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  1. #1
    There are 10 types of people: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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    Default Input requested for LT southbound hike next month

    I’m looking for advice and general thoughts regarding an upcoming trip.

    Sometime after 06 September I want to hike the Long Trail heading southbound from the northern terminus. I have hiked the AT part of the LT, so I don’t need to do the southernmost section.

    I hunted for threads regarding this subject, and they were fairly old, possibly making the responses obsolete.


    Here’s the plan:

    Drive from home to the airport in Lebanon, NH early morning to avoid Boston traffic. A friend will fly to Lebanon, pick me up, and deliver me to the airport in Newport, Vermont; then he will fly back to southern New England. From there I will find my way the twenty miles to the trailhead and hike south, back to my car. I expect it will take 20 days. The vagaries of small airplane VFR aviation requires good weather for the trip, so not even my day to begin this adventure is certain.

    I own the 17th edition of the End To Ender’s Guide, published in 2009. I also own the Long Trail Guide, 25th edition, published in 2003.



    So here’s where I need input.


    Should I purchase an updated guides, or shall I rely upon the ones I have?

    The list of north-end shuttlers in the E2E is over 10 years old. Anyone have a recommendation for whom to call for the 20 mile trip from the airport in Newport, VT to the trailhead? I suspect traffic is pretty light, making a hitch an arduous task, and I hate the thought of calling relatives of people who have been dead for years.

    Any shelters must-sees? How about ones I should avoid? The new moon is on 05 September making it set early evening. Any places I might cowboy camp to see the Milky Way?

    How about views on a side trail worthy of a diversion?

    Is the post office in Jonesville still open? I recall plans to close the place, and I think the trail was rerouted in the last several years, but I have no problem hiking the old route past the PO if I can pick up a mail drop.

    I plan my first resupply in Johnson on Day 5. The E2E Guide indicates there are no hotels in town. Has that changed?

    Alternatively, my first resupply will be in Stowe. I read that there are several lodgings available as well as a supermarket. Any recommendations of first-supply strategy?

    After that, I have no firm plans for resupply food, fuel, and spirits. As all hiking plans are useless after Day One on the trail, has anyone have suggestions for subsequent resupply? If timing permits, I hope for an overnight at the Inn At The Long Trail.

    On previous trips I didn’t bring rain gear. I have a light swimming suit (not quite the size of Larry Bird gym shorts, but close—I would not wear them into town) that I wear, and I wear the stinkiest shirt I have in rainy weather. I do have a Gore Tex jacket. Bring the jacket, or roll with the soaked to the bone strategy?

    I forget which Heet I need to buy for my stove—red or yellow?



    Some details worth mentioning:

    I picked Lebanon as my hike’s finish because long ago I did an AT LASH, fell behind schedule, and skipped the AT between route 4 and Hanover, so this trip will fill in the 40-some miles between the Inn and Dartmouth College of the AT.

    I turned 60 last year. Reasonably good shape. Experienced at long distance hiking.

    Planning to rely on shelters, but will carry a flat Sil tarp just in case. Alcohol stove. Aqua Mira. Will use my aging GoLite Gust pack one last time before replacement. I’m a lightweight hiker, but certainly not a gram weenie.

    I’d rather carry four or five days of food/fuel and skip the hitch/hike into town only every two or three days. While I have no issues with the safety of hitching, I’m a bit self-conscious of my aroma in a stranger’s car. Besides, time to, from, and in town costs daylight. I have never resupplied in a town market, but have used mail drops and understand the timing issues this presents.

    I think my Marmot Pounder bag (optimistically rated at 40f) will not be adequate; I have a down bag rated at 35f that I plan to use. I also have a Marmot Helium, but I think that’s overkill. Thoughts?

    I am not a speedy hiker, but have no problem breaking camp 30 mins after dawn and hiking past dusk. Slow and steady gets me the miles. That and Advil.





    So here’s the part where I sit back and await your insightful replies. Next year I hope to do the same regarding advice of the Colorado Trail.
    Give me a mile of trail and I can show you the forest. Give me a mile of runway and I can show you the world.
    Long Trail Completed 2021.
    Collegiate Loop 2022

  2. #2
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Some GUMPS checklist info/suggestions for your LT hike:


    Jonesville post office is open 12:45 to 4:45 daily, 8 to 10:30 Sat. Mail everywhere is really slow. Priority (2 or 3 day) is taking up to a week (or even more), especially to rural PO's.

    Bring the rain jacket, not just for rain but wind and cold as well. Soaked to the bone and shivering wouldn't be a good thing at the end of a cold rainy day in mid Sept.

    Lots of college outings and locals especially on weekends in Sept., don't plan on shelter space being available late in the day and/or when you most need it. I'd personally want more than a tarp, but your experience level and skill is paramount in making that decision.

    A quality 35° bag like a WM or similar true to its rating should be good.

