Backcountry Rescue on the Long Trail

Brian Lindner (left, photo taken by Jeb Wallace-Broder) is a trained Emergency Medical Technician, and founder and leader of the Waterbury, Vermont Backcountry Rescue Team. Listen as Brian describes how and why his teamed was created, what equipment they use, and how they respond and execute when they receive a call that someone needs to be rescued from backcountry locations inaccessible by emergency vehicles. Brian recalls some recent rescue situations and provides important information on what to bring, how to assess an inury to yourself or someone in your party, how to get help, and what to expect.

Whenever you're planning a hike on the trail, for a day or overnight, our conversation with Brian is worth a listen on longtrailpodcast.com

How Far Is It to Clarendon Gorge?

Planning your hike on the Long Trail is an all-important first step toward a successful outing. And part of that plan is determining how far you can and want to go, for a day or for your entire trip . Now you can help fill in the blanks by using our new Long Trail Distances Calculator. Select your starting and ending location from the pull-down menus and then click the "Calculate Distance" button. This handy tool will consult the GMC's Long Trail Guide and report the total Long Trail distance in miles. Hey, did you know that from Little Rock Pond to Clarendon Gorge it's 12.5 miles? Check it out!

Keld - Long Trail Enthusiast

Keld, a sixty-something Vermont resident, resumed hiking a few years ago after a 30-year absence from the trail. At right, he stands on the Long Trail in Ladder Ravine on the north side of Burnt Rock Mountain. Listen to Keld as he enthusiastically talks about his participation in a group which is day hiking the entire Long Trail over six years. Keld was in on the journey from the beginning and now, 3 years in, has hiked halfway from the Canadian border to Massachusetts. Enjoy your stay on longtrailpodcast.com.

Rough and Tumble at Duxbury Window

Tumble cools her boots while she relaxes on the GMC's Montpelier Section's memorial bench overlooking Duxbury Window. She and Rough have just backpacked south on the Long Trail up Bamforth Ridge on a cool July day. Listen in as they relax and chat about other hikers they met and how much they enjoy being out on the trail. Tumble even reveals what she has planned for that evening's vegan dinner. Enjoy this and other podcasts on longtrailpodcast.com.

75 Year-old Ted Lennox 1st Time Hiker

Ted's unique perspective on the challenges he faced and the pleasures he experienced as a first-time hiker will delight and entertain listeners, including those, who like he, are blind. At top left, Ted is pictured with Rough reading the sign at the start of the Beane Trail. He describes his training hikes and overnight backpacking trips on the Beane Trail and Skylight Pond Trail. At right above, Tumble and Ted ford a stream on the Skylight Pond Trail. Ted also offers advice and tips for other first-time hikers. At left below, Ted celebrates his safe completion of a two-day backpacking trip. Listen to Ted on longtrailpodcast.com as he tells the world about his exciting and satisfying adventure.

Joe Figura's LongTrailHiking.info

Joe Figura, known on the trail as "Rolling Stone", sits peacefully at the MacArthur Bridge on the Long Trail near Route 9 (right). Joe is doing what he loves to do, that is, hiking on the Long Trail. In 2009 he and his daughter "Blue Tang" (pictured, below) backpacked from the Mass. border to Killington.
Joe is bringing the Long Trail community together online with his new website longtrailhiking.info, available to users now on the Internet. Listen to our podcast with Joe as he describes his concept for the site as well as its features which include hiker discussion boards, the Green Mountain Club's End-to-Enders Guide, trip reports, and much more.
Joe plans to continue to enhance the site so that LT hikers can find the information they need when planning a trip.

Day Hike the Long Trail End-to-End?

Yes, that's right. Aaron Schoenberg is coordinating and leading a series of week-long day hikes in his quest to complete the entire Long Trail. He is pictured, at left, in July 2008, on Mount Mansfield's Adam's Apple overlooking the Lake of the Clouds. For the six-year journey at one week per year, Aaron plans the daily itineraries and makes arrangements for his groups of 14-23 hikers to get to and from the trail and stay overnight in nearby housing. Through 2009 they have hiked south from the Canadian border to Middlebury Gap. Listen to Aaron describe how he does it and what he has experienced so far in our podcast at longtrailpodcast.com
2010 Update:  In August, Aaron and his group completed their 4th year (of six), day hiking from Middlebury Gap to Route 4 in Killington.  Only 2 more years of week-long outings and just over 100 miles to go!

Ho and Hum: "Geezer Hikers"

They may be self-described "Geezer Hikers" but brothers Ho and Hum showed fortitude and determination when they section hiked on the Long Trail this past August. They are pictured here at the Long Trail parking lot in Johnson all set to commence their 5-day hike southbound to Jonesville. Next they hiked northbound from App Gap to Duxbury Road, and then topped off their adventures with an 11.6 mile Lincoln Gap to App Gap day hike. You can listen to Ho and Hum describe how they decided to do these hikes, what went into their preparation, and what their hikes were like. They even throw in the lessons they learned about the Long Trail, equipment, camping, ... and each other. Thanks, guys, for sharing! Enjoy and listen at longtrailpodcast.com .

Update: Ho and Hum's trip report (with photos) is now available online at Long Trail Hiking .
Update December 2010: Ho and Hum continued their LT adventures in 2010.  Read about their brotherly hikes online, including Bennington to Mad Tom Notch and Lincoln Gap to Lincoln Peak at http://www.longtrailhiking.info/webboard/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=502 .

Gaps in Long Trail Trivia

The Long Trail passes through many "gaps", eleven in all including Lincoln Gap at the base of Mount Abraham (sign pictured). And several "passes" too. Can you name these? How about the names of the five peaks over 4000' that host the trail? The four lookout towers? Bone up on your Long Trail knowledge by learning the answers to these questions and much more by checking out our new "Long Trail Oddities and Trivia" page at http://www.longtrailpodcast.com/oddtriv.shtml . You'll even soak up some trivia that's bound to stick with you during your hikes along the 272 miles of white blazes. Enjoy your mental journey!

Planning a Summer Thru Hike (updated 2010)

Flashback: It's early on the morning of July 21, 2003, and Rough and Tumble (that's us) have hiked up the Pine Cobble and Appalachian Trails from Williamstown, Massachusetts. We're standing at the Long Trail Southern Terminus sign on the Vermont-Massachusetts border, ready to start our thru hike. All the planning is complete, drop boxes distributed, gear selected and practiced with, and conditioning hikes finished. With great anticipation and a touch of trepidation, we're about to take our first steps on the Long Trail on our way to the Canadian border.
You can take advantage of some of our experiences before starting your own end-to-end by listening to our podcast "Planning a Summer Thru Hike of the Long Trail" at longtrailpodcast.com . Don't forget your camera ... and have a great hike!

Self-prepared Trail Meals

There they are - the finished products. Tumble's prepared trail meals are stacked up and ready to go into our re-supply boxes and backpacks prior to our Long Trail end-to-end hike. She made enough meals for our planned 38 days on the trail, put them in ziplock bags, and labeled them with instructions and their individual weights.

Listen to her podcast "Preparing Your Own Trail Meals - for vegans and non-vegans" and you'll learn how she did it, including tips on your trail kitchen, what foods to carry, cooking, and determining your serving size. She made it look easy and so can you.

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

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

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.