View Full Version : VT Long Trail, How long to Hike?
UCONNMike
01-03-2005, 00:06
About how loing would it take to hike 'The Long Trail' in Vermont? its about 270 miles from what I've read, and I was curious what the terrian is like, and if it is difficult to log big mile days when hiking it?
Kerosene
01-03-2005, 00:47
Terrain is tougher for the northern section, similar to Maine (from what I've heard) in that there are a lot of roots, rock climbs and a lack of switchbacks.
Typical hiking time seems to be somewhere around 20 days (13.5 mpd), although I know that many have done it faster. I've never heard of anyone taking as long as 30 days.
I started south from Canada with my brother in August '79, taking 25 days (my brother's first backpacking trip, 50 lb. packs, and we had rain for 21 of those days). It's quite realistic to cover 15-20 miles per day south of Jonesville, at least once you're in hiking shape.
I did the northern half of the LT last September. We took 16 days to cover 170 miles (one day was a nero). The northern part of the trail has frequent steep ledges (the kind of stuff where you place your hands and feet carefully) so it's slow. I'd say plan on 10 miles per day north of Maine Junction, 15 mpd south of there. That's being conservative and assuming you're in moderate but not marathon-runner condition. Also, there are several above T-line peaks in the north and some time buffer will allow you to wait for nice weather and enjoy them. We stop after 3.5 miles in a cold downpour one day to avoid doing Camel's Hump in those conditions. It was worth the wait.
JoeHiker
01-03-2005, 10:53
I'm planning on doing the Long trail this fall, probably the first two weeks in October, SOBO. I have 16 days to get as far as I can. Fortunately for me, I run several marathons a year and put in a ton of miles so I'm optimistic about making it at least most of the way. But I don't feel an overwhelming need to make it the whole way.
gravityman
01-03-2005, 11:34
I did the northern half of the LT last September. We took 16 days to cover 170 miles (one day was a nero). The northern part of the trail has frequent steep ledges (the kind of stuff where you place your hands and feet carefully) so it's slow. I'd say plan on 10 miles per day north of Maine Junction, 15 mpd south of there. That's being conservative and assuming you're in moderate but not marathon-runner condition. Also, there are several above T-line peaks in the north and some time buffer will allow you to wait for nice weather and enjoy them. We stop after 3.5 miles in a cold downpour one day to avoid doing Camel's Hump in those conditions. It was worth the wait.
Wow, talk about similar mileage. My wife and I did a SOBO this July for 16 days. Made it to Maine Junction (where the AT and LT merge/split depending on which way you are going). We took one nero (into Jonesville). We had some good long days, and some short easy days. All depended on how we felt. In my opinion the main problem with doing more miles is the damn shelter spacing. There just wasn't ANYWHERE to camp! The understory was too thick. So you either had to make it to the next shelter or stop early. Since it was a vacation, we tended to stop early. We had just run a marathon in May, but I think that hurt rather than helped :)
Gravity
I'm planning on doing the Long trail this fall, probably the first two weeks in October, SOBO. I have 16 days to get as far as I can. Fortunately for me, I run several marathons a year and put in a ton of miles so I'm optimistic about making it at least most of the way. But I don't feel an overwhelming need to make it the whole way.
Joe, FWIW, did the LT twice. My first time was in 1997. With the heavier pack I had then (~30 lbs base weight! :O) and one nero day was able to do it in 18 days. Was not in the overall shape I am in now, as mentioned had a heavier pack and was not as experienced a backpacker.
I took it easier in 1999 in did it in 20 days.
Guess what I am trying to say is that with a light pack and good conditioning doing it in 16 days is very doable...if you want to. :)
Wether you do the whole trail or part of it, it is a very nice stretch of trail. The part between RT4 (Killington) and Johnson (RT2?) is probably the hardest hiking I've done in terms of terrain. Many steep ups and downs! It becomes the "Long and Hard" trail. :D
You'll love it though..great trail!
Two picture albums of my 1997 and 1999 hikes if anyone is curious:
http://gallery.backcountry.net/magslt
hungryhowie
01-03-2005, 15:41
I did it in 2001 in 23 days. I had done the AT the year before, so I was in pretty good shape and had a pretty light pack (base weight of ~6 pounds). I did start in Dalton, Mass, however, which added about 30(?) miles to the trip. The southern half (the same tread as the AT) is nice. The northern half is very comparable to NH or Maine. You often have views of Lake Champlain and there are itermittent areas above tree line. It is decidedly more rugged the further north you get, but never gets worse than what you'll see on the AT, really.
