Legacy of a Backcountry Builder

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Legacy of a Backcountry Builder The mission of the Green Mountain Club is to make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people by protecting and maintaining the Long Trail System and fostering, through education, the stewardship of Vermont’s hiking trails and mountains. © BRYAN PFEIFFER, WWW.BRYANPFEIFFER.COM PFEIFFER, © BRYAN Quarterly of the River Jewelwing (Calopteryx aequabilis) damselfly Green Mountain Club c o n t e n t s Michael DeBonis, Executive Director Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor Summer 2015, Volume 75, No. 2 Richard Andrews, Volunteer Copy Editor Brian P. Graphic Arts, Design

Green Mountain Club 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road 5 / The Visitor Center:Features A Story of Community Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677 By Maureen Davin Phone: (802) 244-7037 Fax: (802) 244-5867 6 / Legacy of a Backcountry Builder: Matt Wels E-mail: [email protected] By Jocelyn Hebert Website: www.greenmountainclub.org The Long Trail News is published by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., a nonprofit organization found- 11 / Where NOBO and SOBO Meet ed in 1910. In a 1971 Joint Resolution, the Vermont By Preston Bristow Legislature designated the Green Mountain Club the “founder, sponsor, defender and protector of the Long Trail System...” 12 / Dragons in the Air Contributions of manuscripts, photos, illustrations, By Elizabeth G. Macalaster and news are welcome from members and nonmem- bers. Copy and advertising deadlines are December 22 for the spring issue; March 22 for summer; June 22 13 / Different Places, Different Vibes: for fall; and September 22 for winter. Caretaking at Camel’s Hump and Stratton Pond The opinions expressed by LTN contributors and By Ben Amsden advertisers are not necessarily those of GMC. GMC reserves the right to refuse advertising that is not in keeping with the goals of the organization. 14 / 172 Hikers Complete 272-Mile Footpath The Long Trail News (USPS 318-840) is published Through Green Mountains quarterly by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 16 / Water in the Backcountry 05677. Periodicals postage paid at Waterbury Center, VT and additional offices. Subscription is a benefit for GMC members. Approximately $5 of each member’s dues is used to publish the Long Trail News. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Long Trail News, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury 3 / From the President 24–25 / Sections Center, VT 05677. Departments Copyright©2015 The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4 / Mountain Views 26 / Book Review 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. Permission to reproduce in any form any of 18 / Field Notes 27 / Board Report the material in this publication without prior written approval of The Green Mountain Club, Inc. is 19 / Volunteers 28–29 / GMC Outdoor Programs granted only to individuals for their own personal hiking convenience. 20–23 / Trail Mix 31 / Journey’s End

Cover Photo: Crew members Pat O’Brien (l) and Matt Wels (r) working on the Winooski River Footbridge. Photo by Jocelyn Hebert Long Trail News Summer 2015 2 From the President

In Praise of Volunteers fter a fascinating and sometimes challenging winter and spring, summer has arrived. And it feels like it is finally time to do someA serious hiking. We are blessed with the natural beauty of rolling hills, the Green Mountains and the serenity of our hiking trails. Vermont is a small state, but we are lucky to have trails for all ambi- tions and abilities. How fortunate many of us are to live close to so many trails. But it should go without saying, trails do not take care of themselves! Who maintains the 500-plus miles of the Long Trail System, the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, and the Northeast Kingdom Trails? The industrious Green Mountain ROGERS JACKIE Club field crew does—with considerable With each step the quiet of the forest grows deeper. Evergreen help from volunteers. The Long Trail Patrol and the club’s tunnels diminish the thoughts of the world you left behind. backcountry caretakers do terrific work, Silent mountains await your company on the summit. but the volunteers who do regular trail maintenance season after season are the – Ruth and Paul Sandler, 50 hikes backbone of our trails. I am grateful for GMC’s network of trail caretakers and land monitors. These are the folks who Your work is truly appreciated, and we that must be respected and taken into get out every spring, summer and fall to could not do it without you. But please, consideration. We all share a passion for ensure the health and vitality of trails keep track of it, and file reports! trails. In the end, we must find consensus and associated lands. They are truly trail to ensure the stewardship, health and angels. Passing the Gavel in June longevity of the Long Trail. We are all in Trail erosion occurs constantly from Wow, where does the time go? It this together. the footsteps of hikers and our sometimes seems like yesterday I accepted the gavel What a ride this has been for me! In unpredictable weather. Without commit- at the 2012 annual meeting, and became many ways I am sad to see my term end. ted and hardworking volunteers clearing president of the Green Mountain Club. I have loved every minute of it. I will waterbars, blow downs, and the ever At the time I asked myself, how did I get pass the gavel to the new president at encroaching brush, our trails would soon here? Do I have what it takes to assume the 105th Green Mountain Club Ann ual become overgrown, and vanish into the this great responsibility? And, can I live Meeting on June 13, so please welcome surrounding landscape. up to the honor? the incoming president and give the same These maintainers tally v olunteer Well, it’s three years later, and I have wonderful support you have given me. hours, and send trail reports to GMC certainly learned a lot. Being president Thank you to the board of directors, Membership Coordinator Jenny means being a member of a supportive the executive committee, and of course, Montagne. These reports are vitally and committed group of individuals who our loyal and amazing staff for their sup- important: they provide documentation provide the guidance, encouragement port and guidance. Just so you know, required by the Vermont Department of and wisdom necessary to lead. I have I am not going anywhere; I will be the Forests, Parks and Recreation and the U.S. learned to listen carefully to advice and Northeast Kingdom representative on the Forest Service for funding work on their direction, to hear what other folks were board of directors. land, and they help us obtain grants to really saying, and to be willing to change See you on the trail! Have a safe and support our work elsewhere. course when it was in the best interest of fun summer in the Green Mountains. So a big thank you to everyone who the club. – Jean Haigh, President volunteers time, effort and expertise to There are nearly 10,000 GMC mem- improve the Long Trail and help the club. bers, with many and diverse perspectives

Long Trail News Summer 2015 3 Mountain Views

Tribute Long Overdue, In Praise of the Rugged Trail, Quaint Towns Dates Off Women’s Edition “I can no longer say that quit- Congratulations on Reidun The Spring, 2015 issue of the ting smoking is the hardest GMC Officers Nuquist’s article on women in Long Trail News is probably the thing I’ve ever done. It was a Jean Haigh, President John Page, Vice President GMC history—a long overdue best I’ve ever experienced. The tough trail but beautiful in its Stephen Klein, Treasurer tribute. In the interests of accu- articles on women are wonder- ruggedness and unparalleled in Tom Candon, Secretary racy, let me point out that the ful, the other articles interesting its views. The Long Trail offered glimpses into some quaint Ver- GMC Directors first woman caretaker on the and well written, the photos mont towns that I’m really glad Ted Albers, Burlington Long Trail was the redoubtable beautiful and in general, a spe- Lee Allen, General Nan Dove, at Barrows Camp, cial edition in every way. I’m that I made the effort to get Michael Chernick, Northeast Kingdom in 1971 (misdated as 1973 in A a longtime GMC member and over to. This is a great trail, and Marge Fish, Manchester Century in the Mountains, p.59, supporter, not as involved as I I applaud the Green Mountain Chris Hale, Laraway George Hall, General though the picture there is ter- was in the past, but I’m always Club for building and maintain- Allison Henry, Killington rific). Nan was self-appointed, interested in what is happening! ing it. Thank you GMC and all Paul Houchens, General but did the job well. Caretaker Thank you for the wonderful others involved.” Lynda Hutchins, General Anne Janeway, General supervisor Kenn Boyd okayed work you are doing. – David “Double-check” Young, Wayne Krevetski, General her staying there and the rest – Mar Harrison, 2014 LT end-to-ender Sheri Larsen, General of us serving in 1971 regarded Bread Loaf Section Ron Lucier, Sterling her as one of the crew. Wendy Doug McKain, Bread Loaf Long Trail Patrol Rocks Millie Mugica, General Turner and Susan Valyi ran Taft Long Trail News John Oliva, Worcester Lodge in 1972, not ‘73; Libby welcomes your comments. Walter Pomroy, Northern Frontier Tuthill and Nancy Petengill “Scored some killer trail magic Dick Ruben, Ottauquechee were the ‘73 Taft caretakers. As today and just when I really Letters received may be edited Lexi Shear, General for length and clarity. Laurene Sorensen, Connecticut I recall, the GMC was well ahead needed it. The trail crew was Martha Stitelman, Bennington of other outdoor organizations doing a lot of work between Lit- GMC reserves the right to Dann Van Der Vliet, General in putting women in charge of tle Rock Pond and Stratton Pond decline to publish those Mike Wetherell, Montpelier Shelter where I hiked that day. I considered inappropriate. Not Richard Windish, Brattleboro things in the field — something all letters may be published. John Zaber, General to celebrate. got to have two burritos and an everything bagel mid-day, com- – Vic Henningsen Send to: Jocelyn Hebert, GMC Staff Directory Thetford Center pliments of the GMC trail crew! [email protected] Main Telephone: (802) 244-7037 Butler Caretaker ‘71 & ‘77 You all rock!!” or Letters to the Editor, Pete Antos-Ketcham, Director of Land Forests and Parks Ranger-Nat- – David “Dingo” Moore, GMC, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Rd., and Facilities Management uralist, Mt. Mansfield, ‘72 –‘74 2014 LT end-to-ender E-mail: pantosketcham@ Waterbury Center, VT 05677 greenmountainclub.org Editor’s note: The name and date Phone: (802) 241-8217

inaccuracies were in the women in MITCHELL JON Jason Buss, Business Manager E-mail: [email protected] history timeline graphic across the Phone: (802) 241-8214 top of the pages, not in Reidun’s Michael DeBonis, Executive Director E-mail: [email protected] article. Phone: (802) 241-8212 Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8322 Jennifer Donley, Visitor Center Manager E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8210 Jill Haas, Database Manager E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8325 Dave Hardy, Director of Trail Programs E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8320 Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8215 Kevin Hudnell, Field Supervisor E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8218 Matt Krebs, Publications Coordinator/ Stewardship Assistant E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8321 Caitlin Miller, Group Outreach Specialist E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8327 Jenny Montagne, Membership Coordinator [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8324

wall of windows framing with families, groups of day hikers and the car the adjacent half-mile interpre- panoramic views of moun- the occasional Long Trail end-to-ender. tive Short Trail is the perfect place to tain peaks and spruce-fir The staff welcomes visitors from all stretch your legs. If the dog is along it’s forest greets those who walk over the U.S., Canada and around the the perfect time to practice the principles intoA the Green Mountain Club Visi- world. If you find yourself in north of Leave No Trace. While you’re out, stop tor Center. Opened six years ago, this central Vermont thinking about taking by the original Long Trail Journey’s End energy efficient building asw designed to a hike or needing a break from the road, Shelter, which was disassembled and showcase the mission, work and history stop in and chat with the staff. We enjoy rebuilt on this trail. of the club. hearing about future trail adventures, Since its beginning the Green Moun- Highlighting the peaks and valleys of memories from years past, or today’s hike tain Club has been a story of community. the Long Trail, a giant three-dimensional up Camel’s Hump at sunrise. Through 105 years the community has relief map of Vermont attracts visitors We get new questions daily but built a network of trails, a series of shel- as they enter. Created by the late GMC surprisingly, one of the most frequently ters, a base of member supporters and volunteer Dave Blumenthal, it is a natural asked is one we often can’t answer: volunteers and a visitor center. The cen- gathering spot, and a place to relive “What will the weather be like?” As ter is a tangible space where all aspects memorable hikes or dream of future anyone who lives in Vermont will tell of the Green Mountain Club intersect. If

