Getting to Northern Terminus from the Inn at the Long Trail on Rt 4

Hi All,

My wife and I are planning on hiking the AT SOBO this year. We had the crazy idea of adding an additional 175miles to our hike by heading up to the Northern Terminus of the LT from RT 4 at the Long Trail to knock out two trails during our 'vacation from life'. I was looking at shuttle options on the GMC website and found a few in N. Troy, but didn't know if anyone had any recommendations or info of ones that are reliable/non-reliable. If you do, do you have an estimate of what it would cost for a shuttle of that length? Happy Trails!

Love your idea Braveheart. You must really enjoy backpacking if 2190 miles isn't enough for you. : ) I don't have any recommendations but I've heard rule of thumb is $1-$2 per mile for long shuttles but obviously I would ask up front. If you end up doing it please report back. I'd be interested. Good luck!

Cheap buses up to at least burlington as an option to cut the distance in half. it's a nice town to spend a night

If you can get a cheap bus to to Burlington, then you can get a cheap bus to St Albans, then a commuter bus to Richford and hitch the ~10 miles or so to the trail. Hike north to the border about 2.5 miles, then turn around and head south to the Inn.

The only downside is that it might take 2 days because of bus schedules. I found the folks at GMT very helpful on the phone. http://ridegmt.com/

Adding to the Burlington thing... if you're doing it on a weekday, contact the Inn at North Troy for a possible "free" ride to North Troy. The husband who co-owns the Inn in North Troy works in Burlington, commuting every day, at least as of last fall. Another WB member, Queen of the MST and myself used this free ride service, though we both flipped him a 20-spot each for a gratuity. He gets off work at something like 3pm. He picked us up at the Burlington airport, though I would suspect the bus terminal can't be too far away.

We did stay at the N. troy Inn, $50/night with breakfast, and the next morning the lady owner gave us a ride close to the north terminus trailhead (she didn't want to drive the rough last mile).

here's the inn:

http://northtroyinn.com/

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Originally Posted by colorado_rob

Adding to the Burlington thing... if you're doing it on a weekday, contact the Inn at North Troy for a possible "free" ride to North Troy. The husband who co-owns the Inn in North Troy works in Burlington, commuting every day, at least as of last fall. Another WB member, Queen of the MST and myself used this free ride service, though we both flipped him a 20-spot each for a gratuity. He gets off work at something like 3pm. He picked us up at the Burlington airport, though I would suspect the bus terminal can't be too far away.

We did stay at the N. troy Inn, $50/night with breakfast, and the next morning the lady owner gave us a ride close to the north terminus trailhead (she didn't want to drive the rough last mile).

here's the inn:

http://northtroyinn.com/

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That is a long daily commute, especially in the winter.

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Originally Posted by swisscross

That is a long daily commute, especially in the winter.

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Yep, and we talked about that very thing a lot on the drive. Long drive even in the summer. Nice guy, I cannot remember his name though.

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Originally Posted by swisscross

That is a long daily commute, especially in the winter.

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Depressingly not a lot of full time jobs in Northern VT, a lot of folks drive a lot of miles for commutes. I worked for a firm in the area several years ago and the typical commute was 60 miles one way with the folks in my office. Folks tend to buy their homes and stay in them even though they end up switching jobs. The areas like Burlington where there are jobs have very high housing prices so folks tend to buy way out of town where they can find cheaper housing. Northern VT is nice place to live (if you like four seasons) but tough place to make a living. Things were looking up with all sorts of jobs in the Newport Area but it all turned out to be multimillion dollar scam.

You can also hitch. I hitched from the Long Trail Inn back up to the north end and I averaged 40 miles an hour. Crazy I know.


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I did that exact route (in the opposite direction) after finishing the LT last summer. It worked like a charm. I left Richford before dawn and was in Rutland by lunch (transfers in St. Alban's, Burlington, and Middlebury). I think it cost a grand total of about $5.50 (maybe even less).

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Originally Posted by bigcranky

If you can get a cheap bus to to Burlington, then you can get a cheap bus to St Albans, then a commuter bus to Richford and hitch the ~10 miles or so to the trail. Hike north to the border about 2.5 miles, then turn around and head south to the Inn.

The only downside is that it might take 2 days because of bus schedules. I found the folks at GMT very helpful on the phone. http://ridegmt.com/

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Just be aware that the bus from St. Albans to Richford only runs in the late afternoon (unless that's changed in the last three years). However the buses are stored in St. Albans, and leaves for Richford about 4:30am. The first run of the day is from Richford back to SA.

If you let the transit office know the day before, the driver will pick you up early when they leave for Richford

At the end of my LT Nobo thru hike last year, I was very lucky to have a local pick me up, put me up for the night and the next day drive me to my car parked at the Inn at Long Trail. Great way to end a great hike on a great trail.