View Full Version : What not to miss
cleanshave
08-24-2012, 01:29
Hey guys n gals,
I'm heading up to Vermont for a SOBO thru hike in a little over a week and for the life of me can't track down a list of things not to miss on the Long Trail.
Any ideas?
I'll be stopping over in Burlington and may hit the Ben and Jerrys, anything else in Burlington?
Any ideas would be awesome.
mrcoffeect
08-24-2012, 07:48
Im not sure how your getting to the trail, but if you get the chance you might want to check out the "cow palace" in the town of derby. About fifteen miles east of where you'll start your hike. Very cool looking place,and the best prime rib on the planet. http://www.derbycowpalace.com/ Great last meal before a life of camp food:)
mrcoffeect
08-24-2012, 08:07
the cow palace 17143
I've hiked the LT end to end myself. Here's some things NOT to miss:
Inn at Long Trail-- hiker friendly and they have awesome food.
Swimming in little Rock Pond
hat restaurant on route 103 1/5 mile from the LT/AT? can't remember the name.. but they serve up good food and it's always been hot as heck the two times I've been there (mid Summer).
At Rt 11 crossing hitch in to Manchester, VT. Here you can go to EMS for gear needs, go to Friendly's for ice cream, and just have good town experience. It's a fairly easy hitch.
Beyond this.. you are pretty much in the woods the whole way.
david
burlington has a nice little downtown that is great to walk around and check out. touring the magic hat brewery is also recommended.
yellowsirocco
08-25-2012, 12:30
Little Rock Pond is awesome.
angewrite
08-25-2012, 16:31
I agree with the Inn at the Long Trail, hiker friendly rates and yummy food. Extremely hiker friendly and you can camp across the street if you don't want to pay for a room. Swimming at Little Rock pond and or Big Branch. Ben and Jerry's is nothing exciting. If you head into Waitsfield go to the Mad Taco (in the Mehurons shopping plaza) They have beer and unbelievably yummy, authentic (not texmex) filling tacos and sandwiches.
I agree with the Inn at the Long Trail, hiker friendly rates and yummy food. Extremely hiker friendly and you can camp across the street if you don't want to pay for a room. Swimming at Little Rock pond and or Big Branch. Ben and Jerry's is nothing exciting. If you head into Waitsfield go to the Mad Taco (in the Mehurons shopping plaza) They have beer and unbelievably yummy, authentic (not texmex) filling tacos and sandwiches.
I went in the Mad Taco after being in the woods for a few days and was overwhelmed with the way they have the menu written in chalk all over the wall... I told the owner that there wasn't anything I didn't like and I was really hungry - just fix me something he thought was good.
Boy did he hook me up... I could barely finish one of the best burritos I've ever had.
angewrite
08-26-2012, 09:06
Mad Taco- I recommend the Big Daddy Fatty. It's a homemade pita wrapped around a pile of meat, slaw, avocado, cheese, etc. Extremely filling and delicious. And they have beer :-)
cleanshave
10-04-2012, 09:54
Thanks everyone,
I just finished my Long Trail End to End SOBO hike and had a great time. Sure it rained the 6 or 7 days on the trail and I got caught in a hail storm on top of Glastenbury Mountain, no big deal.
First off it was too cold to do any swimming so that got scratched.
Mad Taco was amazing! Hitched in just to eat there. Breakfast burrito was so good. I don't eat avacado but even that didn't stop me from devouring the thing. Then I went back for lunch after hitting the library and had the Hikers Special, seriously 3 pounds at least of the best food you could find. The hot sauce array was impressive but I was a little dissapointed that they didn't have anything spicy that I liked. They had only one sauce that I would consider spicy and I had to mix that with another weaker one to improve its flavor. But still, amazing!
I also got off the trail to the Ben and Jerrys factory tour and stealth camped in Waterbury. The tour was quick and about what I expected, but on the way out I almost decided to stealth camp in the gazebo next to the flavor graveyard. Has anyone done this? Looks like a perfect place to stay in town at no cost.
True highlight of the trip was Camels Hump. Hit it in 50 - 75 mile an hour wind gusts in the rain and had a blast.
Burlington was cool to see for my first time and Rutland as always was relaxing. 12 Tribes really is ok even if the religion thing freaks some people out.
Still updating the video playlist but you can watch the videos here if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-I5iem6ykI&list=PLWeWiCw6Gb_0Py_KkyFWza6SiwgHmOaVQ&feature=plpp_play_all
Kerosene
10-04-2012, 10:25
True highlight of the trip was Camels Hump. Hit it in 50 - 75 mile an hour wind gusts in the rain and had a blast.Those are typically exhilirating situations, although the primitive part of my brain keeps trying to remind me that I really shouldn't be up there in those conditions! A few weeks ago I hiked over Baldpate in southwest Maine in swirling fog, 40-50 mile gusts, and spitting rain. Yes, I didn't get the views I had hoped for, but I always end up remembering the extreme weather situations.
jakedatc
10-04-2012, 10:29
Nice job. We should go hike sometime.. you are like 15 min down the road.
cleanshave
10-05-2012, 14:53
Doing the Bay Circuit Trail in Mass. as a thru hike after this weekend if you're interested jakedatc. Starting 10/08 in Newburyport, MA and doing the 220 miles to the southern terminus in like 8-10 days, maybe a few extra. Even if you want to hike for a section would be cool. Feel free to hit me up on my blog or Facebook.
http://www.baycircuit.org/
Monkeywrench
10-05-2012, 16:51
Doing the Bay Circuit Trail in Mass. as a thru hike after this weekend if you're interested jakedatc. Starting 10/08 in Newburyport, MA and doing the 220 miles to the southern terminus in like 8-10 days, maybe a few extra. Even if you want to hike for a section would be cool. Feel free to hit me up on my blog or Facebook.
http://www.baycircuit.org/
Are there places to camp along the Bay Circuit Trail?
little to late but godhard shelter and starks nest ski shelter were my two favorite nights on trail...the view from starks nest was amazing...you can see the presidential range in NH...and the upcoming camels hump if your north bound