JON MITCHELL JON adventures. Kids love to see and touch you, weather here is an enigma—ever you haven’t had the opportunity to stop the mountains ranges of Vermont, tracing changing, never completely predictable. by and visit, please do. the ups and downs with their fingers. Preparation and flexibility are key. – Maureen Davin, Visitor Center As you look around you will notice We all know any trail adventure Information Specialist the building features beautiful wood- requires preparation, stamina and good work and nature-inspired bookcases maps. The Visitor Center store carries a and cabinets designed and built by complete up-to-date collection of GMC Dave Day, a local craftsman and a former publications, and the information special- caretaker at Taft Lodge. Old trail signs, ists can guide you with planning and photographs and other club memorabilia provide tips and local knowledge. They decorate walls and beams. In one corner can help you find an easy hike (not too a display case features a selection of much elevation change), a sunrise or sun- vintage trail guides, including one used set hike (headlamp necessary), a whole by Benton MacKaye, who in 1921 took day adventure (will include rocks, roots inspiration from Vermont to begin plan- and scenic vistas) or just a quick kid- ning the Appalachian Trail. friendly hike (most likely to a waterfall). During the summer trail season, the The Visitor Center store also has a Maureen is beginning her third season Visitor Center becomes a hub of activ- nice selection of GMC logo and trail- with GMC and is looking forward to seeing ity when crew members and caretakers inspired merchandise. These include new you in the Visitor Center this summer. stop in on their days off to check for tee shirt and baseball cap designs, coffee The Green Mountain Club Visitor mail, grab cups of coffee and—most mugs, pint glasses, posters and patches. Center will be open seven days a week, importantly—connect with the internet. Before you leave, be sure to step onto 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., until October 18, The place becomes lively as they mix the back porch and take in more of the 2015. In the off season, it is open Monday view. If you’ve had too many hours in through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Long Trail News Summer 2015 5 Legacy of a Backcountry Builder Matt Wels

att Wels started build- The success of these projects is a ing when he was ten, result of teams of volunteers and staff only then he was puz- working together, but the common link zling out how to interlock among them is Matt. LegosM into a castle, not how to attach 2,000-pound steel cables to 10,000-pound Discovering the steel suspension bridge towers. Long Trail and GMC If you have hiked on the Long Trail or Appalachian Trail in Vermont Matt developed a love of hiking at eigh- over the last ten years or so, you’ve teen. His parents fostered his passion probably walked over, climbed up or and gave him a Green Mountain Club taken shelter under Matt’s work. His membership for his birthday the follow- projects include: steel footbridges over ing year. In 2002, then twenty-one, Matt the Winooski and Lamoille rivers; a hiked the southern hundred miles of the wooden suspension bridge across Big Long Trail. When he returned home to All the men in my family Branch; and historic restorations of St. Albans his insightful parents handed Stratton and Glastenbury fire towers. him a job ad that read, “Paid to hike and are builders. It’s just part He also built an accessible boardwalk camp. Call the Green Mountain Club.” across a wetland to Thundering Falls Matt was on the Long Trail Patrol (LTP) a of who I am. on the Appalachian Trail in Killington, week later. and made many overnight shelter reno- For the next couple of years he vations and historic restorations. worked on GMC’s trail crew in summer, MATT LARSON MATT

Big Branch Bridge

Long Trail News Summer 2015 6 Lamoille River Footbridge

C.H.DIEGEL PHOTOGRAPHY and built houses with his uncle in Con- help of my crew and GMC volunteers, we necticut in winter. In 2004 the LTP crew figured it out together.” was full, but GMC was preparing to In the fall of 2004 Matt travelled to build a 136-foot-long suspension bridge Glastenbury Wilderness to help the LTP across the Lamoille River in Johnson. deconstruct Goddard Shelter on Glasten- Project Manager Greg Western hired bury Mountain. He then worked with Matt as crew leader and foreman. “And mentor Erik Tobiason of Woodstock’s

MATT LARSON MATT that’s when it really began,” says Matt. Colby & Tobiason to build a new shelter. Little did his parents know that their gift Matt had worked with Erik between membership from five years earlier would GMC field seasons so was accustomed set the groundwork for a thirteen-year to his style and the supportive work building career with the Green Mountain environment that cultivated a workman’s Club. skills. “He’s a great builder,” Matt says. Dave Hardy, longtime director of trail “There weren’t many times he would programs, worked closely with Matt. actually show me how to build, but he al- “Matt has been an inspiring link between ways gave me the confidence that you can field staff and volunteers for years,” he do anything you want, if you really want says, “and the Lamoille River Bridge in to. That’s the biggest thing I’ve taken Johnson was where we learned he had away from our relationship.” the skills to help us with our most important projects.” Thundering Falls Boardwalk: How did Matt so easily transition Cultural Diversity from trail crew to bridge builder? “I just feel like it runs in my blood, in my fam- The 2006 and 2007 field seasons kept ily,” Matt says. “All the men in my family Matt busy working with the Volunteer are builders. It’s just part of who I am.” Long Trail Patrol building an accessible Matt cites his grandfather as his boardwalk and trail to Thundering Falls most influential role model when he was on the Appalachian Trail. young: “He taught me my work ethic, Matt’s strong affinity to cultural and my early building skills came from diversity and the crew’s varied back- him as well.” And he credits GMC staff grounds made this project one of the most and knowledgeable volunteers for hon- enjoyable. “Thundering Falls was a lot of ing his backcountry building skills: “I fun,” he recalls. “Dozens of international Thundering Falls Boardwalk

basically learned on the job, and with the Continued next page JESSE SUTER

Long Trail News Summer 2015 7 Stratton located just south of Little Rock Pond His voice softens, and an inner peace Firetower in the Big Branch Wilderness. Matt was seems to surface as he reflects on autumn hired as project manager, and began work evenings spent cleaning tools by twilight that summer. and catching sunsets from the tower with It is surprising that given the com- his crew. “I really love the southern parts plexity of his most recent feat, the of the Long Trail, in particular Stratton construction of the Winooski River Mountain and Stratton Pond,” he says. Footbridge, that Matt considers the Big “Being in the national forest makes me Branch project a favorite because of the really happy. It’s my favorite place in the challenge. But challenge and complex- whole world.” ity can be, and in this case are, very different. Winooski River Footbridge Building in a federally designated wilderness area requires extensive foresight. Fast forward to 2013 when the whole Power tools are prohibited and work of Matt’s experience would be put to relies on simple hand tools and rigging the test; Matt was asked to build one of systems. “It was so challenging being in the, if not the, most eminent GMC trail Big Branch Wilderness, deconstructing projects to date: the Winooski River an old suspension bridge and rebuild- Footbridge. ing it without power,” Matt recalls. It took a long time to get to that point. “We prefabricated the pieces of the In 1912 the Vermont Legislature autho- bridge offsite, and then had them flown rized $500 to build a footbridge across in by helicopter. And we put up lines the Winooski River to connect the Long volunteers worked on it, and there would and rigging systems to hoist the bridge Trail between Camel’s Hump and Mount be new ones every week. A lot of people beams into place so they could be bolted Mansfield. The money was appropriated barely spoke English, and I would have together.” in 1913 but was never spent on a bridge. to teach them basic carpentry skills and Today a sturdy 100-foot wooden The February, 1932 Long Trail News power tool safety.” suspension bridge supports hiker passage mentions “a considerable sum in cash and Much of their hard work was de- across scenic and turbulent Big Branch. pledges” collected to recognize Profes- stroyed in 2011 when Tropical Storm sor William S. Monroe for his services Irene blew through and washed out a Stratton Firetower: building the Long Trail. Again, building 300-foot stretch of planking. Matt was The Beauty of the South a bridge to replace the boat that ferried hired to repair it the next season. hikers across the Winooski was consid- In the fall of 2010 Matt and a small crew ered. “It seems to us that no more suitable Big Branch Bridge: A Challenge completed a historic restoration of the memorial could be built, nor one which Stratton Mountain Firetower on one of would be of more benefit to those using In 2010, Colby & Tobiason contracted Vermont’s earliest lookout sites, estab- the Trail,” opined the newsletter. with the U.S. Forest Service to rebuild lished in 1914. HEBERT JOCELYN the failing Big Branch suspension bridge,

