Long Trail Trek

“Count me in for something. I'm 99% sure I'll be able to come out for a long weekend, at least. :-)”

“Like ya were for FYAO IV?”

“HEY!

that wasn't my fault... all my friends bailed on me... :-(”

“Now that we've heard from ped and he's changed the trip to August '05 - what say we wait and hike with him instead?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Wow - I hadn't noticed this thread until today. Y'all are great!”

“"sheesh, the things a guys gotta do to get a good turnout

:o)"

AmyG
04:45:07 PM
02/18/04



<SMILES>”

“Ped,

Do you plan on bp'ing the whole thing?”

“"HEY!

that wasn't my fault... all my friends bailed on me... :-("
tarabull
05:36:59 PM

I'm so mean...>8^[
(sorry, Tara)

I don't think I'll be doing any of the Long Trail this year.

Maybe next year boys and girls.”

“BB: My plan for this year was to backpack the whole thing, I definitely had it set so I could afford to take the time off. I'm not sure what I'll be able to do next year, but I'm hoping I can backpack the whole thing.”

“we'll all be with you, one way or another, D.
:)”

“are you guys all friends? you seem to know each other... is this trip open to anyone? i'm new to the site so i'm trying to figure out how this all works.”

“Whar ya live sugardaddy?

Are we friends? Well some of us, actually no, just a few of us, well make that no. Good question.

By golly, yes this trip is open to everyone. You find a trip you are interested in and either sign up as a yes or a maybe.

Then you go to where the trip coordinator tells you to go to meet.

Any more questions? Speak your mind and your arse will follow.”

“The trip is definitely open to you. Trips that aren't are hidden and you need an invite, so if you see the trip you can come. The date isn't set in stone - but I am determined to do it this summer (an accident kept me from doing it in 2004).

It doesn't hurt to sign yourself up as a "maybe" - then as plans firm up, I'll be able to keep you posted.”

“Great, thanks guys! I live in MA. My boyfriend's little bro thru-hiked 2 years ago, his name is trailblazed. He had such a great time and really inspired me to get going. I have only day hiked, but I camp as often as possible. This year I got a pack and I'm siked to get out there in 2005. I'm going to plan a few weekend trips this spring/summer, so I'll sign up as a maybe and hopefully will be experienced enough to join the trip in August!”

“Great..! I suggest watching for other smaller trips in the meantime. But you probably already thought of that.
last edited: 1/05/05 7:48:53 AM”

“"have only day hiked, but I camp as often as possible"


Whares CMB when ya need him?


Welcome aboard Sugar.
last edited: 1/05/05 7:52:40 AM”

“Hey all,
I've been hiking over five years but I'm new to backpacking. I would like come on this trip, or part of it. Ped, how long do you think it will take to do the whole thing?”

“Atimus: I think I can get 19 days off to hike it. I'd like to allow 21. I base this on the fact that I got about 14 AT miles a day doing the New Hampshire AT - actually walking was a bit more for side trips, peak bagging and resupply. If my mileage was the same on the LT, it would take 20 days - so I'm hoping to be just a little faster this time.

If you sign on as a maybe, I'll be sure you get the info as soon as my plans firm.”

“Right now I'm thinking I can leave on July 25. I'll try to finish by August 12. If I can, I will take the weekend of August 13/14 off, too - to allow me a couple extra days to finish. I might have to take the bus out to start the trail, so I might only be able to get in a few miles on the 12th.

I still have a few things to line up before I'm sure I can do it those days.”

“Sounds good. My job is pretty flexible with taking time off. I may be able to come along for the whole thing. I'll be waiting for the details.”

“I'm a strong maybe for the whole deal.”

“Who is this Buddha Bear person?

And why do I smell Hi-Karate?”

“Why am I smelling Roman Brio??

I would like to hit this trip on a Thursday through Sunday.

I will need to coordinate with another driver to spot cars.

Failing that I might be able to get someone I know in Randolph Center to drive me to a start point.

Route 125 east Middlebury would be a nice place to finish.”

“That would be July 28-29-30-31 or August 4-5-6-7.”

“MarkO - I'm forgetting. Have your plans firmed?

Which w/e would it be?

I'm starting to get a little more concrete in my planning now.
last edited: 6/11/05 5:36:32 PM”

“Either weekend should work. In the Northern Section, there are fewer road crossings - so communication is tougher - but I'd only be a few days out, so it's a lot easier to commit to a certain pace.

I've got my End-to-Enders guide and am puttin some plans together.”

“Hello !!!

Do you have an idea where you might be on those Thursdays-Fridays?”

“The first Thursday I should end up about 30 miles into the trail. By the next Thursday, I'd hope to be about 130 miles in. I figure a slow start with an steady increase in pace. I could always call on the way if you came the second w/e and give an update on my pace.”

“A little more than thirty miles puts you just west of Johnson at Route 15.