I really enjoyed my hike, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I put my journals online at http://www.newsushi.net (click on Long Trail) if you'd like to get an idea of my mileage.
-howie
Chantilly Lace
01-03-2005, 16:42
I hiked the last 60 miles, from Smugglers Notch to Canada, last August. At the border you will be met by a border patrol officer appearing out of nowhere. The trail was very rugged, sometimes terribly overgrown (be careful of the brambles) and very wet!!! At times the trail was a riverbed, frogs hopped out with every step. If it wasn't a riverbed it was mud. And then there were huge rocks to climb over which was the best part. Up there nothing will dry out. So.... always save a dry pair of socks for bed.
Pokemom
Generally speaking, allow about 3 weeks to go end-to-end on the Long Trail.
The GMC's Long Trail Guide includes book times for hiking between every shelter. So, get the guide and it will help you develop a good baseline plan.
Generally speaking, allow about 3 weeks to go end-to-end on the Long Trail.
The GMC's Long Trail Guide includes book times for hiking between every shelter. So, get the guide and it will help you develop a good baseline plan.THere is also an End-to-End guide you can get on the GMC website that is useful.
http://www.greenmountainclub.org/pubs.asp
Long Trail End-to-Ender's Guide
The 2004 edition has arrived! This handy supplement to the Long Trail Guide includes up-to-date information on trail conditions, overnight accommodations, equipment sales and repairs, mail drops, and transportation along the Long Trail. A great tool for day hikers and long-distance hikers alike. This book and the Long Trail Guide are essential for anyone hiking the trail end-to-end.
Price: $8.95
gravityman
01-04-2005, 11:42
THere is also an End-to-End guide you can get on the GMC website that is useful.
http://www.greenmountainclub.org/pubs.asp
Long Trail End-to-Ender's Guide
The 2004 edition has arrived! This handy supplement to the Long Trail Guide includes up-to-date information on trail conditions, overnight accommodations, equipment sales and repairs, mail drops, and transportation along the Long Trail. A great tool for day hikers and long-distance hikers alike. This book and the Long Trail Guide are essential for anyone hiking the trail end-to-end.
Price: $8.95
We found the listed times to be suprisingly (and some times depressingly) accurate.
The E2E guide is essential. We also cut out the milage and maps from the guide book and left the rest behind. The milage in the guide book has a lot more detail than the E2E guide, which pretty much just has shelters.
If you are up north, I strongly recommend the Awesome View Hiker Hostel. Sweet old couple that runs it entirely because the wife loves hiking and they give all the money to the GMC to buy more land. And they will take you to the Plum and Main for an amazing breakfast!
Gravity
I have done the LT three times, twice going N to S. Yes, it can be done in three weeks, but if you can, budget extra time to be able to slow down and enjoy several areas of the trail. Bad weather can surely slow you down, especially up north, but I was several times lucky enough to get perfect weather at Mansfield, Camel's Hump, and down along the AT section with its several ponds. The guidebook is pretty decent and you can pretty much figure out which sections would allow for extended mileage days should they become needed or desired.
If you are up north, I strongly recommend the Awesome View Hiker Hostel. Sweet old couple that runs it entirely because the wife loves hiking and they give all the money to the GMC to buy more land. And they will take you to the Plum and Main for an amazing breakfast!
Gravity
Hey! Nice to see they are still taking in hikers. I remember the AWESOME breakfast in that restaurant.
The hostel (and restaurant) is located in a small college town called Johnson.
Johnson is a very good re-supply place on the LT. It is 50 miles from the end of the trail, has a good sized grocery store and other amenities (restaurants, PO, etc). Almost right on the trail is the Long Trail Tavern. Grab a good burger and beer and then head into town. The town is accessible by RT15. By VT standards, it is a fairly high trafficked road.
If the hostel is full and you want to layover a night, the Tavern did allow people to bunk in an old trailer in back. Not sure if they still do this or not.
Someday I'll do the trail again..maybe in Fall!
I have done the LT three times, twice going N to S. Yes, it can be done in three weeks, but if you can, budget extra time to be able to slow down and enjoy several areas of the trail.
Just a little quibble...
As a person who hikes long days to get in mileage (and enjoy it) take issue with the idea that you have to go slow to enjoy a trail. For some people doing too many miles can indeed be a way to NOT enjoy the trail.
However, some of us enjoy longer mileage days and a speedier pace. If you are in good shape and honestly enjoy hiking all day, then doing the LT in three weeks is not hard at all.
