Date: August 10-12, 2001

Trails: Long Trail
Conditions: Excellent visibility
Distance: 36 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Clear trails/Rain/Sun

Trip Report: Well, I finally got the photos developed from the three day hike I did two weeks ago. Shelby (my trusty dog companion) and I left the Blazer at the trailhead on the bottom of the New Boston Trail in Chittenden and got a ride north to Lincoln Gap where the Long Trail crosses. It was a little overcast when we started south (about 8am) but by 8:30 it was pouring. It’s been very dry in the Northeast this summer so rain (anytime) was welcome. The Long Trail follows the main ridges of the Green Mountains from Massachusetts to Canada and crosses Vermont’s highest peaks along the way. Our highest peak is Mt. Mansfield at 4393′ which is small by some standards and views above tree line are rare but I think it has it’s own beauty, just different. The first day of this hike we covered the Vermont Presidentials which are Mt. Grant, Mt. Cleveland, Mt. Roosevelt and Mt. Wilson. We dried out and stayed in the Emily Proctor Shelter Friday night. Shelby and thought we were going to have it all to ourselves but alas, at dusk a half dozen boy scouts came singing down the trail to join us. They really weren’t bad. We were just snug in the shelter. Shelby and I got off by 8am the next morning to a beautiful day. We stopped for lunch and a swim at Pleiad Lake which was a treat but by the time we reached the top of Worth Mountain we were ready to go back for another dip. We stayed Saturday night in Sucker Brook Shelter with two young guys from Gloucester, Ma, who were hiking the trail for a couple of days just to see what it was like…they loved it. Shelby and I got off about 7:30am Sunday morning because we knew we had 14 miles to cover to get back to the Blazer but it turned out to be easier hiking than the first two days so there was no problem. I did post some photos.

Submitted by Dave Mathis
Rutland, VT
Wed, 29 Aug 2001