Northern Long Trail Thoughts

[Hang R]

I am back after finishing up the northern section of the Long Trail between the Canadian border and the Jonesville post office. I left on the afternoon of the 14th and finished up the morning of the 21st. A week was a good amount of time to hike this section but I could have easily trimmed 1 1/2 days off of this section. I started hiking between 6-7 am every day. On my low mileage days I was done hiking around 4 pm but on the higher mileage days I hiked till around 7 pm.

I ended up staying at the following locations on my hike:
Shooting Star Shelter
Hazen's Notch Camp
Spruce Ledge Camp
Camoille River
Sterling Pond Shelter
Twin Brook tent area
Buchanan Shelter

Here are some thoughts:

I used Carlene Squires who is in the End to Ender's guide for a shuttle up north. She was wonderful and has a very reasonable rate. I feel her rate should be more and "tipped" her to make up for the low rate.

I would definitely recommend a north to south hike. With the restrictions on where to stay in this northern section it helped build up my trail legs. If you do not feel strong at the start there are multiple opportunities to adjust your pace to the trail.

Make sure you are prepared for rain. When it does rain it makes the trail slick and slippery. I think there was only one day that my feet stayed dry. Even after the rain was over the trail stayed muddy and wet. Be prepared to fall down on the wet rocks. At times the trail resembled a stream more than a trail.

The grocery store in Johnson was well supplied and the people were very nice. The post office also has window hours as early in the morning by buzzing in at the door. I heard complaints from people who mailed packages to Jonesville post office that their hours have changed and they had to wait until they opened in the afternoon to get their packages. Hitching back and forth from Johnson was not easy. I ended up walking over half of the way both directions until I got picked up.

Hiking up to Mt. Mansfield was not as bad as I was expecting. I thought that the hike up Hazen's Notch was worse for me. That could be due to the wet day when hiking Hazen's Notch and the beautiful day up Mt. Mansfield.

Pay attention to the trail because it is not marked as well as the At especially when the trail hits the ski slope areas. This is not a complaint just an observation.

Some camps/shelters are better than others. All are unique and have their own special charm.

if you hike the trail in mid-August be prepared to run into college groups. I ran into a few and they were all nice and very respectful. I had great conversations with the groups. They gave a different perspective to the hike.

I thoroughly enjoyed this hike and cannot wait to go back and finish up the rest of the trail. I also enjoyed sampling some great Vt beer.

[rafe]

Hi Hang R -- I believe we met last Monday evening at Sterling Pond shelter. Sounds like you had a good time.

My hike was not as successful. I'd intended to finish the LT on this section; that would have been a 63 mile hike. I made 36 miles of that. Left the trail at Eden Crossing early Thursday. Spirit just ran out. LT too gloomy and view-less for me. And it is seriously tough. Difficulty level (IMO) was comparable to White Mountains, but the views were not. I can't imagine the days you spent walking through the rain on the first few days of your hike. Seriously.

Best views for me were at Sterling Pond, Madonna Peak, and just below the summit of Laraway Mountain. Also, Prospect Rock, overlooking the Lamoille River. Roundtop shelter is smallish but has a great view of the sunset out back. My 3rd night was spent camped in the woods, there just wasn't enough daylight to make it to Spruce Ledge Camp.

Devil's Gulch (just north of Spruce Ledge Camp) is a sort of micro version of AT's Mahoosuc Notch, it kind of spooked me a bit, in the gloom and with rain starting to fall. I actually backtracked to make sure I was still on the White Blaze. The AT can be tough as nails, but I almost always felt safe. I don't get that same warm fuzzy from the LT.

John Selmer was my shuttler -- he lives in Westfield, not far from Journeys End. Took me from Westfield to Rte. 108 at the start, and picked me up at Rte. 118 where I left the trail. Great guy. Cell phone signal was generally good throughout this section.

I was beat up when I arrived home. Some kind of toenail fungus or discoloration (from hiking in wet boots all day?) and some kind of bug bites (chiggers??) on both ankles. The LT up here makes the AT feel like a walk in the park. Wet, muddy, and boggy. Slippery rocks. Overgrown vegetation. My appetite never kicked in on this trip, I had to force myself to eat. So I was carrying six or seven pounds of food that I never touched.

I'm going to have to finish the LT as a series of short day hikes. And maybe find a companion. I hear it just gets more gnarly the further north you go.

[Slo-go'en]

Rafe, I think the section between Johnson and Smugglers Notch is the toughest part of the LT. The decent off of Madonna is a serious knee crusher. There are some soap stone like rocks on the way to Sterling pond which are really slippery when wet. Canada to Johnson isn't all that bad.