Winooski River Footbridge

Long Trail News Summer 2015 8 Matt with Pat and Sam

Matt with Kurt

In 2005, eighty-three years after the Matt’s team was a hand-picked band back and forth across the river and verti- initial idea was set in motion, a gener- of close friends who also happened to cally up and down, so they could reach ous commitment of $250,000 from 1930s have the wide range of skills needed for any point between the towers. “That sys- GMC caretaker Daan Zwick revived the a project like this. “My crew and I had to tem was the hardest rigging system I’ve footbridge dream. It took another eight have knowledge of steelwork, carpentry, ever designed,” Matt says. “But it worked years and countless enthusiastic donors rock climbing equipment and rigging flawlessly. And it was very safe.” to fundraise the $1.2 million needed for equipment for construction,” says Matt. “And OSHA approved,” Matt adds, the project. In other words, the crew needed to be with a glimmer of pride. Matt and the bridge crew, Sam Parisi, smart, agile, fearless and strong. Kurt Melin and Pat O’Brien, along with Crossing the Footbridge help from ECI Engineers Construction, Yankee Ingenuity built the 224-foot clear-span steel suspen- Ten years after Daan Zwick infused the sion bridge between 2013 and 2015, and The most complex part of the process Winooski River Footbridge with not only realized the vision born 100 years earlier. was to figure out how to get two pairs of a pivotal financial donation but the spir- 2,000-pound steel cables across the river ited energy of a passionate 93-year-old Can We Do This? and to the top of the forty-foot steel tow- outdoorsman, he was invited to be the ers. “I spent more than a year thinking first to cross the bridge. The project was so complex—mind bog- about it,” recalls Matt. “And I changed On December 12 Matt, Sam, Pat gling, Matt would say—that it kept him my plan a million times.” and Kurt were on the bridge ready to awake some nights. When doubt settled Enter Yankee ingenuity. One mid-July guide Daan as he trekked across the JOCELYN HEBERT JOCELYN in, Matt’s solution was to temporarily day Kurt Melin stepped to the river’s edge steel passage. His gait was light and his step back. “A lot of times you come back and cast a fishing line with a huge sinker smile victorious. “My feelings at that with a fresh attitude, and it just comes across the water. The line then pulled moment—great happiness, and surprise together,” he explains. “I had worked on a rope, which pulled a small cable back Continued next page a few suspension bridges already, but in to Kurt. The small cable and a winch on its scale, this was by far the biggest— a bulldozer were used to pull a pair of pretty much twice as big as any other one-ton main suspension cables across Daan Zwick crossing bridge I’d built. I spent a lot of time star- the river. Cranes located at either bridge the Winooski River ing at blueprints and making drawings tower then pulled the cables over the Footbridge of various rigging systems that would tops of the massive steel towers. Matt, potentially work.” positioned in a boom lift, attached verti- But GMC Executive Director Mike cal suspender cables as the main cables DeBonis was confident of Matt’s ability. stretched out across the river. “When I started as E.D., I asked Matt flat Then the crew installed the deck. out, ‘Can you do this? Can we do this?’” How to do that above a flowing river was Mike says. “Matt showed me that he Matt’s next challenge. understood the complexity of the project, Enter once again: Yankee ingenuity. but more importantly, he understood that In short, Matt designed a rigging system his safety and that of his crew was more of ziplines, a pulley and a hand-cranked important than a bridge.” window washer hoist with an aluminum basket attached. The crew could move

Long Trail News Summer 2015 9 at the magnitude of the project, even though the club has kept me informed Matt’s GMC Project History with many pictures—almost a sense of awe at the complexity and strength of 2002, fall, trail crew that bridge, and a great appreciation of 2003, fall, trail crew why $250,000 had not been enough for such a project,” says Daan. 2004-2005, fall, Lamoille River Suspension Bridge crew leader and foreman Trekking poles held high above his 2005, spring, continued work on the Lamoille River Suspension Bridge head, Daan reached the north end of the 2005, summer, completed Lamoille River Suspension Bridge bridge and the open arms and celebratory cheers of a small crowd of family and 2005, summer, Coolidge Range ridgerunner friends. 2005, fall, deconstructed Goddard Shelter with VLTP Matt shared his joy: “I felt so happy 2005, fall, worked with Colby & Tobiason to rebuild Goddard Shelter and satisfied to be able to be with Daan Zwick and see him and his family walk 2005, fall, historic restoration of Glastenbury Firetower across the bridge. The satisfaction on his 2006, spring, replaced roof on Couching Lion Cabin face was really special.” Smiles lighting up the crew’s faces that day suggested 2006, summer and fall, built Thundering Falls Boardwalk and accessible trail they felt the same. 2007, summer, continued work on Thundering Falls Boardwalk 2007, fall, historic restoration of Tillotson Camp Matt’s Legacy 2008, summer, finished Thundering Falls Boardwalk and accessible trail “All of the great club leaders have their 2008, fall, historic restoration of Montclair Glen Lodge time and place,” says Mike DeBonis. “What is special about the GMC, and 2009, fall, trail crew what separates it from many other wor- 2010, spring, helped design and build an accessible privy at Congdon Shelter thy organizations, is that it goes on, and 2010, summer, worked with Colby & Tobiason as project manager to rebuild others step in and leave their mark dur- Big Branch Suspension Bridge under federal U.S. Forest Service contract ing their place and time. “Will Monroe, Roy Buchanan, Tom 2010, fall, historic restoration of Stratton Mountain Firetower Abbott, Don Hill, have all been critically 2011, spring, completed historic restoration of Stratton Mountain Firetower important in the evolution of the trail, 2012, spring, rebuilt destroyed section of Thundering Falls Boardwalk and their contributions are interwoven (damaged by Tropical Storm Irene) with the club’s success. What Matt has achieved at such a young age is special, 2012, summer, rebuilt lower bridge on Bucklin Trail (damaged by Tropical Storm Irene) and he is in the same class as the greats in 2012, fall, built an accessible privy at Happy Hill Shelter club history.” 2013-2015, early spring, began work as project manager on Winooski River Footbridge The next time you pass over the Big Branch bridge, take a moment to imagine 2015, spring, completed Winooski River Footbridge building it without power tools. When you first cross the new Winooski River footbridge, imagine the crew swinging high above the water in a window washer basket. And when you climb the last steps up the Stratton Mountain fire tower and turn to watch the sunset, call to mind the generations of backcountry builders like Matt who made that view possible. – Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor

Matt and Pat O’Brien are branching out and have launched their new business, Big Branch Builders (bigbranchbuilders .com), specializing in custom remodeling and renovation of residential homes as well as the construction, project management, and rehabilitation of pedestrian Montclair Glen Lodge Restoration bridges for recreational areas. MATT LARSON MATT

Long Trail News Summer 2015 10 Where NOBO and SOBO Meet

ach summer in late July and early August the hills of Vermont’s Ottauquechee Valley are alive, but not with JulieE Andrews singing The Sound of Music. They are alive with the annual meeting of NOBOs and SOBOs on the Appalachian Trail. As the Ottauquechee River flows from Killington east to the Connecticut River it is paralleled by what is sometimes called the Ottauquechee section of the Appalachian Trail (AT), a 45-mile stretch that bears east (trail-north) from the Long Trail and passes through places with names like Notown, Chateauguay, Cloudland and Happy Hill until it reaches ARM TURCOTTE the Connecticut River. It is maintained by the GMC chapter aptly named the There are, of course, many variables. The point at which the Long Trail and AT Ottauquechee Section. Not all hikers start at the same time. parted was named Maine Junction. The Ottauquechee section of the AT is Not all hikers hike at the same speed. In times past the club could be for- normally a quiet footpath, served by few Trail times are different each year due given for considering this non-Long Trail obvious trailheads and lacking the cha- to weather. The meeting of NOBOs and section of AT a mere connector between risma of the Green and White Mountains. SOBOs is not like the arrival of swallows the Greens and the Whites. It was hastily But a unique pageant plays there when at Capistrano. And not all hikers who be- laid out by GMC stalwart Willis Ross as NOBOs and SOBOs meet. gin an Appalachian Trail thru-hike finish one of the last remaining links before the In the AT thru-hiker jargon, a NOBO it. Still, upwards of a 1,000 hikers con- AT could be declared complete in 1937, is a northbound hiker. In most years verge on the Ottauquechee section each and it relied heavily on logging roads, old about 1,500 hundred eager NOBOs start year, concentrated in July and August. town roads and Dartmouth Outing Club from Springer Mountain in Georgia hop- ski trails. ing to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, a Step-Child of the Long Trail? Through the federal AT protection feat that takes about six months. A SOBO The legendary Mauri Winturri, a effort of the 1970s and 80s, the Ottau- is a southbound hiker. Usually another GMC maintainer of this stretch of the AT quechee section was almost entirely 500 or so hardy souls strike out from and for whom Winturri Shelter is named, relocated, and today it traverses an Katahdin in Maine, hoping to hike the was known to declare (after his tongue interesting patchwork of remote wooded entire AT heading south. was loosened by multiple beers) that the and cleared hills, ridges and valleys. Still, A NOBO generally begins in the first AT east of Maine Junction was the “step- in terms of use, it remains the trail not three weeks of April. A SOBO, however, child” of the Long Trail. In fact, a stub- taken—except, that is, when the NOBO must wait until the snow recedes and bornly independent GMC in the early and SOBO bubbles meet. Maine’s Baxter State Park opens, and days blazed the AT from Maine Junction therefore usually starts in the first three eastward to Vermont Route 12 in blue Vermont’s Heart of Trail Magic weeks of June. A NOBO can average 14 (instead of the standard white) because it The surge of a thousand or more thru- miles a day through the relatively moder- was a “side trail” to the Long Trail! hikers in central Vermont has inspired a ate Mid-Atlantic States, while a SOBO Here a brief historical note is in order. unique climate of “trail angels” and “trail tackles the most challenging part of the Vermont’s 272-mile Long Trail is the magic.” A trail angel delivers a good deed AT through Maine and New Hampshire oldest long-distance recreational hik- to a long-distance hiker in need, often first, typically averaging about 10 miles ing trail in the nation. The 2,180-mile transportation. Trail magic is random a day. Appalachian Trail, though longer and acts of kindness (usually pleasant but Where does the so-called NOBO better known, came a bit later, and was not essential) like a box of cookies left at bubble, working its way north at 14 miles inspired by the Long Trail. The AT fol- a trail crossing or a six-pack of beer in a per day, and the SOBO bubble, working lowed the Long Trail from the Massachu- cold stream. its way south at 10 miles a day, meet? In setts border to Willard Gap north of U.S. Arguably the largest and most orga- Vermont’s Ottauquechee Valley! Route 4 in Killington, where they split. nized of all AT trail angel networks is Continued page 17