It looks like about 35 miles from there to Route 17 west of Irasville.

If I can pull this off I will drive up on a Wednesday evening and maybe sleep somewhere on the road finishing the drive Thursday morning.

That stretch of the trail will cover Smugglers Notch and Mansfield and Camel's Hump.”

“That's a nice stretch of trail. We could designate a road crossing or a shelter as a meet up point. A shelter might make more sense, since there is a log to leave notes in and, as the term implies, shelter - if the weather is bad.

I suppose if you are going to be there before me, a parking lot would be a good place. I guess we can work out contingencies as your plans firm and the date gets closer.”

“It might be reasonable to expect you to cross Route 15 sometime on Thursday, 28 July.

That might be a good place to lay in wait for you.”

“Sounds good for now. I'll pull out my maps and we can talk about timing. I don't want either of us waiting too long.”

“OK”

“Hi Pedxing,

I just signed up for this hike (we had emailed a few times - my name is Frosty but had to take a different name here).

I have a family reunion on Aug 13, so I will either pre-do the last 50-60 miles of trail, or I will have to step it out the last few days so I can get off the trail at least by Friday Aug 12.

Frosty”

“Frosty,

I just sent an update out to people. Email me at backpacker.com (i.e. pedxing@) and put "long trail" in the subject if you want to cooridinate. It's possible that I'll finish by the 12th.”

“I'm no longer a maybe”

“Excellent!

Frosty is going to start slow, two days ahead of me. He figures I'll catch up to him before long. It might take some luck for us to meet up with him while you and your son are on the trail.”

“Is Frosty doing the whole thing??

He sounds like a cool guy.

I just spoke to my relief man for 28 July.

Yee Haw !!!”

“Frosty does seem like a good guy. He posts a lot on Views From The Top. He's going to try to do the whole thing, but he needs to get off by August 13. Another VFTT'er sounds like a "serious maybe" for putting in some trail time... possibly while you're on the trail.”

“There is a trail reroute near Johnson that might be finished by now. There is no mention of it on the GMC website. I do know they just recently had a dedication of the new footbridge that crosses the Lamomile (sp?) River there and most, if not all, of the reroute had been completed. You could call the GMC for more info.

If you are going to leave cars parked somewhere, don't leave them parked at Journey's End on the north end of the trail.

If you are looking for places to stay when you get off the trail try Sutton's Place in Manchester Center, Inn at Long Trail in Sherburn Pass, Mama & Papa Bower's in Jonesville, and Awesome View Hiker's Hostel in Johnson. All excellent places that I would highly recommend.”

“I wish I had more than three days.

Three days in Vermont are certainly better than none.”

“thanks g!

I'm pleased to say, a very kind soul has offered to give me a ride from White River Junction to Journey's End so I can actually get in a few good hours of hiking on my first day.”

“I stayed at the Inn at the Long Trail on the 4th of July after 3 days on the AT there...definitely worth the stay ~ great food & beer at McGrath's Pub! There's also a free shuttle that runs back and forth to Rutland as well, in case you need to resupply. Course...you probably already know that... ;)”

“Two weeks from now I will be there!!”

“Best of luck to you on the trip. The Long Trail is up there on my to do list and I hope to get a chance to do it within the next few years. Happy hiking.”

“Thanks Zac.”

“and thanks for the review, Lil'gal”

“Hey y'all ~
Have a great time on this trip! BTW, I hiked with Frosty over the 4th of July weekend ~ he's a GREAT guy!!! (you can pay me for that later, Frosty :p) If you're nice to him, you might convince him to twirl and sing Sound of Music songs for you...lol ;)

Can't wait to read your TR. :)”

“LMG you rascal! Did you do the Chuck Keiper? I was thinking about you.

I'm really getting anoyed at the songs from "The SOund of Mucus." Yesterday on Zealand I was singing (mostly to myself, I hope) "I am 16 going on 17."

I just can't get rid of it. I may have to write a mystery story about it. I did that once before when a song wouldn't leave my head (In a bar in Wisconsin, across from Howard Johnson, on a barstool I took off my ring). I also turned OKLAHOMA into a hard-boiled 30's detective story when I couldn't get the wind from sweepin' down my brain :)

Anyway, enough babbling. After another trail hike yesterday, I think I'm going to miss this hike. Although you probably think of me as a massive, powerfully muscled, invincible he-man, the truth is I'm a bit of a wimp, and am afraid to over-stress my knee until it gets stronger. I know. Whatta wuss.

But I may have a chance to do the Northville-Placid Trail in early August. It's damn near flat and just what my knee ordered. Many muscle- and tendon-strengthening days of hiking, and not much downhill stress.

I can't change my status on this hike-trip because I changed my log-in from Frostyhiker to ffrosty. (Frosty was taken, and I joined with Frostyhiker before realizing how lame it was.)

But I guess I ain't gonna make it on the LT this summer.”