The Vermont Long Trail, Part 2 Day 1

Dad and I, VT Route 4

Dad was nice enough to drive Strider and I the three and a half hours to VT Route 4 between Killington and Rutland to begin our hike up the Long Trail to Canada. It was just after 1:00PM on Tuesday, July 30th when we got back on trail in the heat of the day. When I put my pack on I could barely buckle my waist strap - I was a lot skinnier the last time I had put my pack on. The car thermometer read 91 degrees as we crossed the highway and into the woods at Long Trail mile 104.5. There was an easy mile of walking before we got the Maine Junction where the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail split, but I was dripping with sweat almost immediately. There was one hiker sitting just beyond the split on the AT which would be the only other hiker we saw that day until we got to camp. The Long Trail was definitely going to feel empty compared to the AT.


At the junction we followed the white blazes to the left rather than to the right and hiked together for a short while. We were walking and chatting when I stepped on a small stick and rolled my ankle. I winced in pain and thought about how Dad probably wasn't even halfway back to the cabin and I had already injured myself. It initially hurt to put any weight on it but what was there to do but keep moving forward...I kept walking and after a minute or so I could walk normally. I think my feet hadn't grown into my shoes yet. I tried to be careful about my foot placement from then on but still almost rolled my ankle half a dozen more times.

Strider and I, VT Route 4

We took a break at the shelter about five miles into the day - it was 3:00PM, we had only been hiking for about two hours and I was drenched and felt out of shape. As we hiked through the afternoon we could hear thunder in the distance. It got louder and more frequent as the afternoon continued. The miles weren't very difficult but I was moving slowly. The trail went up and down but the terrain wasn't terribly difficult and there were no serious climbs, basically we were just walking in the woods.

Around 6:00PM with about half a mile to go before camp I could hear rain start to fall. The tree canopy was thick enough that for awhile it was protecting me from the rain drops, but as it started falling harder I started getting hit. I was not ready to get my shoes, clothes, or pack wet so I started to quicken my pace, while trying not to hurt my ankle. The wind was picking up, the temperature was dropping and the thunder was getting louder so I began jogging down the trail. I arrived at David Logan shelter after 13 miles (LT mile 117.5) still dry at the end of day one and considered that a success. There were two other NOBO LT hikers in the shelter and Strider and I claimed the top bunks. I had cold soaked ramen for dinner and was in bed by 7:30PM.

Maine Junction, LT/AT Split (LT Mile 105.5, AT Mile 1,740)

After day 1 we had 153.1 miles to go until the Canadian border. We knew that the terrain was going to get harder the further north we hiked and planned a big day for Wednesday, July 31 thinking it would probably be our last chance to do over 20 miles. It was going to be a challenging week, but I was happy to be back in the woods where my only job was walking, I could detach from the 24-hour news cycle, and my only enemies were the bugs. I fell asleep listening to the rain, my alarm was set for 5:30AM, Early Bird style.

David Logan Shelter