Long Trail News Summer 2015 11 Dragons in the Air

ummer has arrived when dragons the nymph crawls out of the water and and early fall, they often gather at high fill the air. Four hundred fifteen emerges as a flying adult. So except for points, perhaps to form feeding swarms species of Odonata, the order of the few that migrate, the dragon or dam- that chase down prey. insects to which dragonflies and sel you might spy is in the short last part To see photographs and records of Sdamselflies belong, live in North Amer- of its life. dragonfly and damselfly sightings in Ver- ica, and 142 species occur in Vermont. What big eyes they have! Each mont, visit, http://www.inaturalist.org/ Whether you’re on a mountain top or compound eye of an Odonate consists of projects/vermont-atlas-of-life, a project of poking around a bog, walking past a for- 30,000 hexagonal facets, each of which the Vermont Atlas of Life. est stream or kayaking on a pond, a drag- senses one portion of the insect’s visual Those interested can join the project onfly or damselfly is bound to be near. field. The greater the number of facets, to discover and share their observations Although they share many similari- the better the resolution—and the better of Odonata (and other plants and animals) ties, dragonflies differ from damselflies to see prey. With large, compound eyes in Vermont, thereby helping scientists in several ways. Dragonflies have thicker and heads that swivel nearly 360 degrees, track and conserve the state’s rich natural bodies, and their eyes sit closer together little escapes their sight. heritage. than those of damselflies. They are also Dragonflies maneuver as easily as – Elizabeth G. Macalaster much stronger fliers. When at rest it’s hummingbirds, and they depend easy to tell one from the other: a damsel- on this agility as much as eyesight. fly holds its wings pressed above its body, They hover, fly backwards and for- while a dragonfly holds its wings straight wards, and dart away to pursue prey out to the sides. or escape enemies. The names of damselflies and dragon- Dragonflies and damselflies lay flies say a lot about them—their color- their eggs in water, and males linger ing, where they live or how they behave. nearby to find females. So look for Bright neon bluet damselflies are quickly them near ponds, lakes, streams, spotted at ponds. What can you tell about ditches and even vernal pools or the common green darner and twelve- seepages. You may find them perch- spotted skimmer dragonflies? ing on a floating plant, the tip of an The cruiser dragonfly family has upright stick on the shore, or a rock. but two species in Vermont, the stream Since they are active at air tempera- cruiser and the swift river cruiser. What tures above 65 degrees, they like sort of water do you think these drag- sun, and they favor warm, humid onflies frequent? The skimmers are a days when prey like mosquitoes, large family, with species like the frosted gnats and flies are plentiful. whiteface, blue dasher, and the famous Although Odonata tend to stay wandering glider. The glider is one of near water, the order thrives at a a few dragonflies known to migrate to wide range of altitudes. Much like warmer climates in the fall and cooler cli- birds, some live only at low eleva- mates in the spring. Not much is known tions, others at high elevations or about where they migrate, but scientists latitudes. For example, according believe they may go to Florida, the Carib- to Vermont Odonate expert Dr. bean or Mexico. Dragonfly migration is Michael Blust, the ringed emerald still a mystery. dragonfly is known at the Lake of the top left: Boreal bluet (Enallagma boreale); Most of a dragonfly or damselfly’s Clouds and nearby Bear Lake on top of top middle: Wandering glider (Pantala flavescens); life is spent in water, in its larval stage. Mount Mansfield. So look for this beauti- top right: Twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula This stage lasts from one to as much ful green-eyed dragonfly if you’re there pulchella); lower right: Variable darner (Aeshna as six years, while the nymph molts this summer. You might also see darners interrupta). many times. At end of the larval stage near hilltops, Blust says. In late summer All images: © Bryan Pfeiffer – www.bryanpfeiffer.com

Long Trail News Summer 2015 12 Different Places, Different Vibes Caretaking at Camel’s Hump and Stratton Pond n 2003 I was fortunate to serve as Sometimes these journeys broke caretaker at two of the most special down. One rainy day an AT thru-hiker places on the Long Trail. From mid- was reduced to tears by the frustration of May to late June I was stationed wet gear, describing between sobs how Iat Camel’s Hump, spending time both at she hadn’t been dry since New York. I the summit and nearby Montclair Glen suggested she go to a motel and dry out Lodge. The rest of the summer I served for a couple of days before making any at Stratton Pond, interacting with day- decisions. She hung around for a day or hikers, Long Trail thru-hikers, and long- two before trudging north. A few weeks distance Appalachian Trail hikers. One of later, an LT thru-hiker suddenly lost mo- my fondest recollections was how each mentum, and stayed in the shelter almost place had its own vibe, a hard-to-describe a week, swimming, reading, and hanging but unique feeling based on people, their out. Eventually he ran out of food, but journeys and the place. managed to eke out a couple more days Hikers at the summit of Camel’s Hump from the kindness of other northbound were happy—they had just climbed a hikers looking to shed weight. One mountain! The vibe was a festive celebra- morning he was gone without a trace, his tion of the summit. Hikers dropped their journey north resumed, I hoped. packs with smiles, excited to eat lunch, My time at Camel’s Hump and Strat- enjoy the view, and talk to the caretaker. ton Pond gave me life-long memories: It was a spirit of accomplishment, and moonlit summits, wildlife, the camarade- people seemed receptive to the message rie of fellow caretakers, and the leader- and mission of the GMC and the caretaker ship of staff and volunteers at the Green program. Mountain Club. But most of all, I think At times I felt my job was to facilitate The vibe at Stratton Pond, while about the people, the stories, and the dif- the fun. In addition to swapping stories, equally unique, was markedly different. ferent vibe at each place. I wonder what providing guidance, and encouraging Midsummer meant the arrival of Ap- the caretakers at the Long Trail’s other hikers to do the “rock walk” to protect palachian Trail thru-hikers who, after special places have observed about those fragile alpine plants, I photographed a almost 1,800 miles of hiking, were much combinations of people and places. less interested in hearing from the GMC marriage proposal (she said yes), provided – Ben Amsden a plant-by-plant inventory to a small caretaker about tent platforms and the group of schoolchildren, and identified composting privy (not to mention the $5 Ben Amsden grew up in Vermont, and is the surrounding mountains for a couple fee). The vibe was the journey, not the director of the Center for Rural Partner- who were convinced that nearby Mount place. Understandably, AT thru-hikers ships and Associate Professor of Tourism Mansfield was Mount Washington. shared a laser-like focus on logistics. How Management and Policy at Plymouth State At Montclair Glen Lodge I spent far to Manchester? How long to Katah- University in New Hampshire. He co- evenings with visitors, including a long- din? Long Trail thru-hikers, just a few curated the exhibit “Trail Clubs: Connect- distance hiker carrying only mason jars days into their journeys, were beginning ing People with the Mountains” currently filled with bean sprouts and a teenager to develop a similar sense of the commit- featured at the Museum of the White from Europe who rode a ten-speed bicy- ment their hike would require. You mean Mountains. cle from Philadelphia to the Long Trail’s the trail gets harder up north? southern terminus in North Adams. Camel’s Hump was a special place, and visitors loved sharing the mountain and the Long Trail with each other. C.H.DIEGEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Camel’s Hump

Long Trail News Summer 2015 13 172 Hikers Complete 272-Mile Footpath Through Green Mountains

Scott “Iceman” Albertson, VT Mike “Just Mike” Egan, NH he hikers listed here finished Kimberly “Keymaster” Allen, ONT, Canada Sage Engberg, MA Meredith “Ninja” Altland, PA Kyle “Billy Goat” Farr, NH hiking Vermont’s Long Trail Denise “B.O.B.” Anderson, MA Andrew “Whiskers” Fersch, MA in 2014, submitted their trail Brenton “Convo” Archut, DE Patrick “Hobbles” Finn, NH T Alina “Moose Hunter” Badus, CT James “Him” Fons, MD journals, and became official end-to- Jacob “Miles” Benninger, NY Theodore “Ted” Fons, OH enders. They join the ranks of those Erica “Braveheart” Blake, MT Christopher “Chris” Fons, WI who share the historic tradition of Teale “Slippy” Bohen, VT Liz “Agent Starling” Ford, VT Stephanie “Shoop” Bojanowski, NY Anthony Francione, CT walking the rugged footpath over Shawn “J.T.” Bonneau, MA Lucia “Nanita” Gagliardone, VT the Green Mountain Range from the Griffen “Aviator” Bono, NH Steve “Southpaw” Gagliardone, VT Massachusetts border to the Cana- Tova “Mama Pajama” Breen, MN Luke “spike” Gersz, CT Robert “Porter” Brenner, NY Neal “Pixie” Goldberg, MD dian border. Their trail journals will Robert “Yeah Yeah” Bromely, VT Erik “Justice” Graham, MA be archived at the Vermont Historical Emily “Chomps” Burton, MD Dave “Greenie” Greenslit, MA Society for others to enjoy. Brad Butler, CT Allen “Jerseyskier” Grunthal, NJ Cheryl “Critter” Bryne, VT Vincent “American Spirit” Guercio, MA Kyler “Billy Jack” Cafro, CT Exeter “Queen” Guercio, MA Derek “Salty Buttons” Capo, NH Stanton “Tony” Hall, VT Ferdinand “Eeyor Casper” Carson, NJ Cyndy Hall, VT John Carton, NH Jeffery “Circles” Hamelman, VT Lance “North Star” Clarke, ONT, Canada George “Indy 50” Hatch, VT Robert “Bob” Coakley, ME Justin “Rest Stop” Hathaway, NH Glenn “Lazerlegs” Collins, VA Karl Hecker, NH Carolyn “Fireball” Crosby, NH Robert “B3” Helm, NH Bill “Bald Eagle” Curley, CT Phillip “Happy Feet” Hennessy, VA Stephanie “Sparkplug” Curran, NH Pamela “Cookie” Hershberger, PA Katie “Windchime” Cutting, VT Richard “TicToc” Hershberger, PA Richard “Ranger Rick” Cyphers, CT Chris Holmes, MA Kara “Chaos” Dexter, NH Jean “Grandma Jean” Ibelle, NH Don “Almost There” Dickson, VT Karen “Instigator” Ide, NV Amy Dickson, VT Gary “Expeditor” Ide, NV Sebastien Duchesne, Quebec, Canada Carrie “Flying Squirrel” Johnson, GA Emma “Metallic Clang” Duffany, VT Kerry “3-Pair” Johnson, AB, Canada Mike “Duner” Landon, VT Jeremy “Bam! Coleman” Jones, FL Douglas “Gray Jay” Eaton, MA Adam “Surge” Joseph, NH Nina “Peanut Gallery” Edwards, CT Adam Kaminsky, VT Mike “Head” Kelly, NY Sarah “Rambles” Kibbe, NH Tom “Krummholz” Kidder, VT Julianna “Hot Foot Factor” Kobs, WI Jeremy “Mudsocks” Koch, ME Sarah “Long Trail” Krammen, CT Virginia “Chip” Kunkel, VT Mariana “The Dirt Barbies” Lachiusa, MA Kristiana “The Dirt Barbies” Lachiusa, MA Leon “Neon Leon” Lantz, PA Erick “Viking” Lattrell, VT Peter “Jambo Pete” Laurent, MA Elisabeth “Spirit Animal” Lohmueller, GA Daniel “XYRN” Luttrell, VT Bruce “Woodstalker” Lyman, CT Mike “Bird” Mamrosh, NY Kenny “Kenny” Martin, Jr., NH Matthew “Pretzel” Mason, IL Gregory “Goat” Matte, MA Eleonore Maudry, IN

Long Trail News Summer 2015 14 172 Hikers Complete 272-Mile Footpath Through Green Mountains

