Friday, November 28, 2008

JB, BJ, and Rough reach Journey's End Camp


It took us 48 hours, from Friday night until Sunday night and we hiked through lots of rain, high wind, limited visibility, and mud. On the right is BJ at Chet's Lookout on Buchanan Mountain and, below, we are sitting at Journey's End Camp II on June 29, 2008, thirty minutes after reaching the Long Trail's Northern Terminus at the Vermont/Canadian border.

Our hike north from Hazen's Notch was not without peril and adventure, and you can listen to the whole tale (in three segments) on longtrailpodcast.com . I made it but got a strong Long Trail lesson on what it's like to hike in less than optimal conditions with less than optimal physical conditioning.

Journey's End Camp was built by the Green Mountain Club in the fall of 2003 and replaced its older namesake which was located a few tenths of a mile to the east. This is a beautiful enclosed camp with a good water source nearby. The camp is located just off of Journey's End Trail which leads west to the northern end of the Long Trail.

Rough

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Jesse and Josh

Here's a photo of Long Trail thru-hikers (and brothers) Jesse and Josh. They're standing outside Waitsfield, Vermont's Hyde Away Inn, where they had just spent the night of August 11, 2008 before heading into town for a resupply. At this point they had hiked (northbound) 160 miles of the 272-mile trail.

I interviewed J & J (trailnames "Therezablaze" and "Wherezablaze") at the Inn and you can listen to the podcast at longtrailpodcast.com . They'll tell you about their hike, including their preparation, trail experiences, and exactly how they chose their trailnames.

I am happy to report that I received an e-mail from Jesse and he wrote that they successfully completed their thru-hike of the LT on August 23, for a total hike of 26 days. Jesse said "It will be an experience that we will never forget."

Rough

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sucker Brook Shelter


Here's a September 3, 2008 photo of Sucker Brook Shelter which is just off the Long Trail and the first shelter north of Brandon Gap and south of Middlebury Gap. The shelter sits at the base of Worth Mountain which is a steep climb if you're heading north from the shelter. Going south, you get to hike up Romance Mountain where there's a nice look-off to the west.

This shelter is where I interviewed Long Trail thru-hiker "Ernie". The 9/3/2008 podcast of our conversation can be found at longtrailpodcast.com under the heading "Voices From The Trail."

Sucker Brook has a fairly reliable water source from the stream immediately to the west of the shelter. There's also a privy on site and several good tent or hammock sites. You can also reach this shelter using a one-mile side trail, the Sucker Brook Trail, which approaches from a USFS road to the west.

Rough

PS - Hiker Ernie e-mailed that he got off the trail at Jonesville on September 8th after several falls in the Camel's Hump area. He was very determined to finish so he resumed his hike in October and, after battling rain, wind, and snow, he completed his thru-hike on October 26th. This is a photo of Ernie at the boundary post.