: Chicken Top Ramen, Plain CousCous, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

She'll be comin' round the mountain

We leave Friday for our first 18 day backpacking adventure on Vermont's Long Trail.

The hike begins in North Adams, MA and continues through Vermont, completing just 2 miles south of the Canadian border. A total of 275 miles which usually takes 30-40 days to hike.

We're beginning Friday (June 16th) and will hike as far as we can until July 3rd or 4th, at which time we will return to Daniel's dad's for a one week break. We think we'll have hiked 100+ miles in this first bit.

Around July 13th we'll head back out to where we left off and hike for another 18 days, hiking as many miles as we can - although this will be a much more difficult stretch. Thus far we plan to take another week long break around August 1st and then head out again to finish up whats left of the trip.

So, on my 30th birthday, I shall be immersed in the woods of Vermont, experiencing a physical and spiritual journey of personal growth and exploration. I shall be challenging myself in a way I've never done before! I am thrilled and terrified, all at the same time. And I can't wait to tell you about the experience!

Warming up for the Long Trail

So, while we're here in Vermont we've decided to do some serious hiking. We plan to start the Long Trail (Massachusetts to Canada through Vermont) in mid-June, which will take anywhere from 30-40 days to hike. As a warm up, we've already hiked:

Mt. Willard (NH), Monday, May 28th. 2.6 miles round trip.
Mt. Pisgah (VT), Wednesday, May 30th. 4 miles round trip.
Mt. Bluff (VT). Friday, June 2nd. 3.2 miles round trip.

We'll be ready in no time for our 6 to 10 miles per day!