Dune “Big Butter” Mayberger, VT Sharon “46er2” Rosenthal, VT John “Misery” McCarthy, NY July “Lookout” Sanders, VT Erin “Snack Attack” McCuin, VT Armando “Commando” Sanders, CA Jenna “Jenna” McDermit, CT Charles “Sarge” Schmidt, NY Ella “Stage Fright” McGrail, NH Katherine “Scout/Katatonic” Sellers, FL Michael “Mike” McLean, NY Dominic “Shea” Shea, NY Allen “Garage Sale” McNew, IN Joshua “Soulslosher” Sheets, DE Nika “E-Bird” Meyers, VT Josh “Squirrel” Silfven-Floyd, NY Matthew “The Lost Lovebirds” Miller, NH Julia “Jukebox” Sommer, NH Alex “Padre” Miller, NY Mark “Gandalf” St John, MA Jillian “Preditor” Minuto, PA Amanda “Commander” Stern, MA David “DINGO” Moore, CT Claire Stetson, VT Kirk “Morph” Morphew, WV Jonathan “Dreadnought” Stogner, NY Daniel “Tenderfoot” Morvay, NY Curt “6” Stoldt, CT Starr Morvay, NY Mike “Cliff” Sutton, MI Mic “Bear Chaser” Mullins, VA Kimberly “Braveheart” Swanton, MA Radha Newsom, VT Rebekah “Pit Stop” Swenson, NC Alicia “Gretel” Noonkester, VT Richard “Chocolatier” Tango-Lowy, NH Lauren “Rocky Top” Olson, VT Trevor “Zero/Zero” Thomas, NC In 32 day hikes between July 22, 2013 Gabriel “Crazy Feet” Outhank, MA Tennille (guide dog) Tennille Thomas, NC and September 9, 2014, we completed our Zack “Hops” Palladino, VT Megan “Frizz” Tischbein, CT third end-to-end journey on the Long Trail. Caleb “MowHawk” Parent, VT Gabriele Tise, NH Louisa “Sweet Louis” Parker, MA Alice “3 girls + 1 dog” Tonry, MA Some people have wondered why we keep James “Limey” Parker, UK Ingeborg Trebitz, VT hiking it rather than exploring other trails. Laura “Turtle” Partington, UK Eric Trudell, NY Perhaps the most important reason is that Richard “Tink” Partington, UK Jim “15-4-2” Van Orden, VT we are native Vermonters. Hiking end-to- Dana “Pilot” Perry, MA Keith “Vector” Veenhuizen, PA end enables us to experience the variety and Richard “Titeloops” Pickard, NC Sylvia “Charger” Vidrine, VT beauty of the state’s landscape not only on Marsha Pilachowski, VT Elizabeth “Tortoise” Wadsworth, NY the trail but on our drives to trailheads. David Pilachowski, VT Richard “Pole Bender” Wasserman, VT We enjoy noticing changes: fallen trees Emmett “Lil’ Turkey” Powers, CA Brandi “The Lost Lovebirds” Welborn, NH Joshua “Fresh” Pruitt, GA Timothy “Tim” Wentzell, NH that create new vistas, raging brooks that Lynn “Slowpoke” Pruitt, VT Nadia “Furball” Westenburg, CT scrub boulders clean or cause trail reloca- Olive “Giggles” Race, VT Emily Wilmers, OH tions, and new bridges to carry us over Taylor “Taylor Swift” Radigan, NY Nancy “Singing Sister” Wilson, TN rushing water. We hike throughout the year Jamie “Maple” Rainville, VT Alan Kent “Mr. Blister” Wilson, TN except when the snow is deep, so over the Dave “Elusive” Roberts, MD Michael “Cotton” Wise, ME years we’ve seen each section in different Camille “Happy Feet” Roberston, VT David “Double-check” Young, FL seasons. A cool green section of the trail in summer can be transformed into a blazing orange, yellow and red tapestry in the fall or a silent bleak landscape in cold and cloudy November. In the winter there’s the fun of taking our small plastic sled with us when we hike south from Route 108 to the top of Mansfield so we can slide down Profanity to Taft Lodge and on down to the ski trails. In these hectic times, when everything out there tells us to go faster, get rid of the old, try something new, we are rejuvenated by our quiet time on the trail revisiting familiar shelters, rocky challenges and favorite lunch spots. – Cyndy and Tony Hall

Long Trail News Summer 2015 15 Water in the Backcountry Options on the Market Today

uke once, and maybe it’s nothing,” says Josh Howell, CC Outdoor Store’s resident Wilderness Emergency Medi- “cal PTechnician and accomplished thru- hiker. “Puke again, and you’d better start planning your exit strategy.” Drinking unsafe water can ruin your backcountry trip, so plan an effective means of treating water. There are four common, affordable and readily available water treatments: boiling, filtration, chemical treatment and ultraviolet purification. When choosing, consider ease of use, weight, taste and cost. While most water sources on the Long Trail are relatively clean, pre-strain- ing sediment and particulates will make these treatments more effective. minutes. Expect to pay a little more Chlorine dioxide Newer chlorine Boiling for a gravity system, typically $90 to dioxide treatments are almost taste- Boiling water for one minute will make $130. free, are available for $8 to $15, and it safe. It’s a great option when preparing treat from three to thirty gallons. Straw filters Light and compact straw meals, or just a cup of tea or coffee in the While some formulations can work in filters allow users to pull untreated backcountry. It requires a stove, pot, and as little as fifteen minutes, others can water through a filter with their extra fuel that will add weight and vol- take up to four hours. mouths. Straw filters are a simple ume to your pack. It also requires extra and low-cost option for individuals, setup and treatment time. UV Purifiers UV Purifiers use costing from $20 to $25 apiece. Also ultraviolet light to treat water. The Filtration popular is a mini “squeeze” filter most common UV purifiers work by operated with a soft water bottle that swirling a UV light “pen” around Filtration is the most common treatment. costs about $40. in a water bottle. The newest ones Most users pump water through a ceram- weigh only 3.5 ounces, very light ic or microfiber-carbon combination filter Chemical Treatments and compact for backpackers and to remove bacteria, cysts and sediment, international travelers. Unless you yielding clean, pure and tasteless water. Chemical treatments in the form of tablets or drops are readily available. Great for drop and break it, a UV bulb can treat Pumps Pumps work quickly with emergency use on day hikes, you won’t up to two thousand gallons. Expect to little effort. Most pumps weigh from even notice them in your pack. Most pay $69 to $99 for a battery-powered ten to twelve ounces, and filter about chemicals expire within a year of open- device that treats a liter of water in two hundred gallons before the filter ing, so keep an eye on the expiration date. ninety seconds. element needs replacement. The Concentrated chemicals can be hazardous Ultimately the best choice is the one bestselling backcountry micro filter even after expiration, so flush them down you remember to pack. And it’s not a bad pumps cost $75 to $100. the drain with plenty of water. idea to carry a backup on overnight trips. Gravity filters A gravity filter lets Iodine A small bottle of iodine tablets – Reed McCracken gravity move untreated water costs about $7, and will treat about An avid hiker and backpacker, Reed owns CC through a filter to a clean reservoir. twenty-five quarts of water. But Outdoor Store in Waterbury, VT. He enjoys This eliminates pumping, enabling iodine has an unpleasant taste, so backpacking on the Long Trail with his wife treatment of large quantities of you may want to buy these in a pack Maureen and their two children water fast and easily. This option is including taste neutralizer tablets, Editor’s Note: The Vermont Department of a favorite for groups and basecamps, which increases the cost to about $11. Health believes there has not been enough field because a gallon of water can be Iodine takes approximately thirty testing to recommend UV water treatment in treated in as little as two and a half minutes to take effect. the backcountry.

Long Trail News Summer 2015 16 Advice From Vermont’s Commissioner of Health

othing can spoil a back- ing boil for one minute. This method is all pathogens except cryptosporidium. country trip faster than highly effective at killing all pathogens– Chlorine or iodine is great for bacteria gastrointestinal illness– protozoa, bacteria and viruses alike. At and viruses, but doesn’t work well for vomiting, diarrhea and higher altitudes (above 6,562 feet or 2,000 giardia and not at all for cryptospo- Ncramps–caused by drinking water con- meters), keep the water boiling for three ridium. Water treated with iodine is taminated with animal or human waste. minutes. not recommended for pregnant women, Even if the water looks clean, it can carry When it comes to other treatment people with thyroid problems, or those bacteria (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shi- methods, it can get complicated. The known to be hypersensitive to iodine. Io- gella, E. coli), viruses (enterovirus, hepati- Centers for Disease Control and Preven- dine shouldn’t be continuously consumed tis A, norovirus, rotavirus) and protozoa tion summarizes the basics in a chart, by anyone for more than a few weeks. (Giardia or Cryptosporidium). Giardia is Drinking Water Treatment Methods for UV Light? There’s not enough inde- one of the best-known risks from drink- Backcountry and Travel Use, available at pendent field testing data on ultraviolet ing untreated or poorly treated water, but www.cdc.gov/healthywater. light systems to recommend the process. it’s far from the only one. If you can’t boil, then filter and dis- There are many water treatment If you will depend on water you come infect. The most protective combination systems on the market, and no single across for drinking, cooking, washing up against the most pathogens is filtration best choice. To help your research, Out- or brushing teeth, plan ahead. Start with plus disinfection with chlorine dioxide doorGearLab offers reviews and a com- the clearest water available, taken from (tablets or drops), chlorine or iodine. parison guide at: www.outdoorgearlab. the middle of a lake or fast-flowing river If you can’t boil, or filter and disin- com/Backpacking-Water-Filter-Reviews. or falls, and understand that all treatment fect, then just disinfect. Chlorine dioxide – Harry Chen, MD, methods are not equally effective. (tablets or drops) is the best, although Vermont commissioner Boiled is best. The safest way to treat more expensive, choice for disinfect- of health questionable water is to bring it to a rolling because it’s highly effective against MARC COOPER MARC

Where NOBO and SOBO Meet Continued from page 11 the Norwich-Hanover list maintained by River. After all, it wouldn’t be magic if Park in Killington, Route 12 in Wood- Betsy Maislen, a thoracic surgery nurse locations were divulged, or even known stock’s Prosper Valley, or the White River practitioner at Dartmouth Hitchcock ahead of time. bridge in West Hartford or the Connecti- Medical Center, GMC life member and Hiker-friendly businesses have cut River bridge in Norwich, remember Long Trail end-to-ender. The network’s evolved to serve thru-hikers as well. From that, for a brief time, these hills are alive, twenty-four volunteers provided shuttles trail-south to trail-north (that is, Maine and this is where NOBOs and SOBOs or hosted overnight stays for an amazing Junction to the Connecticut River) they meet. And should you decide to explore 644 hikers in 2014. According to Betsy, include the Inn at Long Trail at Sher- Vermont’s forgotten stretch of AT off the around July first the woods “unzip” with burne Pass; Mountain Meadows Lodge at Long Trail in late July or early August, north and sound bound hikers. Kent Pond; On the Edge farm stand and you’ll meet them, too. Elm Street in Norwich has been the Appalachian Trail House barn-hostel – Preston Bristow dubbed Trail Magic Alley because of the on Route 12; Cloudland Farm Country Preston Bristow coordinated the federal protec- watermelon slices, fruit, drinks or cookies Market on Cloudland Road; the Norwich tion effort for the Appalachian Trail outside the left in coolers at the foot of at least three Inn; and Dan & Whit’s store in Norwich, Green Mountain National Forest from 1978 to driveways along that road walk. Trail to name a few. 1986, led the founding of GMC’s Ottauquechee magic also appears at many other random Should you see hikers with packs Section in 1979, and was GMC President from spots and times near the Connecticut laboring across Route 100 at Gifford State 1983 to 1985. He lives in Woodstock.