Naturally, if you are finding the 3 week pace to not be enjoyable, slow down. But, again, a faster pace does not always equal less enjoyment than going slower.
Before doing the Colorado Trail this year, was told my projected 3 wk hike was not feasible and/or not enjoyable. Did the trail in 21 days and enjoyed myself. YMMV..literally. :)
Enjoy the hike be it slow, fast or on a pogo stick.
No, you don't have to go slow to enjoy this or any other trail, but if one has the time it is nice not having to dwell on mileage/time stats. More often than not I have met other hikers who expressed that they wanted to come back and rehike the LT at a more leisurely pace. To each his or her own. I'm sure there are many out there that really like to max out their days and that's great. Twenty plus years ago I fell into that group, but now I find I like to stop more and check things out more along the way. In any case, the Long Trail is a great hike for most folks. For speed and human endurance interest check out "cave dogs" record setting hike this past summer.
No, you don't have to go slow to enjoy this or any other trail, but if one has the time it is nice not having to dwell on mileage/time stats. More often than not I have met other hikers who expressed that they wanted to come back and rehike the LT at a more leisurely pace. Yes, and often hikers who put in days with more miles do not hike any faster than anyone else. I'm a slow hiker, but generally like an early start. You can walk at a liesurely 2 mph and put in 20+ miles easily. When you walk up at 5:00 to pee, just get up and start walking rather than sleeping until 8:00, and walk a coukple hours after you eat the evening meal. Those extra five hours of walking will be the difference between a 10 mile day and a twenty mile day. And you will have walked at the same leisurely enjoyable pace either way.
Last July I hiked the LT N to S in 19 days. Resupplied three times, Rutland, Jonesville and Johnson and carried a light pack. Back and knees at 59 years old must be protected. The LT is reallly two trails in my estimation, south of Route 4 and the northern part. Below route 4 in July the trail was full of AT thru-hikers, North bound and south bound hikers and a well maintained trail a real social aspect abounds. North of route 4, I spent 48 hours without seeing another hiker in July, for me this was the best of all worlds. Starting with AT people .... Thruhikers syked about making it within 600 miles of the Katadin prize and for the northern LT trail, I found shelters all alone at night, and a primitive path, not well maintained, that didn't exist in the beginning of the trail. Southern LT was a much more social experience and the northern half was more personal and isolated. LT thru hike is just an awasome experieince that I hope to replicate this July.
stranger
01-15-2005, 23:55
I agree...the Long Trail changes drastically north of Killington, it's quite amazing really. 2 thru-hikes and planning a third whenever I'm back in the states again. What's so great about the LT is that you don't have to drop out of life to hike it, 2-3 weeks is all you need depending on your style of hiking.
I would probably recommend 3 weeks end to end, give or take a few days. Keep in mind that the trail north of Killington is far more difficult than the southern section. 15 miles can whip you north of Killington, but obviously depends on you and your physical condition. Such a great trail.
UCONNMike
01-16-2005, 03:24
Great stuff, this is the kind of info I was looking for. I am thru-hiking this summer and thought that a warm up on the Long Trail would be a good....well...warm up :) I'll def purchase that guide book the Frosty suggested and start planning. This is why whiteblaze is so awesome.
The Old Fhart
01-16-2005, 10:21
Frosty-"Long Trail End-to-Ender's Guide........ The 2004 edition has arrived! .......$8.95"Is the current edition much different than my 1921 3rd edition, cost fifty cents? :) Back then the trail was 211 miles long and went from Johnson south to the Mass border. The guide was 56 pages long and had what today would be considered interesting recommendations for personal equipment. I love to see how much equipment has changed and how many principles have stayed the same. I was fortunate to get this unused copy of the guide.
Did the 1921 guidebook include instrucitons for dispatching porkies? Until the 70's the books told how to easily kill and dispose of the shelter-eating beasts. The shelters up to the sixties also had dumps - the GMC and hordes of volunteers packed them out.
Is the current edition much different than my 1921 3rd edition, cost fifty cents? :) Back then the trail was 211 miles long and went from Johnson south to the Mass border. The guide was 56 pages long and had what today would be considered interesting recommendations for personal equipment. I love to see how much equipment has changed and how many principles have stayed the same. I was fortunate to get this unused copy of the guide.
I would love to read some excerpts from that book if you'd like to share them. I bet there are some real gems in there. What a prize you have!
Kerosene
01-16-2005, 12:25
I'd love to read excerpts from the old guidebooks also! I've always been fascinated with how and why things change over time.