The Green Dress is Back

It's been nearly a year since I finished my Appalachian Trail thru hike and I've been inundated with memories from my trip - facebook, instagram, and google all like to remind me where I was at this time last year. I decided instead of vacationing at the family cabin in Maine this summer I would head back to the Green Mountains of Vermont and finish the Long Trail.

The Long Trail is the oldest long distance hiking trail in the U.S., built between 1910 and 1930. It runs north-south 273 miles through the state of Vermont along the ridge of the Green Mountains and is considered the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail. The AT and the Long Trail coincide for about 105 miles, from the VT/MA border to just north of Route 4 near Killington/Rutland before the AT turns east towards New Hampshire and the LT continues another ~168 miles to the Canadian border.

By the time I got to Vermont last year I had been used to hiking 20+ miles a day - I had my routine down and my legs were in shape. This year I have the benefit of triathlon/marathon training, but I'm not sure how that compares. I do remember being mentally burnt out by that point in my AT thru hike so hopefully being fresh on the trail will be reinvigorating. My trail buddy Strider, who I hiked with from New York to Katahdin on my thru hike last year, will be joining me so it'll be nice to have a familiar face with me.

I'll be dropped off at Route 4, just south of the Maine Junction where the trails split. Because two weeks is about as long as I can take off from work at one time (without asking for any special favors like I did for the 5.5 months off last year) I will be on a tight timeline to complete the miles. The Sunday before I'll be doing a half Ironman triathlon in Ohio, and the weekend after I'll be heading to Minneapolis to attend Coors' wedding (a member of my 2018 AT thru hike trail family). I had very little wiggle room in my start and end dates which means I have about 8-9 days to complete the hike, requiring me to hike 18-21 miles a day for a little over a week straight. If that weren't enough, everything I've read says that the second half of the LT is a lot more challenging than the first half.

LT/AT Split - 2018 Appalachian Trail Thru Hike

I did not replace much of my gear - only new items are trail runners (and Super Feet insoles), sleeping pad (since I had three leak on me last year), pillow, and water filtration. Even though I really hate my Big Agnes tent I figured I'd only be out there for a little over a week so I'd just deal with it. It had been stored away since last September but at least the smell had slightly improved. My dad agreed to drop Strider and I off on Route 4 in Killington on Tuesday, July 30th and pick us up near the Canadian border on either the 7th or 8th of August. The heat and humidity in DC so far this summer has been miserable so I'm looking forward to returning to the mountains. Hoping for dry days and cool nights!