Long Trail News Summer 2015 17 Field Notes

Field Season Declared Open

season. Our primary goal is to renovate Bryant Camp and historic Bolton Lodge, both located on the Bolton Nordic Tract of Mount Mansfield State Forest near the Long Trail. Bolton Lodge, built by GMC in 1928, will return to the Long Trail System. We also plan roof work at Sucker Brook and Story Spring Shelters and repairs to Boyce Shelter and Taft Lodge. Please contact gmc@greenmountainclub. org if you can help with construction work this summer. Caretaker Site Dry Ridge, Johnson: GMC will flag the Dry Ridge Long Trail relocation route. he GMC field season is upon Tenting Area, Butler Lodge, Taft Lodge We may need to acquire one more piece us. Section spring walk and Sterling Pond Shelter. On the Green of land to minimize the road walk south throughs are done, trail and Mountain National Forest we will field a of Vermont Route 15 in Johnson, but we shelter adopters have filed ridgerunner in the Coolidge Range, and hope to have the final flagline ready for Ttheir first reports, and we are orienting will site caretakers at Little Rock Pond, environmental review by the end of the the Long Trail Patrol and backcountry Griffith Lake, Stratton Pond and Stratton year. caretakers to the Green Mountains and Fire Tower. our agency partners. Field season work Green Mountain National Forest: We will include: Data Collection: This year we will station will be planning improvements in the a wilderness caretaker in the Lye Brook Bolles Brook drainage in the Glastenbury Long Trail Patrol: We will have one paid Wilderness to lead an effort to collect Wilderness, and to the Branch Pond Trail Long Trail Patrol crew working from better data and provide a management in the Lye Brook Wilderness, for 2016. mid-June to mid-October on projects that presence. Statewide: We are working with agency include: adjustments to the Bucklin Trail; Former lead Mount Mansfield Care- partners to anticipate potential impacts erosion control on Camel’s Hump’s Mon- taker, Elisabeth Fenn, will conduct pho- of backcountry skiing, fat tire bikes and roe Trail; a Long Trail relocation along topoint monitoring research on Mount endurance racing. the Winooski River south of the new Mansfield, assessing changes to alpine footbridge in Bolton; tread construction vegetation in the last eleven years. This Trail Management: GMC staff, volunteer on Waterbury’s Hunger Mountain Trail project continues Matt Larson’s work, Trail Management Committee members and similar work on the Sterling Pond started in 2004. Generous grants from the and agency partners collaborate both on Trail; and hardening trail near Tillotson Lintilhac Foundation and the Waterman the ground and in the boardroom to keep Camp in Lowell. Fund made the project possible. (See page our infrastructure functional and our Volunteer Long Trail Patrol: The Volunteer 20 for more details.) work plan sustainable, and to support the hundreds of volunteers who maintain the Long Trail Patrol will work on the ridge- Northeast Kingdom: Last winter GMC Long Trail so everyone has a good hiking line between Peru and Styles Peaks, and applied to renew our hiking corridor experience. will work to reopen an abandoned trail manager status. This summer we will The Trail Management Committee is that linked U.S. Route 7 in East Dorset to sponsor trail construction near Unknown the Long Trail at Mad Tom Notch. open to new members with some back- Pond and Middle Mountain in the King- ground in trail and shelter maintenance, a Backcountry Caretakers: We will have dom Heritage Lands. The work will be cooperative spirit and an interest in how a full caretaker program, capably led performed by the NorthWoods Steward- we get things done. Let us know if you’d by Field Supervisor Kevin Hudnell and ship Center. like to be involved! E-mail Dave Hardy, Southern Field Assistant Emily Benning. Campsite Management: We will continue [email protected]. Summit caretakers will be stationed on the tradition of GMC campsite manage- – Dave Hardy, Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield, and ment that began in the early 1900’s, and Director of Trail Programs at Montclair Glen Lodge, Hump Brook will employ a construction crew this

Long Trail News Summer 2015 18 Volunteers

Volunteer with GMC On or Off Trail

he spirit of volunteerism has Center in Stowe. There will a long history at the Green be two, four-hour shifts a day Mountain Club. A passionate on weekends (and holiday group of volunteers built the Mondays), between the TLong Trail more than a century ago, and Fourth of July and Columbus the tradition of giving time and energy Day. You will be provided to the trail continues. We are fortunate with an orientation to Barnes to have so many dedicated volunteers Camp and area information working hard to maintain and preserve resources, and will receive the legacy of America’s first long-distance benefits from local businesses hiking trail. Whether they adopt trails or in appreciation for your time shelters, spend a couple of weeks in the and commitment! field with the Volunteer Long Trail Patrol, educate hikers on the trail, or communi- Trail and Shelter Adoption cate with members from headquarters, volunteers play an integral role in the Trail and shelter adopters success of the club! help keep the Long Trail We would love your help as we accessible and ensure its prepare for another busy and rewarding continuation. Set your own CHARLES HELFER trail season. If you love to get outside and schedule as you clear drainage tion experience, practice your mapping want to do work with a lasting impact on channels, trim brush, maintain blazes, and navigation skills, and be a steward of the landscape of Vermont, please consider perform minor repairs, and report back Vermont’s conserved lands. becoming a GMC volunteer. Take a look to the club. GMC provides tools, signage and any training needed. Several trails at the following volunteer opportunities Thursday Office Volunteers to see how you can get involved: and shelters need adoption. Staff at Barnes Camp Visitor Volunteer Corridor Monitoring Indoor people are needed for our awe- Center at Smugglers’ Notch some group of Thursday office volun- Corridor monitors walk the boundaries teers. Assist with membership mailings, We need cheerful and energetic volun- of pieces of GMC-conserved land at least help prepare marketing materials, stuff teers with strong communication skills annually to ensure conservation require- envelopes, and provide project support to to greet visitors at Barnes Camp Visitor ments are being honored. Gain conserva- staff members. This is a fun and hardworking group!

GMC Representatives

If you want to share your love of the Green Mountain Club or simply enjoy hiking in Vermont, consider becoming a GMC representative. Volunteers are needed at gatherings, festivals, and other community events. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to be willing to talk about your experiences and inspire others to set out on the trail.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities and programs, please contact Membership and Volunteer Coordinator Jenny Montagne, at jmontagne@green mountainclub.org or 802-241-8324. PENNIE RAND Trail Mix

has also been proven effective. Wash and then tumble dry clothing on high heat for Photopoint Monitoring about an hour (if drying clothes treated on Mount Mansfield with permethrin follow instructions on label). Also check gear for crawling ince 1969 the Green Mountain ticks—these opportunists may hitch a Club has staffed ridges to protect ride and attach to skin later. Salpine ecosystems. Caretakers Detect and treat early. The first sign of have educated hikers and maintained Lyme disease is often an expanding red trails above tree line to halt trampling eer ticks, which can transmit rash at the site of the tick bite. The rash of alpine vegetation and encourage its Lyme disease, are becoming usually appears seven to fourteen days re-growth and expansion on Mount more common across Vermont. D after the bite, but sometimes takes up to Mansfield, Camel’s Hump and Mount Ticks hide out in high grass, bushy vege- thirty days to appear. Not everyone gets Abraham. The question that remains is tation and leaf litter throughout the warm the rash, so be on the lookout for flu-like how successful have we been. season waiting for a warm body that can symptoms of early Lyme disease: fatigue, Although we have consistent provide a blood meal to pass by. So take headache, fever, chills, swollen lymph anecdotal evidence that the ridgeline the precautions below when hiking, do- nodes, muscle and joint pain. Lyme vegetation has significantly recovered ing yard work or just playing around. disease can be successfully treated with since the start of the caretaker pro- Repel. Before heading out, apply insect antibiotics, especially if given early. gram, there has been no comprehensive repellent with up to thirty percent DEET. Track ticks. The Vermont Department study documenting changes. Such Treat clothes and gear with permethrin. of Health created an online mapping tool, studies have been made in the White Wear light-colored clothing (the better to Tick Tracker, at www.healthvermont.gov Mountains of New Hampshire and the spot ticks), long sleeves and long pants. /ticktracker that allows users to report Adirondacks of New York, and they Tuck pants into socks or wear gaiters tick bites, identify species, and see where have given conservation and stew- (factory treated gaiters are especially other tick bites have occurred in the ardship organizations there a way to effective) to keep ticks away from skin. state. The more reports posted by users, measure the success of their programs the better the information the tracker can and a tool for evaluating the merits of Inspect. Check yourself often to catch provide. different conservation practices. ticks before they bite. Do a daily head-to- The Health Department’s website, Photopoint studies attempted toe tick check on yourself, children and www.healthvermont.gov, also offers in Vermont have yet to make it past pets. extensive information about ticks and the establishment of baseline photo- Remove. Lyme disease transmission can Lyme disease prevention and treatment. graphs. This summer we will restart a photopoint monitoring project begun be prevented if a tick is removed within – Dr. Harry Chen, MD, about thirty-six hours, but ticks are so Vermont commissioner of health on Mount Mansfield in 2004 by former GMC staff member Matt Larson, and small they can go unnoticed if you aren’t Dr. Chen is a longtime GMC member. He looking for them carefully. (Nymphs are make it part of the caretaker program in and his wife Anne reside in Burlington. the future. no bigger than a poppy seed.) Shower- They have three children, all of whom are ing within two hours of coming indoors This will help us understand long Long Trail end-to-enders. term changes on Mount Mansfield’s ridgeline. By analyzing photographs of the same sites taken eleven years apart, Mount Mansfield summit we can make better informed decisions about the efficacy of our trail management techniques in order to strengthen our stewardship program and ensure the continued protection of the fragile ridge. Photographs showing progress and emphasizing work still needed to be done will also be excellent educa- tional tools for future alpine caretakers. – Elisabeth Fenn, GMC Research Coordinator

This project was made possible thanks to generous grants from the Lintilhac Foundation and the Waterman Fund. JOCELYN HEBERT JOCELYN