[Hang R]

Yes that was me Rafe. Sorry to hear the rest of your hike did not go that well. The trail in the rain was not the best but I still had fun. I enjoyed the Devil's Gulch. Like you it was raining when I went through also. I took some pictures to show my family but the pictures do not do the area justice.

I agree with Slo-go'en that the trail between Johnson and Canada is not bad. My main complaint would be the lack of views through the area especially in the fog and rain.

Keep up with the hike Rafe. You are too close to finishing to stop now.

[bigcranky]

Had I been hiking the LT solo, I would have quit in that section. I have quit in the middle of much, much easier hikes. Having my life partner to share in the experience, and being able to support each other, made all the difference. But I totally understand, Rafe. We got to Canada in spite of the trail, cursing the whole way

Slo, those soapstone-like rocks are slippery as %^& even when it's completely dry. There's one large slab that the GMC left conveniently in the middle of the trail, looking all rough and tractiony - we both fell on our asses on that rock, one right after the other. I left a large smear of blood for the maintainers to feast upon.

I never got any sort of warm, fuzzy feeling from the Long Trail. We are both very glad that we did it, don't get me wrong, but no warm fuzzies.

[10-K]

As I recall it's a hard hike SOBO until Appalachian Gap where the trail gets easier, then after Maine Junction where it picks up the AT all the hard stuff is out of the way and it's "just hiking".

I'm glad I started in Canada and finished in MA because I much prefer marching out of hell rather than into it.

[bigcranky]

I'm glad I started in Canada and finished in MA because I much prefer marching out of hell rather than into it.

10-K, I read this to my wife and she laughed out loud for several minutes. Just thought you'd like to know

Also, I recall the 10 miles south of App Gap as being pretty dang hard, too. Actually, with a couple of short exceptions, everything north of Rolston's Rest ranged from not easy to verging on impossible.

[10-K]

10-K, I read this to my wife and she laughed out loud for several minutes. Just thought you'd like to know

Also, I recall the 10 miles south of App Gap as being pretty dang hard, too. Actually, with a couple of short exceptions, everything north of Rolston's Rest ranged from not easy to verging on impossible.

As I recall, south of App Gap there's a section where you have to pull yourself up via rebar drilled into the rock and after all of that was out of the way I thought the trail did ease up some but it didn't really become "hiking" until after I left the Long Trail Inn and was back on the AT/LT concurrent section.

Funny story - I camped with Slo-go'en at the 2nd shelter south of Canada and the next morning hiked up the ski slope to the top of Jay Peak. I got to the top, got back on the Long Trail headed downhill and popped out at the bottom of Jay Peak right where I had started on the ski slope. Turns out I hiked north on the Long Trail instead of south but because i was going downhill it didn't occur to me that I was hiking in the wrong direction.

So I got to climb Jay Peak twice.

[bigcranky]

So I got to climb Jay Peak twice.

Even better, you got to descend Jay Peak twice. As I recall, that was the hard part. Wow. You are a hiking stud.

[Praha4]

You guys hit that same "rose colored" slick rock that I also recall. I remember that area along the Long Trail just north of Sterling Pond shelter, with some extremely slippery rose-colored slabs of rock, and witnessed one poor hiker last year slip on that rock and break a hiking pole, dang near impaled himself on the pole. Don't know if its granite or some other mineral, but a GMC caretaker was telling me it's notorious for being about the slickest rock on the trail, has some peculiar moisture retention properties, almost like the rock is "sweating" in all conditions, no traction on it, slicker than ice.

[rafe]

Apropos of nothing, Puffer Shelter on the northern slope of Bolton Mtn. has an awesome view. From there to Jonesville is an easy day's hike in either direction. (That would have been on Hang R's hike after we crossed paths.)

This isn't the first LT section I've cut short. Two summers ago I'd planned a sixty-mile (more or less) section from Brandon Gap to Jonesville. I quit that one at Appalachian Gap. The views over the Sugarbush ridge were very nice but it was getting hot and I'd had enough. A friend of mine was renting a house on a lake in southern NH that week and frankly, that seemed like it would be more fun.

If nothing else, the LT has caused me to think of the AT as rather a civilized trail.

[rafe]

You guys hit that same "rose colored" slick rock that I also recall. I remember that area along the Long Trail just north of Sterling Pond shelter, with some extremely slippery rose-colored slabs of rock, and witnessed one poor hiker last year slip on that rock and break a hiking pole, dang near impaled himself on the pole. Don't know if its granite or some other mineral, but a GMC caretaker was telling me it's notorious for being about the slickest rock on the trail, has some peculiar moisture retention properties, almost like the rock is "sweating" in all conditions, no traction on it, slicker than ice.