    Yellow HEET. It's methanol and burns clean. The red is Isopropyl and will smoke badly.

    Don't forget COVID necessities - facemask, vaccination card or photo of card on phone if you are vaccinated, just in case restrictions are reinstated. Cases are sharply on the rise in VT even though the state vac. rate is 75%. Add that many drivers, who might not otherwise pick up a hitchhiker, would be more inclined to do so for someone with a pack if they see a mask under the chin ready to pull up.

    I'd spring for Guthooks LT guide on the phone, as it will have the absolute most current info vs. the hard copy versions - an important consideration these days. https://atlasguides.com/long-trail-map/

    Oh, yeah, I'm a bit Jealous. You picked a truly scenic time of year to hike the LT. Have a great hike.
    Last edited by 4eyedbuzzard; 08-27-2021 at 18:53.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  3. #3

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    There aren't many places to get resupplied, Johnson is one. Richmond on RT2 just before the Hump is usually an easy hitch.
    You should plan on going shelter the shelter. That whole northern section is on private or state land and camping is only permitted at designated sites (and for good reason, as it's pretty much physically impossible any where else).

    There well could be large groups of collage kids, but they generally avoid the shelters and sleep under a big tarp near-by. Unless it's raining, then all bets are off.

    A couple of shelters got moved, but I believe that was more then 10 years ago since the last one changed locations, so your old guides should be fine.
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  4. #4
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    Default

    when I did the sobo EtoE a while back, around the same time you are planning, I had no problems with shelter space. The weather was nice and crisp, and the leaves just starting to change as I walked south. A beautiful hike. I'm jealous also

  5. #5
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Form North to South:
    water source at Shooting Star is unreliable
    water at Laura Woodward is a beautiful spring
    water at Roundtop is very unreliable (reliably unreliable?), fill up at the brook in Codding Hollow if you plan to stay there - next water sobo is about a mile further
    Johnson Farm & Hardware, on the way to Johnson (only about a half mile from the LT), may have enough to resupply and save you the trip the rest of the way into town
    There's no water between Whiteface shelter and Sterling Pond
    When you get S. of Camel's Hump, take the Allis trail in wind gap
    Cooley Glen shelter is in rough shape
    Emily Proctor shelter is closed for rehab

  6. #6
    There are 10 types of people: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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    I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks for the water and bad shelter report. Does anyone have Intel on the current shuttler's list? Or where to point me for info?
    Give me a mile of trail and I can show you the forest. Give me a mile of runway and I can show you the world.
    Long Trail Completed 2021.
    Collegiate Loop 2022

  7. #7
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Funkmeister View Post
    I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks for the water and bad shelter report. Does anyone have Intel on the current shuttler's list? Or where to point me for info?
    You could try one of these (unsure how current this list is): https://www.longtrailvermont.com/trail/

    Or, http://www.jaywayjitney.com/transport.html

    Or, Uber says it is $40 from NE Kingdom airport to Journey's End Rd. (I'd make sure in advance)
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  8. #8
    Registered User gravityman's Avatar
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    Default

    Bring the warmer bag.
    Tenting is hard on the LT (very overgrown) and few people using that northern part, your plan is solid.
    Enjoy, all views are worth the hike off trail, because there are very few on trail.

  9. #9
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Default

    Another detour worth taking - the Clara Bow trail in Nebraska Notch. A mini Mahoosuc Notch.

  10. #10
    There are 10 types of people: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deadeye View Post
    Another detour worth taking - the Clara Bow trail in Nebraska Notch. A mini Mahoosuc Notch.

    Yea...maybe. I did the Mahoosuc Notch years ago. That was a once-and-done event for me. Just like the Tripiramid hike I did a few days ago.
    Give me a mile of trail and I can show you the forest. Give me a mile of runway and I can show you the world.
    Long Trail Completed 2021.
    Collegiate Loop 2022

  11. #11
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    A list of LT shuttle services is here:
    https://www.longtrailvermont.com/trail/
    I used Carlene Squires for a shuttle from the northern terminus south to Rt. 2 this summer and recommend her highly.
    Resupply at the hardware store in Johnson. They accept mail drops but also have backpacking food, etc. They are super hiker friendly and it is only about 0.1 mile off the trail - just follow the rail trail towards town and you will see it across Rt. 15. I don't believe there is lodging in Johnson but several hikers I talked to stayed at Nye's Green Valley Farm in Jeffersonville and really liked it. They will pick you up and return you to the trail.
    For what it's worth, the pump at Roundtop Shelter was running when I was there in late July. Just ask Nobo's for up-to-date info when you are on the trail.
    Puffer Shelter offers a great view to the east so is a god place to watch a sunrise if the weather is nice.
    Don't underestimate the difficulty of the northern stretch of the LT. It is a beast, especially for older hikers (60 here also).

    Have a great hike!

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