[at-l] Green Mountain Gallavanting (longish!)

[Paul A Magnanti <pmags@juno.com>]

  Just returned from a three week trip on  an end to end hike on
Vermont's Long Trail.

For those not familiar with this trail, it is the oldest long distance
hiking trail in the country,  extending from the Mass/VT line to the
Canadian Border, a total of 270 miles.  For approx 100 miles, the LT and
the AT share the same trail. Some old time Vermonters suggest that the AT
is that "2000 mile side trail" :)

   I was blessed by the weather gods on this trip. Could not believe all
the sunshine I had!

Southern Vermont is where the AT starts to get rugged again (or stops
depending on your way of traveling).  The ups and downs, the pines, and
the and more isolated feel of the trail is a taste of what is to come. 
Was surprised at the amount of thru-hikers already in Vermont at this
time of the year (started June 2nd).  A few recongnized me from Trail
Days, and hung out with a few in Manchester Center. 

  Once past the Maine Junction, (where the LT and the AT split), the LT
becomes a different trail. Itis more isolated, more rugged, and in my
opinion- more beautiful. 
Went for two days without seeing anyone... Literally.

  The Monroe Skyline, sandwhiched between the above treeline peaks of Mt.
Abraham and Camel's hump, is a classic trek. Can only imagine what the
foliage would look like in the fall.   Camel's Hump is one of my favorite
mountains to climb. On a clear day, which I had, you can see the
Adironadacks, the Whites, Lake Champlain,  the mountains in Canada, and
the southern Green Mountains. Incredible.  And it is an undeveloped
summit!
    Another highlight for me was talking to someone  from Ft. Collins, CO
 while I was on Mt. Mansfield (VT's highest point).  She painted a
glowing picture of where I will be living. starting in August.

Reached the border yesterday.  Odd to see the clearcut and the small
granite marker in the middle of the woods and think "Hey..there's Canda
five feet away!".  Don't tell the border patrol, but I was in Canada for
a good half an hour illegally. :)

  All in all, it was good to be in the woods again.  Felt like a
homecoming. Even though it was not the AT, it was the mountains. Seems
like any hiking trail is home now.  Anything else is just time between
hikes. ;-)


  On a gear weenie note, this trip allowed me to test out some new gear. 
I switched to a a Scirrocco 55 from Camptrails. This 3200 CI pack weighs
in at 2 lb 12 oz! 
Was able to fit in five days of food with no problem.

The other big change was changing my cookset.

Previouisly I had an MSR stainless steel pot, pot holder,  and a
whisperlight stove.

Now I use: aluminum pot from Walmart, tin foil windscreen,  oven liner
for a pot cover,. small bandanna for a  pot holder, and a homemade
alcohol stove using Jim Mayer's excllent "two tuna can" model.  
Jim...kudos to you!   This stove worked quite well. 
One ounce of  denatured alcohol did the trick, and cooked my meal in five
minutes. Got quite a few odd looks from hikers until they saw how quiet
and well this little stove worked. 

So between my new pack, and the new cookset I shaved at least five pounds
off my pack weight. Not too shabby.   My pack probably weighs (with food
and water) no more than thirty pounds now.. Woo hoo!   My old pack setup
weighed  26 lbs w/o food and water, so this is just a guesstimate on the
new weight..


 Now, come this  Monday June 28th, will be on another long distance hike.
This hike will take me through a wild, I mean very wild. mountainous
area..... Rhode Island! :)
Yep, doing my home states very own, brandspanking new, 80 mile foot path.
 The North South Trail. 
Sure...it is no AT.....has elevation gains of 200-300 feet, has scenic
views of oh... up to a mile.. but it does go over a covered bridge,
through old farms, by old one room school houses ,  skirts around  scenic
ponds..and it ends on quiet beach on  the Atlantic Ocean...  AND, the
northern terminus connects to the Massachussets trail system, which
connects to the New Hampshie trail system. So if you really want...you
can hike form the Atlantic to Canada, not too shabby...

Ok, I have stinky gear to sort, laundry to do, and some real food to eat,
and milk to drink!

Magaroni

LT '97 & '99
AT GA-ME '98
BINGO  '83  (3rd grade)  at St. Vincent De Paul Elementary School annual 
Xmas Bazzar.
 (The nuns were nice to us once in awhile.... :D )
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