Long Trail News Summer 2015 20 Trail Mix

Backcountry Sanitation Manual Second Edition

he Green Mountain Club (GMC) and Appalachian TTrail Conservancy (ATC) are pleased to announce the second edition of the Backcountry Sanitation Manual. The manual is jointly funded by the National Park Service and ATC. Since the early days of the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail, volunteer maintainers have faced the challenge of managing human waste to protect hikers, the environment and trail maintainers. As trail use increased since the first edition in 2001, the need for refining and improving waste-management techniques increased as well. The first edition was created in the belief that remote recreation areas would benefit from an expanded discussion of backcountry sanitation. It introduced a new, simpler and often safer method of composting human waste in the backcountry: the moldering privy. Thanks to the success of the moldering privy on the LT, that

system can now be found all along MARKISON THORIN BY ILLUSTRATION the AT as well as in other recreation areas across the U.S., Alaska and even on best practices for operating molder- Africa. ing privies. The manual has five sections. Part One • The latest guidance and building plans covers background, including history, for handicap-accessible privies. importance, decomposition and compost- • New accessible moldering privy ing processes, and health and safety. designs approved by the U.S. Forest Part Two covers regulatory and aes- Service. thetic issues. Part Three provides detailed • An electronic format with interactive descriptions of composting systems, PDF features enabling word searches. including the moldering privy. Part Four includes case studies, a decision-making GMC and ATC hope this edition will matrix for choosing appropriate systems, continue to be a valuable resource for and information on gray-water (wash backcountry managers addressing exist- water) management. Finally, a detailed ap- ing and future backcountry sanitation pendix includes a glossary, troubleshoot- A Summer Haiku problems. ing tips, examples of stewardship signs, The second edition of the Backcountry Reincarnation and other useful documents. Sanitation Manual is available on GMC’s Come back as a mosquito The second edition features the fol- website: www.greenmountainclub.org. Short turn around time lowing improvements: – Mary Lou Recor • Better graphics, diagrams, color photos – Pete Antos-Ketcham, and building plans. Artwork by Matthew Sylvester of East Calais, • Lessons learned from more than ten Director of Land and Facilities Management http://www.matthewsylvesterart.com years of experience on the LT and AT

Long Trail News Summer 2015 21 Trail Mix

Jenny Montagne The Value of Nature New Membership GMC Member Andy Appel Coordinator t the Green Moun- “Despite my tain Club we are geographic separation Alucky to have a from the Long Trail strong and committed [living in Pennsylvania], membership. The help of what it represents—the close to 10,000 members appreciation of, protec- last year enabled us to ful- tion of and immersion fill our mission to protect in the natural world— and maintain the Long continues to make the Trail. Recently I had the Long Trail’s purpose privilege of speaking with important to me, which Andy Appel, a member is why I continue to be a e are pleased to welcome since 1968. He told me member. what drew him to the club: “When I talk about the Green Jennifer (Jenny) Montagne “Being raised in a suburb of Mountain Club, I tell people that if they to the Green Mountain W Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I grew up in an want a memorable experience on a well- Club staff as our membership coor- environment that favored golf, tennis and maintained trail with superior campsites dinator. With a name like Montagne, creature comforts. The summers of 1961 and a caring ethic, they should check out French for mountain, we think Jenny and 1962, I attended a camp in St. Albans the organization that has accomplished will feel right at home at GMC. Bay. Each summer included a three-day so much for the benefit of those who Jenny comes to us from the Ver- hike on the Long Trail; the summer of appreciate the value of nature.” mont Department of Forests, Parks and 1962 we summited Mount Mansfield. Meeting and talking with mem- Recreation. She has a bachelor’s degree Those hikes, and the environment of bers and donors is what makes my job in communications and journalism the camp, opened the new world of the meaningful. Each of you, like Andy, has from Green Mountain College and a outdoors to me. Ever since, I have cov- your own story about why the Green strong organizational background, and eted nature and ecology and all related Mountain Club is important to you. subjects. Our committed members, near and far, she brings a passion for Vermont and “My affinity for the beauty of all strengthen the club and give us the op- the outdoors to the club. things Vermont made joining the Green portunity to make sure the Long Trail is Jenny was drawn to the GMC’s Mountain Club a no-brainer. If there was around for another 105 years. small, focused team atmosphere and an organization that mirrored the value of – Alicia DiCocco, the opportunity to contribute to an the appreciation of nature, none fits that Director of Development organization that has a positive effect better than GMC. on the lives of Vermonters. She immediately began working to help the Bur- lington Section plan the 2015 annual meeting, coordinating this season’s volunteer trail work, and managing the club’s near 10,000 memberships. She and her husband Ryan live in Moretown. They look forward to getting out on the trail this summer, playing ultimate Frisbee, and exploring Vermont’s swimming holes. You can reach Jenny at jmontagne@greenmountainclub.org, or at (802) 241-8324. – Mike DeBonis, Executive Director KIM ROSENBAUM

Long Trail News Summer 2015 22 Trail Mix

More than Just a View Maintaining Open Areas on the Vermont Appalachian Trail

n 2011 the GMC assumed manage- Assertive measures are necessary to ment responsibility for the entire prevent regrowth of such prolific plants. IAppalachian Trail in Vermont. Before First, open areas must be mechanically that, the Dartmouth Outing Club man- reclaimed, with woody debris burned. aged the twenty-two miles from Vermont Then regular mowing will be needed. Route 12 to New Hampshire. Thanks to the support of our partners, The change means that with our part- foundations and area businesses, GMC ners (the U.S. Forest Service, the National bought several brush clearing saws, a Park Service, and the Appalachian Trail Kubota rough terrain vehicle and pull Conservancy) we manage twelve open behind brush hog. Over two seasons the areas on the new stretch of trail. Rem- GMC Long Trail Patrol used the new nants of more than two hundred years equipment to reclaim four open areas, of agriculture and forestry in the Upper and this season they will work on areas Connecticut River Valley, they reward near Route 12 and in Pomfret. hikers with sweeping vistas. More than The club will continue to monitor just a view, they provide early succes- these spaces, and will mow them annually sional habitat for wildlife, glimpses into to minimize the need for chemical treat- our post-settlement cultural history, and ment. Regular mowing will also preserve sometimes hay or pasture for livestock. SHEA SUSAN their ecological, scenic and historical Until recently these meadows were invasive plants like autumn olive and value to the trail. honeysuckle, which grow quickly and maintained with hand labor and a self- – Pete Antos-Ketcham, propelled walk-behind brush mower. outcompete native plants. Their fruit and Director of Land and That was time-consuming, and many seeds also provide poor nutrition and Facilities Management of the areas are now overgrown with insufficient cover for wildlife.

An Invitation To the Winooski Footbridge Opening June 12 s one fascinated by Green Moun- We invite you to join us! Participants tain Club history, I often think will carpool from the GMC Visitor Center Aabout what it would have been in Waterbury Center to the bridge site in like to be part of landmark moments such Bolton. The opening ceremony will begin as sitting with James P. Taylor on the side at 3:00 p.m. Guests will then participate of Stratton Mountain when he envisioned in a celebratory crossing on the foot- the Long Trail, or working with the crew bridge and official opening of the new who cut the last few miles of footpath to Long Trail Relocation. Journey’s End. So I am thrilled by the The GMC’s 105th Annual Meeting good fortune to have a chance to partici- takes place the next day, Saturday, June pate in such a historic moment. 13, at the visitor center. We have a On June 12, more than a hundred packed agenda of great hikes and speak- years after the project was first proposed, ers. For more information about the the Green Mountain Club will celebrate Winooski Valley Long Trail Relocation the opening of the new Winooski River opening celebration and the 2015 GMC Footbridge and Long Trail Relocation. Annual Meeting, please visit the GMC This significant undertaking will at last website, www.greenmountainclub.org. connect the Long Trail from Camel’s I look forward to seeing you in June! Hump to Mount Mansfield. – Michael DeBonis, LT south to new footbridge Executive Director

Long Trail News Summer 2015 23 Sections Section Directory

Bennington Maintenance: Harmon Hill to Glastenbury Mountain MC’s fourteen sections are geographically located chapters that maintain President: Martha Stitelman, (802) 442-0864 E-mail: [email protected] specific areas of the Long Trail, Appalachian Trail and Northeast King- Website: www.bennington.com/outingclub dom Trails in Vermont. The sections plan group hikes and other season- Brattleboro appropriate outings like cross country skiing, paddle adventures and bike Maintenance: Winhall River to Vt. 11/30 rides.G We connected with some of these dedicated volunteers and asked what projects President: George Roy, (603) 381-7756 E-mail: [email protected] they’re working on both on and off trail this season and why they personally volun- Website: www.brattleborogmc.com teer to maintain the trail. Here’s what they said: Bread Loaf Location: Middlebury area Maintenance: Sucker Brook Shelter to Emily Proctor Shelter Bennington Section: Maintains from President: Ruth Penfield, (802) 388-5407 “I have been with the Brattleboro E-mail: [email protected] Harmon Hill to Glastenbury Mountain Section for thirty-five years, and enjoy Website: www.gmcbreadloaf.org “We don’t have any special projects trail maintenance activity and the people Burlington that are active in the section.” Maintenance: Jonesville to Smugglers’ Notch planned for the summer. Maintaining our President: Ted Albers, (802) 557-7009 E-mail: [email protected] section of LT plus the Bald Mountain and – George Roy Website: www.gmcburlington.org West Ridge side trails is enough! Bread Loaf Section: Maintains from Connecticut “Personally, the reason I do trail main- Sucker Brook to Emily Procter Shelter Location: Hartford, Connecticut tenance is to spend time getting to know Maintenance: Glastenbury Mountain to Arlington-West Wardsboro Road those sections, to go slowly, to watch the “Aside from scheduling outings, the President: Jim Robertson, (860) 633-7279 Bread Loaf Section had a gathering of E-mail: [email protected] woods change with the seasons and the Website: www.conngmc.com years, to see more wildlife, to learn the current outing leaders and potential new Killington old roads, the history, the hidden springs. leaders in April to discuss the ins and Location: Rutland area outs of leading good outings. Maintenance: Vt. 140 to Tucker-Johnson Shelter site By now I know those trails well enough President: Barry Griffith, (802) 492-3573 that I’ll be able to “hike” them after my “As a backpacker that began with hik- E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gmckillington.org legs can no longer do it. I don’t think I’ll ing sections of the Long Trail while grow- Laraway ever know the most efficient way to trim ing up in the 1950s, I think I’ve always Location: St. Albans area hobblebush, though!” had a yearning to work on trails. Vermont Maintenance: Vt. 15 to Vt. 118 and the Green Mountains always beck- President: Bruce Bushey, (802) 893-2146 – Martha Stitelman E-mail: [email protected] oned, and when my wife Ruth retired Manchester Brattleboro Section: Maintains from eight years ago we moved to Vermont. As Maintenance: Vt. 11/30 to Griffith Lake President: Marge Fish, (802) 824-3662 Winhall River to Vermont Route 11 and 30 a hiker, I like the feeling of helping keep E-mail: [email protected] “We are working on some long trails open, in good shape, easy to follow Montpelier needed projects on Spruce Peak Shelter and fun to hike.” Maintenance: Bamforth to Jonesville and – Doug McKain Smugglers’ Notch to Chilcoot Pass this summer, including re-chinking log President: Reidun Nuquist, (802) 223-3550 E-mail: [email protected] walls, re-glazing windows, dealing with Burlington Section: Maintains from Website: www.gmcmontpelier.org some boring insects, and replacing stairs Jonesville to Smugglers’ Notch Northeast Kingdom and old floorboards. Location: Northeast Kingdom “In the spring we clear blowdowns. Maintenance: Willoughby and Darling State Forests and In early summer we go out and do water the Kingdom Heritage Lands. President: Luke O’Brien, (802) 467-3694 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.nekgmc.org Killington Section volunteers Northern Frontier Location: Montgomery Maintenance: Hazen’s Notch to Journey’s End President: Jane Williams, (802) 827-3879 E-mail: [email protected] Ottauquechee Location: Upper Valley, and New Hampshire Maintenance: Appalachian Trail from Maine Jctn. to the New Hampshire line President: Inge Brown, (802) 296-5777 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://gmc-o-section.org Sterling Location: Morrisville/Stowe/Johnson Maintenance: Chilcoot Pass to Vt. 15 President: Greg Western, (802) 655-6051 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gmcsterling.org Worcester Location: Worcester, Massachusetts Maintenance: Arlington-West Wardsboro Rd. to Winhall River President: Patricia Faron, (508) 892-9237 CHARLES HELFER E-mail: [email protected] Long Trail News Summer 2015 24 Sections

