Long Trail Thru-Hike '2003

[RagingHampster]

This summer/fall I'm going to thru-hike the Long Trail from Massachusetts to Canada. I've section hiked alot of it, but I'd like to do it all at once. I'm tempted to hit the trail in late-may, but my past experience with mud and black-flies is screaming at me to wait until the last week of august/first week of september to start. I'm going to aim for 21 days of hiking and 3 or 4 days additional time for zero days/resupply/laundry/etc. Perhaps I will bite the bullet and leave in June. I've yet to decide...

[Hammock Hanger]

I will be hiking from The Inn@ Long Trail to Canada starting June 1, 2003. Due to other commitments I have to brave the black flies. Have a great hike. Make sure you go up top to watch the sunset from Mt Kilington if you get the chance. HH

[DebW]

I too plan to be on the Long Trail this summer. Don't know yet when. One possibility is the first 3 weeks of June with my daughter - she may have the time free between the end of college and start of summer job, but I may have a business trip then. Otherwise maybe mid-summer or September, we'll see... I'll be northbound from MA to Canada.

[Moose2001]

You guys are very brave or tough, don't know which. Last end of May trip I made was Mt. Marcy and Haystack (N.Y Adirondacks). Left the summit at 4 PM and had the most horrendous trip down I've ever had in my life. I was swarmed by black flies. In my eyes, in my ears, in my mouth. I was covered in bites. Deet was nothing but an appitizer for them. Anymore I just concede the Spring to the black flies and hike later in the year.

[stranger]

I thru-hiked the Long Trail a while back and I wouldn't go out their in May or June, blackflies will destroy you. I left MA in Mid July and still had problems with blackflies in the beginning. Keep in mind that sections of the LT like Mansfield and Camels Hump are closed until June 1st due to mud. September would be a great time to hike. Good luck!

[RagingHampster]

I've been thinkning... (watch out).

I'm 20 years old and have finished my first year of engineering. Last summer I ditched school, got a good job, paid bills, and started to save for traveling. I'm staying at my moms house so bills are minimal (allowing me to save big $). I bought a van, and prepped it for a cross-country trip (and possible mexico excursion). I planned on hoarding cash, and then living off it for a year or so while traveling around to hike all over the US.

Well my equipment & vehicle are all up to spec, I'm now building my cash hoard. But I'm wavering now. I planned on working until april of 2004, and then taking off. I'm now considering working until july of this year, and then quitting. I would have enough cash to thru-hike the long trail this summer/fall, the Metacomet Monadnock trail in fall/winter, and then attempt an appalachian trail thru-hike in spring of 2004 (along with enough $ to pay bills up until my AT departure). I feel this would be a better way to spend my time and money, and the two short thru-hikes totaling roughly 400miles combined would help prepare me for the big one in the spring. Right now I'm working 12hrs/6days a week (nights) living like a dog. I only have sunday for hiking. I'm not sure if living like this for another year and a half is worth the money, or my time for a 1 year sprint. I could always section/thru hike the PCT after resting from my appalachian attempt. I also have 9 days paid vac to use up, which would allow me to hit some places out west this spring before I quit.

My mind is going to explode! 7 months (6.5 actually) and then extensive thru-hiking? Or 15 months of hell and hit the road... HELP!

[RagingHampster]

Well I have decided on my own :D

I just talked to my boss. I'm friends with him, and gave him the advance warning of my quitting on July 31st, 2003! I'm going to become a trail-bum living off my reserves until I run out of cash!

I'm ditching the cross-country trip (for now) in favor of multiple thru-hikes throughout the upcoming year and a half.

Hoo-Ray!

Tentative Hikes...

Monday August 4th, 2003 - ThruHike M-M Trail S to N.
Monday August 25th, 2003 - ThruHike LongTrail S to N.
Monday October 5th, 2003 - ThruHike M-M Trail N to S.
Sometime in DEC/JAN ThruHike M-M Trail Again during Snow.
Winter section hikes of the Catamount trail in VT.

And the big momma...

Monday March 29th, 2004 - Attempt ThruHike of Appalachian Trail S to N!

[DebW]

RagingHampster.

What's the big attraction with the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail? Just curious for your reasons. I've done 30 miles of the Midstate Trail but doesn't seem like it contains adequate campsites for a thru-hike. Is the M-M better in this regard? I do have the M-M guidebook and have been on it around Mt. Holyoke.

The Catamount looks interesting. I'd love to do a long stretch of it on skis someday. But it appears that trail is partly a ploy by commercial xc ski resorts - it goes through lots of them and they make you pay to traverse their trails. Ugh! I hate machine-packed xc trails.

[RagingHampster]

I really enjoy the M-M trail. This is my main place of hiking during the winter (ie. I've hiked up Mt. Grace 8 times in the past 5 weeks). It's accessible, reasonably maintained, and has nice views of central mass, the berkshires, southern new hampshire, and even the lowlands of eastern mass via firetowers & clear cut portions on summits. A guy I work with also lives 15ft from the trail in Northfield, so his house is a great place to stop for some chow. His driveway/dirt road is the one you hike up from south mountain road on. You can see the berkshires from his front yard on a nice day.

It's mostly large flat stretches dotted with steep uphills. For instance Monadnock rises 2000 feet in two miles. I actually haven't hiked much on the southern portion, I've hiked almost all of the northern portion though. I live close to it, so it's like hiking in my backyard. It's alot easier to get to in the winter than the long trail for an afternoon 4mi snowshoe or something along those lines (for me anyways). Rt 2 W can be awfully trecherous west of Greenfield (where I live, and the easiest access route to North Adams).

I just posted a couple of pictures in the gallery of the M-M below Mt. Grace.

[Bandana Man]

RagingHamster, congratulations on your decision! Hope you will post your adventures here and/or at trailjournals.com so that all of us can follow along. I'm happy for you...and...a little envious, too!

The Berkshires are so beautiful. First time I stepped on the AT was south of Mount Everett (sp?). In 2000, My wife and I spent our 21st anniversary at Race Brook Lodge, a real nice B&B. We day-hiked on the blueblazed Race Brook Trail to the AT, followed the AT north to Everett, and then returned to the B&B by the same route.

July will be here before you know it!

[Redbeard]

Raging Hampster
Be carefull of what you tell your employer! Sure, I thought I was buddies with mine, gave advanced notice, and then subsequently got replaced, leaving me short on cash. The funny thing is, my replacement got arrested with DUI right in front of my employers gate a week after they hired him!