I am attempting a nobo Long Trail thru hike in August. I have two questions- when do the AT thru hikers usually go through southern VT? and is there anyone out there hiking the long trail at a similar time? Also, any tips, suggestions or warnings are definitely appreciated.
Vermontah
The majority of ATers come through VT mid July to mid August. The LT is very safe although after the Long Trail Inn on Rte 4, you will not be seeing many other hikers. This is a beautifu hike especially as you get further North. I live on the LT/AT just south of Killington and get to see lots of hikers. Have a good hike.
Marti /Swannee
You’ll see lot’s of AT thru hikers. When I thru hiked the AT, I started at Springer in late March and was on the LT/AT in early July and at that time I was slightly ahead of what I guessed to be the bulk of that year’s thru hikers. I really enjoyed meeting LT hikers, they had great attitudes and made for good company at night–made me want to see the northern section some day. I never ran into space issues at shelters/camp sites and I usually came in later in the evening.
Jason
I went from Canada border to the face (chin, forehead, nose etc… funny how I can’t memember the mtn’s name) during august when I got chased off the trail by a strange hurricane. I was hobbling by that time, making the mistake of thinking it was a “trailrunner appropriate” trail…10 more seconds, I would have missed a ride out with my shelter family companions. LT is so old, that all the dirt has washed off the rock faces so you find yourself rock climbing & using tree limbs like Tarzan to swing down below the rocks. That being said, northbounders find a few days reprieve of well groomed dirt trail south of Jay’s peak. I bought the smallest guidebook was plenty, it being fairly well marked, except on the ski slopes. Hearing the word lodge, I expected fancy Yellowstone like hotels. funny that they were tiny to medium sized cabins! It is so slippery & difficult that it is easy peasy 2get hurt & often walking sticks are useless. (I thought my hand would never stop being numb from a fall on a mossy boulder). The smart hikers have what looks like tiny daypacks that allows them to hike fast & get to the “lodges” & cabins b4 they fill up, as they can do in August. I barely got squeezed into the one below the chin as a big crop of U of Vt’ers had come up for their pre-school hazing ritual. The “Face” (Mt. Mansfield now I remember) was crawling with tourists & I met quite a few of the trail runners who help out hikers & also man the lodges & do trail maintenance. Burlington-Montpelier has a weekday commuter bus that you can catch mornings & evenings at a park & ride not too far from the trail if they haven’t already built the hiker bridge to reroute it up to the pyramid. Burlington hostel is a bit weird, like a huge warehouse, & in summer, every single bed in town can be reserved especially on festival days. The EMS over by the mall is excellent (I fixed their running toilet).
inchworm plumber
Last year I hiked a section of the LT the third week of July. Starting in North Adams and hiking north I’d say most of the other hikers I met were AT thru hikers. We LT hikers joked that you could tell the AT thru hikers because they were in a “zone of their own”. I guess four months or so on the trail can do things to you that only can be understood by those doing. It sure was fun talking to some of them. Like 86 year old Zeus, oldest thru hiker I ever met. He said he just sets a goal every day and tries to achieve it. I hope I can do as well at 86.
I’ll be finishing my section hike of the LT in July and will be hiking from Prospect Rock near Manchester nobo to Jonesville. I’ve already hiked the northern sections. It only took me 10 years!
Rabbit Beard