Slick rock happened a lot on this section. There are lots of places where you have no choice but to ease yourself down, or somehow claw your way up, a long, slick rock escarpment -- searching for some sort of handhold, or some feature in the rock to get a foothold or handhold onto. You just never know if your boot's going to have enough traction to hold you. In "Devils Gulch" it was clear that boot traction would not suffice; I ended up sliding down one of those escarpments on my butt (about a 10 foot drop.)

I had dry weather for most of this last hike but it had rained heavily for a couple of days just before I started, and much of the trail was wet or underwater. Many of the rocks and escarpments looked like they were "sweating," just as you describe. There's stuff like this in the Whites, for sure, but I don't remember being as rattled by it. Maybe I'm just getting old and lame.

[roughdrafts]

I finished my northbound thru hike last night and absolutely loved it. The trail definitely kicked my ass between Appalachian Gap and Mansfield and between Corliss Camp and Hazen's Notch (the closest I came to quitting was in the rain on the Needle's Eye section of Mansfield) but overall I had a great experience so I feel like I should put in a vote for at least a few 'warm fuzzies'. I'll post more when I'm not on my phone.

By the way bigcranky I checked your blog a few times during my hike for up-to-date info. Thank you for the detailed trip report!

[mark schofield]

"So I got to climb Jay Peak twice"
10K; a few years ago I missed the trail to the right coming SB down Jay Peak and mistaked a small flat rectangular rock for the trail blaze. So down I went and wasted about half an hour and some necessary energy. Felt really pissed, and then met a guy at Puffer shelter who did the same thing.

[bigcranky]

By the way bigcranky I checked your blog a few times during my hike for up-to-date info. Thank you for the detailed trip report!

Cool! Very happy somebody got some use out of it.

[rafe]

I finished my northbound thru hike last night and absolutely loved it. The trail definitely kicked my ass between Appalachian Gap and Mansfield and between Corliss Camp and Hazen's Notch (the closest I came to quitting was in the rain on the Needle's Eye section of Mansfield) but overall I had a great experience so I feel like I should put in a vote for at least a few 'warm fuzzies'. I'll post more when I'm not on my phone.

By the way bigcranky I checked your blog a few times during my hike for up-to-date info. Thank you for the detailed trip report!

Congratulations! My hat's off to anyone who's thru-hiked the LT or any other tough trail. Seems I have a love hate thing with hiking. I'm often miserable while I'm doing it, but after a short while "back in the real world" I just want to get back to it, ASAP. Beginning to think the only proper cure is to live close to the mountains so I can make hiking part of my daily or weekly routine. I will definitely finish the LT one way or another... less than 30 miles to go, it would be silly not to.

[Deadeye]

The difficulty of any part of the LT is directly proportional to the precipitation!

The slick rock in the Sterling area is rich in talc, aka soapstone, so even when dry it can put you on your can. The town of Johnson had a large talc mine when I was a kid, closed down in the 70's or 80's.

Puffer Lodge (now shelter) is one of my favorite places on the LT to camp. The water supply is inconsistent, but the view is tremendous, and faces East... you wake up to fantastic sunrises.

[Rolex]

Cool! Very happy somebody got some use out of it.

Me too. As I am prepping to do the Long trail, I really appreciate the posts of someone's who'se "been there, done that"

One thing I picked up on was the fact of drinking the Gatorade to alleviate leg cramps. A long time ago I was training up hard for a certain group in the Army and still vividly remember dropping a 70+ lb ruck in the desert in Southern Texas one day trying to work out a leg cramp from hell!

I'd forgot all about that and eating potassium(bananas) and hadn't even added anything for that to the trail diet except a multivitamin.

Rolex

[bigcranky]

Slick rock happened a lot on this section. There are lots of places where you have no choice but to ease yourself down, or somehow claw your way up, a long, slick rock escarpment -- searching for some sort of handhold, or some feature in the rock to get a foothold or handhold onto.

True, but we're talking about a specific kind of rock that we found only in the section between Sterling Pond and Whiteface Mtn. It was unusually slippery even when dry. There were lots of smaller pieces of it, and one very large piece, sloping downward, that was the entire trail for a couple of yards. We had no idea that it was slippery like ice even in dry weather, and we both went down hard -- Dragonfly fell, and I stepped around to help her up and fell right next to her. Thought I had broken my elbow, but just a nasty bruise and it bled for a few days.

The slick rock in the Sterling area is rich in talc, aka soapstone

That's what I was thinking at the time, but didn't know. I do want to thank the GMC for this geology lesson -- if they hadn't put a big piece of this rock right in the middle of the trail, we might have missed it.

Talked to lots of hikers who fell hard on that same ^&%^& rock.

[Josh D]

Talked to lots of hikers who fell hard on that same ^&%^& rock.

I've with all this warning I have the distinct feeling that I will find myself face to face with this rock in a horizontal position at the start of my E2E next week...