Vermont Section Hike Start o/a 15 May - Your Thoughts

[Hikerj53]

All,

I did my last 600 mile section and got off in Bennington, VT in early May. I am considering doing the last section this year and starting out on 15 May give or take a day or two. Will the trails be too muddy? Your recommendations please.

LoneStar

[DavidNH]

In a word, Yes.

http://greenmountainclub.org/news.php?id=376

You are best off waiting till Memorial Day weekend to hike the high elevation (over 2000 feet) portions of the LT/AT in VT.

[colorado_rob]

I have no choice on the timing, so I'll be heading into VT (from the south) in about mid-may, we'll see. I'll be ready to quit just as soon as the trail becomes too muddy for both my own and the trail's sake.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Just a FYI, looks to be a longer and later mud season than normal this year http://www.pressherald.com/2015/03/2...ic-mud-season/

That said, I hiked that section the week before Memorial Day a few years back and except for a few sections (mud and flowing water) it was fine. It's mostly going to depend upon the weather from now until then. If it's cool and rainy, the trail will not dry out well. The 10 day forecast for Rutland is for some rain and mostly overcast.

[Hikerj53]

DavidNH,

Thanks for the helpful information and for responding so quickly, sounds like sound advice.

Colorado_Rob

We traded some posts last year about getting to the Colorado Trail start point. Did you get to complete the Camino Frances to Santiago? Was able to get a ride to the Colorado Trail start point from Denver last summer. Hope to do that again along with the Camino.

[Slo-go'en]

I have no choice on the timing, so I'll be heading into VT (from the south) in about mid-may, we'll see. I'll be ready to quit just as soon as the trail becomes too muddy for both my own and the trail's sake.

That will be pretty much day 1. The Long Trail takes a long time to dry out and mid May could be right smack in the middle of the spring rainy season. If it doesn't rain much in the next 3-4 weeks and the spring monsoons don't start up as they usually do in late May and early June, it might be okay. If it's typical spring weather, you will have the most wet and miserable hike possible which even your worst nightmares can't imagine.

[tiptoe]

I hiked the Vermont AT in July, thinking the weather would be perfect. It wasn't. It rained every day for the first week, and learned firsthand why hikers call the state Vermud.

[Slo-go'en]

The problem with the trail in Vermont is that it sits on ledge which doesn't drain very well. Plus there are a lot of depressions scored out by the glaciers which have fill up with soil and don't drain at all. You can go down to your knee in places! Steeper parts of the trail are eroded to bedrock and turn into rivers when it rains. If your not walking in a stream while it's raining, your not on the trail. And watch out for the moss covered rocks - step on those the wrong way and you'll be on your butt before you knew what happened.

[imscotty]

Your comfort aside, it is also destructive to the trails when people hike at these times.

The Green Mountain Club requests that everyone stay off vulnerable trails from April 15th to the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. They offer the following guidelines...


Mud Season Hiking Guidelines

• Walk through the mud, not around it! If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back, and seek an alternative area to hike.
• Hike in the lower-elevation hardwood forest (unless it is muddy!) with southern exposure (south facing slopes dry out first in Spring).
• Avoid the spruce-fir (conifer) forests at higher elevations.
• The State of Vermont closes all trails on state land including those on Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield from April 15 until the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Please do not hike in these fragile areas.
  
  • Also avoid: Stratton Mountain, Killington Peak, Lincoln Ridge (Mount Ellen to Appalachian Gap), Jay Peak.

[burger]

I think that it's a little ridiculous that some hikers (like one posting above) think they know better than the trail maintaining clubs. You always have a choice on the timing--no one is forcing anyone to hike on the AT in Vermont.

If the trail maintainers are asking you to stay off the trial before Memorial Day, then do it. Don't mess up the trail for future hikers. Geez.

[Traveler]

With the cold winter we just had, there is still ice just under the surface of the ground that is compounding the normal drainage problems on the LT. There are still areas of trail that have snow/ice on them even given the warming weather. The Green Mountain Club, who maintains the LT along with other trails has asked hikers to avoid upland (higher elevation) trails until late May. The state has officially closed trails from April 15 - May 22 (Friday before Memorial Day that include most all of the high peaks of VT.

Responsible people stay clear of these conditions until the ground is firm enough to carry weight.

"Vermont— Today the Green Mountain Club, maintainer and protector of Vermont’s Long Trail released its annual message advocating responsible use of hiking trails from mid-April until Memorial Day weekend; warmer temperatures and a substantial winter snowpack have made Vermont’s hiking trails wet, muddy, and especially prone to erosion. Hikers walking on saturated soils or on the sides of trails cause irreversible erosion and damage surrounding vegetation of our beloved Green Mountains.

The State of Vermont officially closes high elevation trails on state lands from April 15 through the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. These lands include: Coolidge State Forest, Camel’s Hump State Park, Mansfield State Forest, Long Trail State Forest and Jay State Forest.

Trails on the Green Mountain National Forest are not officially closed, but the USDA Forest Service asks hikers to avoid muddy higher elevation trails like the Long Trail until Memorial Day weekend."

[Lyle]

"The Green Mountain Club requests that everyone stay off vulnerable trails from April 15th to the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. "

Like how the time frame coincides with the holiday weekend. Can't cut into the tourism industry.

[colorado_rob]

Thanks for all that good VT AT info, my expectations just went from "maybe" to "almost certainly not".

I think that it's a little ridiculous that some hikers (like one posting above) think they know better than the trail maintaining clubs. You always have a choice on the timing--no one is forcing anyone to hike on the AT in Vermont.

If the trail maintainers are asking you to stay off the trial before Memorial Day, then do it. Don't mess up the trail for future hikers. Geez.

I feel so ashamed, except for the fact that I have as high of trail ethics as anyone, and I thought I clearly said I would NOT hike on the trail if conditions as such that I would do trail damage. Geez. And no, I have no choice on my timing for being in those parts. I have a family and considerations there that give me a particular window to hike for about a month, starting in NJ and heading north. I plan on going until trail conditions (not some generic policy) tell me to stay off. I now don't expect to get into VT, and that's fine, as I said.

[rubyvermonter]

I am a GMC member and volunteer trip leader. I have led a particular hike (elevation 1200 to 1400') the last week-end in April or first weekend in May. I hiked this trail yesterday and could have used snow shoes as there were extensive areas of soft, deep snow, some with running water underneath. Other parts of the trail were dry as expected. I am postponing the hike. It is going to be a long mud season.

[Jeff]

Always get a kick out of this YouTube video....Hiking in Vermont. And this was in July !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSVK8ZIv9QQ

[4eyedbuzzard]

Always get a kick out of this YouTube video....Hiking in Vermont. And this was in July !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSVK8ZIv9QQ

Looks a lot like the section I hiked headed north out of Goddard Shelter one rainy day. Then again, a lot of the AT in VT looks like that in the rain . . .

[peakbagger]

The swampy section In eastern NY is going to be a trial even before you get to VT. I hiked NY in late april and remember a couple of stretches where the bridges were floating in a wetland and several long walks down in drainages. Boot sucking mud. Somewhere In mass (near the Shays Rebellion monument) we had to blue blazé along an old AT route as the trail was under water for an extended distance.