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  1. #1
    Registered User Papa D's Avatar
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    Default My long trail top 10 highlights

    There were so many great things on the LT, I could come up with 30 things easy - top 10 funny, top 10 beautiful, etc. but here is a list - maybe some former End to Enders can make a list like this for folks who haven't gone yet:

    Top 10 Things on the Long Trail:

    Climb Fire Tower at Stratton Mountain
    Little Rock Pond Swim
    Pizza at Whistle Stop Cafe
    Beer and Music at Inn at Long Trail
    Climbing down Ladders at AP Gap
    Thunderstorm and sunshine at Glen Ellen Lodge Shelter
    View from Puffer Shelter - lifting Fog
    Mt. Mansfield - sun and wind
    Lamoille River View from Prospect Rock
    Running from Laura Woodward Shelter to Canada


  2. #2

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    In no particular order from my 2 E2E LT hikes:

    1. Camel's Hump
    2. Mt.Abraham & the Lincoln Ridge
    3. Climbing the Glastonbury Mt. fire tower
    4. Sunset from Butler Lodge on the west flank of Mansfield over Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks plus the alpenglow back onto Mansfield
    5. Refreshing swim at Stratton Pond at the end of a hot & humid day and seeing the salamanders floating in the water
    6. Watching the sky during a thunderstorm from Whiteface Mountain shelter
    7. Devil's Gulch in the far north - a mini Mahoosuc Notch
    8. Food, brews, and ambiance at the Inn at the Long Trail
    9. Atop several peaks in early morning of bright sunny day looking down at fog in the valleys. Examples include Laraway and Mt. Wilson
    10. Reaching the Canadian border finishing my first E2E back in 1981.
    Last edited by Cookerhiker; 02-20-2012 at 13:43.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Papa D View Post
    There were so many great things on the LT, I could come up with 30 things easy - top 10 funny, top 10 beautiful, etc. but here is a list - maybe some former End to Enders can make a list like this for folks who haven't gone yet:

    Top 10 Things on the Long Trail:

    Climb Fire Tower at Stratton Mountain
    Little Rock Pond Swim
    Pizza at Whistle Stop Cafe
    Beer and Music at Inn at Long Trail
    Climbing down Ladders at AP Gap
    Thunderstorm and sunshine at Glen Ellen Lodge Shelter
    View from Puffer Shelter - lifting Fog
    Mt. Mansfield - sun and wind
    Lamoille River View from Prospect Rock
    Running from Laura Woodward Shelter to Canada

    I have experience all of those things with great joy. Puffer shelter was my favorite shelter (for location only) along the LT. (I stayed almost exclusively at shelters back then).

    I almost broke my knee on Camel's Hump- that I can stand to forget.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cookerhiker View Post
    In no particular order from my 2 E2E LT hikes:

    1. Camel's Hump
    2. Mt.Abraham & the Lincoln Ridge
    3. Climbing the Glastonbury Mt. fire tower
    4. Sunset from Butler Lodge on the west flank of Mansfield over Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks plus the alpenglow back onto Mansfiels
    5. Refreshing swim at Stratton Pond at the end of a hot & humid day and seeing the salamanders floating in the water
    6. Watching the sky during a thunderstorm from Whiteface Mountain shelter
    7. Devil's Gulch in the far north - a mini Mahoosuc Notch
    8. Food, brews, and ambiance at the Inn at the Long Trail
    9. Atop several peaks in early morning of bright sunny day looking down at fog in the valleys. Examples include Laraway and Mt. Wilson
    10. Reaching the Canadian border finishing my first E2E back in 1981.

    I'm thinking right now that the LT was so much more of a personal experience to me than any of the AT I've done, but I did the LT solo, too.

    The sights and emotions were brought back by these two posts.

    The Long Trail is an excellent primer for the AT. Starting from the south you have a week or so to break in before the hard stuff, and the hard stuff is equal to anything I've seen on the AT.

    If you like solitude, the northern LT can't be beaten (correct English here sounds weird ).
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  5. #5
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    The Long Trail, north of the AT, kicks butt and is harder going day to day than anything on the AT excepting maybe MT K. Mt favorite thing was hanging out with Papa D and his band of "children"
    Everything is in Walking Distance

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by bamboo bob View Post
    The Long Trail, north of the AT, kicks butt and is harder going day to day than anything on the AT excepting maybe MT K. Mt favorite thing was hanging out with Papa D and his band of "children"
    Hiking the LT NOBO, the first real hard part is the descent off the Lincoln Ridge to Appalachian Gap. From this point until Mansfield, it's pretty rugged and later on, descents off Whiteface and Bowen Mountains are steep and difficult. However, I consider the AT from Gorham (Rt. 2) through Maine until after the Avery Peak descent to be tougher than the LT.

  7. #7

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    I've been thinking about the LT. What in your opinion(s) is the best time of the year to hike it?
    Find the LIGHT STUFF at QiWiz.net

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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by QiWiz View Post
    I've been thinking about the LT. What in your opinion(s) is the best time of the year to hike it?
    If you like being around the AT thruhiker crowd (on the southern 100 miles) then July and August is when they pass through. Weatherwise, September is the month to hike the LT.
    Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com

    Green Mountain House Hostel
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  9. #9
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    In no particular order:
    - ladders on Mansfield
    - Camels Hump
    - Clarendon Gorge
    - Glastenbury Mountain
    - Foggy morning at Skyline Lodge
    - Getting 'buzzed' by a hawk somewhere, not sure where
    - Running up Killington in the fog
    - Long Trail Tavern
    - Inn at Long Trail
    - Stratton Pond (completely alone)
    - My Abe (Lincoln Peak)
    - Climbing Madonna Peak
    - the 3 mile flat section before Bear Hollow Shelte, going nobor
    - reaching the border obviously

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    If you like being around the AT thruhiker crowd (on the southern 100 miles) then July and August is when they pass through. Weatherwise, September is the month to hike the LT.
    I second that. Definitely cooler nights and bug free. A little less water up north sometimes with a couple of dry shelters around AP gap. But way less crowded. Few AT people which can be fun but also grating. Zero vacationers .
    Everything is in Walking Distance

  11. #11
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    Have always appreciated how most AT thruhikers help rookie LT hikers who are unprepared for a long distance trek. I have witnessed many newbie LT'ers about to quit who get a confidence boost after sharing an evening with AT thruhikers.
    Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com

    Green Mountain House Hostel
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    http://www.greenmountainhouse.net

  12. #12

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    I hiked the LT in three sections. My favorite was the section from Rt. 2 (Jonesville) north to the Canadian border. This section starts out with a solid uphill to Bolton Mountain and then on across Mansfield, etc. The northern 100 miles have a much wilder feel to the trail, and once you pass Mt. Mansfield it's not a trail that attracts dayhikers (with the exception of Jay Peak). My hiking partner and I had a great time crossing paths with a few other Long Trail hikers during our 9 days out. Devil's Gulch is fun, the descent down Mansfield (going northbound) is exciting, and there were lots of little landmarks along the way. I live near Camel's Hump and Mt. Abraham, so hike the middle part of the Long Trail quite a bit, but I'd love to go back and hike the northern third of the trail again.

  13. #13
    Registered User mirabela's Avatar
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    Ah ... only ten, huh ... I've been kicking around on the LT most of my life, and now I'm getting to do it all over again with my kids ... hard to limit it, but I'll try. Keeping it focused just on places & features, and not on the particular times I've had there --

    * The Adams Apple & Lake of the Clouds on Mansfield
    * Bamforth Ridge
    * the Ira Allen -> Ethan Allen ridgeline
    * Big Branch
    * Devil's Gulch
    * the Forehead
    * Battell Lookout
    * Castle Rock warming hut
    * Skyline Lodge
    * Molly Stark's Balcony

    It's a wonderful trail. My son and I will get to spend five or six days out this coming summer, and I couldn't be looking forward more joyfully.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by QiWiz View Post
    I've been thinking about the LT. What in your opinion(s) is the best time of the year to hike it?
    I believe August is the best all around month, all things considered.

    September is better if you don't mind 40 deg rainy days, certainly better sleeping weather, but significantly colder

    July is hot and still buggy, but not terrible

    My first LT hike was in July

  15. #15
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    My 16-yo brother's first backpacking trip was a SOBO thru-hike of the LT in August 1979. Through high school I had hiked about 500 AT miles in various Mid-Atlantic sections to that point. We had at least some rain for 21 of the 26 days of the trip (ugh!). Here are some of my high points that I vividly remember to this day, in chronological order.
    • 94° and humid climbing North Jay Peak on our very first day, with a late-afternoon thunderstorm coming fast and our legs cramping; we reached the Laura Woodward Shelter just as the first big fat raindrops hit the roof (8/4/79)
    • Fog, rain, sleet, snow, 40 mph winds, and 35° over Whiteface Mtn. to Smuggler's Notch, where we eventually hitched a ride to a motel in Stowe that we made a mess of with our filthy gear (8/10)
    • Drinking white wine spiked with blueberries that an overnighter had brought up to the old Camels Hump Cabin, watching the sunset over Lake Champlain under leaden skies with late rays highlighting the peak of Mt. Mansfield and a small T-storm working it's way through Bolton Valley below that forced us off the open summit back to the cabin (8/14)
    • View of sunrise from Stark's Nest with valley fog, followed by a nippy warm-up in still-wet clothes on a 40° morning (8/17)
    • Reaching Skyline Lodge after sunset at the end of our longest day (21.3 miles) (8/17)
    • Nice, gently climbing trail from Brandon Gap in a light rain, to David Logan Shelter with views of Chittenden Reservoir at sunset (8/19)
    • Inn at Long Trail where we cooked a one-pot mac-and-cheese based meal with ham, canned peas and stewed tomatoes (8/21)
    • Climbing boulders in Clarendon Gorge on a warm day (8/23)
    • Skinny-dipping in Little Rock Pond after a warm 18-mile day (8/23)
    • Fending off the porkies at Kid Gore LT (8/27)
    • Fresh low-bush blueberries at the VT/MA border early in the morning that we grabbed almost without stopping on our way into Williamstown and a busride home (8/30)

    I simply loved the northern LT, and can't wait to tackle the Maine AT to re-live the rugged terrain -- I just wish my body was as young as it once was!
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  16. #16

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    The Lt in September after Labor day is nice. The leaves are starting to turn, and far fewer folks on the trail. I would suggest going southbound as it start to cool down up north later in September.

  17. #17
    Registered User mirabela's Avatar
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    Fending off the porkies at Kid Gore LT (8/27)


    Some things never change!

  18. #18
    double d's Avatar
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    I love the LT and have spent the last three summers hiking the AT and LT in Vermont, but the LT ate me alive! Tough trail, but great experience. Gotta say, after a great hike to Rt.4 in Killington, going to stay at The Inn was a great time, very cool Irish pub and great food, nice rooms, very enjoyable. Also thought Statton Pond was a wonderful experience as well.
    "I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by mirabela View Post
    Some things never change!
    [/COLOR]
    Yup - wasn't on my Top 10 above but been there, done that - also at Kid Gore in '07

  20. #20
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    I can vouch as well for terrible mosquitos at Kid Gore, worst night ever!

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