bars…and in the fall, more water bar restaurant and do a five- to six-mile sec- work and fall clean up. tion each Saturday. It takes six weeks “We’ve hiked the Long Trail, and to do the Laraway Section. This year want to give back and share it with we hope to do maintenance work on others. Sections are a way to connect with Corliss Camp replacing some flooring and other people in your area.” siding.” – Sheri Larsen “It’s about getting out with long-time friends and volunteers that enjoy being Connecticut Section: Maintains out on the Long Trail, going for a hike, from Glastenbury Mountain to and improving the trail for others.” Kelley Stand Road – Bruce Bushey “In addition to our regular annual maintenance activities such as clearing Manchester Section: Maintains from brush and cleaning water bars between Vermont Route 11 and 30 to Griffith Lake Glastenbury Mountain and the Arling- “In July a church group comes up O-Section volunteer ton-West Wardsboro Road [also called from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for Kelley Stand Road], the Connecticut Sec- a week to help clear the trails of any DICK ANDREWS tion will be preparing to replace the roof accumulated growth of vegetation. Last the link from Middle Mountain’s second on Story Spring Shelter. year this group rebuilt a table at Bromley summit to the third summit. We will “The camaraderie of our trail volun- Shelter, and we will try to find such a also work to complete the Unknown teers, and the thanks and compliments project for them this year. Pond Trail from Route 114 to the Middle we get from many of the LT/AT hikers we “There is satisfaction in clearing a Mountain trail, with access to Headwaters meet, have been the drivers that keep me downed tree from the trail or replacing Camp on Unknown Pond. volunteering.” puncheon or any of the other trail tasks. “The thrill of creating a hiking – James Robertson Being outside in every kind of weather experience in a remote, beautiful and and level of bug activity is a challenge fairly wild area where no trail had existed Killington Section: Maintains from that cannot be found elsewhere. And, it before is what our section loves about Vermont Route 140 to U.S. Route 4 is fun.” volunteering. For me personally it is “A big project for us this season will – Bob Whitney helping to make a fifteen-year-old dream be continued improvements to the Canty become reality.” Trail…the trail to the summit of Blue Montpelier Section: Maintains from – Jean Haigh Ridge Mountain in Mendon, which is Bamforth Ridge to Jonesville and Smugglers’ Notch to Chilcoot Pass Ottauquechee Section: Maintains the part of our section but not on the Long Appalachian Trail from Maine Junction to Trail/Appalachian Trail. We recently “This year the Montpelier Section will the New Hampshire line relocated the Canty Trail from private work on Long Trail relocations in Smug- property to adjacent U.S. Forest Service glers’ Notch and on Bamforth Ridge. “The Ottauquechee Section has no land. We will be installing bog bridging “Why do I do trail work? Because it is projects planned this summer other than on the northern edge of the relocated fun! It is the volunteer work I enjoy more regular maintenance of the 44.6 miles of section. than anything else. There is nothing quite Appalachian Trail. The section is still ad- “I love, love, love the Long Trail and as satisfying as trail work—being able to justing to the additional 21.9 miles of the the Green Mountains. I can get outside see instant results of your labor. It beats AT between Vermont Route 12 and New and give back. Doing trail work also indoor work any time. And I’ll let you Hampshire, formerly maintained by the gives us extra visibility, and gives us an in on a little secret: you meet the nicest Dartmouth Outing Club. Previously we opportunity to get hikers’ attention and people on GMC work hikes.” maintained 22.7 miles of trail, but with no adopters; now we have more trail, but educate them about trails and the GMC. – Reidun Nuquist And, I don’t really have any money or also the help of adopters. business resources so at least I can give Northeast Kingdom Section: Maintains “When I started hiking indepen- my time.” 22 miles of NEK trails including dently fifty years ago, I was grateful for – Allison Henry Willoughby and Darling State Forests the hundreds of miles of trails in north- and the Kingdom Heritage Lands. ern New England and New York. I felt I Laraway Section: Maintains from Vermont ought to help keep them up, but I didn’t “This summer the NEK Section will Route 15 to Vermont Route 118 have time. Now I have time, so I do trail be volunteering on the next phase of the “Every year in the beginning of May, work. It’s as much fun as hiking, especial- trail off of Middle Mountain working a group of us clear blowdowns and clip ly with the company of other O-Section along side the NorthWoods Conserva- brush. We meet for breakfast at a local members.” tion Corps backcountry crew building – Dick Andrews

Long Trail News Summer 2015 25 Book Review

Ben Montgomery, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The idea of hiking the Appalachian days away, she was back in Ohio. She told The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Trail came from an abandoned 1949 no one of her failure. Appalachian Trail (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, National Geographic magazine. She saw a The following year Gatewood was 2014). 277 pp., illus., maps. $26.95 hardcover. photograph of youthful hikers at Sher- again on the AT, this time starting burne Pass, read that the trail was as wide in Georgia. By today’s standards her mma Rowena Gatewood as a truck, that food was easy to come by, clothing and equipment were woefully (1887-1973), popularly known and that shelters were an easy day’s walk inadequate. She hiked in sneakers, wear- as Grandma Gatewood, was apart. In secret, she began preparing for ing out several pairs. Her clothing was the first woman to solo hike the AT. When she left for Maine by Grey- pretty much what she wore on the farm, Ethe 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail (AT), hound bus in July 1954, she had told no her pack a home-made haversack that from Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia to one—not even her children—about her she slung over one shoulder. She car- Mount Katahdin in Maine, in one season. plans. ried a blanket, but no sleeping pad or (Today’s southern terminus lies further She climbed Mount Katahdin, then tent. Shelters, she soon discovered, were north, on Springer Mountain.) took the wrong trail: no one had in- scarcer than advertised. When she could The year was 1955, and she was sixty- formed her the AT was blazed white. not find lodging (locals often turned her seven years old. Before Gatewood, Mary After being lost overnight, she emerged away), she slept under picnic tables or Kilpatrick had section-hiked the AT with at Rainbow Lake disheveled, her glasses made herself a bed of leaves. On cold her husband; another woman, Mildred broken, with no food and almost no mon- nights, she lay on stones heated by her Lamb, had finished in one season, but ey. Park rangers who had been searching cook fire. with male escort. Gatewood’s solo hike for her were vocal in their disapproval, Of special interest to us is her progress was a remarkable first. and told her to return home. After seven through Vermont. The summer of 1955 In 1960 she hiked the Appalachian was unusually wet, and conditions wors- Trail again. And three years ened when Tropical Storm later, at age seventy-five, she Diane pummeled the North- did it a third time, but in sec- east. At Peru Peak Shelter, tions. Gatewood also covered water dripping from the 2,000 miles of the Oregon Trail ceiling, Gatewood shared the from Independence, Missouri, floor with two church lead- to Portland, Oregon, and hiked ers and eight young charges Vermont’s Long Trail end-to- from rival gangs in Harlem. end. Late in life she reckoned The Rev. David Loomis later she had walked 14,000 miles. remembered her as “bruised, Emma Caldwell, daughter exhausted … in dire need of a Civil War veteran, grew … a genteel white Southern up one of fifteen children on a lady. She could hide neither modest Ohio farm. Upon fin- her drawl nor her unease …” ishing eighth grade she went At Clarendon Gorge the to work as a housemaid for bridge was washed out. With 75 cents a week, to help her water too deep for wading, family. When P.C. Gatewood, Gatewood, who could not a forceful teacher and farmer, swim, paced the bank for came calling, he seemed like a hours, waiting for someone good catch; they were married to come by. Finally two Navy in 1907. Almost immediately backpackers arrived. They he began beating her, and picked up her sack, tied never let up. She escaped Gatewood between them, and when she could into nearby in raging water up to their woods. After eleven children chests, got her safely across and thirty-five years of mar- as she stared up at the sky to riage, Gatewood finally won avoid looking down. “Well,” her freedom. She later wrote she told them, “you got that she had been “happy ever grandma across.” since.” Continued next page

Long Trail News Summer 2015 26 Board Report

he club is on solid financial Dave Hardy, director of trail programs, ing maintenance of GMC’s non-trail and organizational footing, reported that renovations to Bolton Lodge facilities and stewardship of its land; and is well-supported for the and Bryant Camp will begin this field and future by board leadership season. He highlighted two reports from • New editions of two books and three Tand staff, President Jean Haigh said at the the 2014 field season: spring board meeting March 21. maps published by the GMC Publica- Treasurer Stephen Klein reported that • The Alpine Stewardship Report, pre- tions Committee, led by Chair Doug the fiscal year 2015 budget is on target, pared by Field Supervisor Kevin Hud- McKain and Publications Coordinator and that the endowment had increased nell, that analyzes activity on Mount Matt Krebs. Mansfield, Camel’s Hump and Mount to approximately $4.4 million by the end The 2015 Annual Meeting will be Abraham, required as a condition for of February. He also said costs for the hosted by the Burlington Section at grant funding of summit caretakers; Winooski Valley Long Trail Relocation the GMC Visitor Center on June 12 and have remained stable and largely true to and 13, including the grand opening of the projections over the past year. • An analysis of Appalachian Trail uti- Winooski River Footbridge on June 12. Executive Director Mike DeBonis lization, prepared by Southern Field A small amount of steelwork remains to reported that Jennifer Montagne was Supervisor Kim Rosenbaum, required be done on the bridge this spring, and hired as the new membership coordinator to receive funding from the Appala- the club is in the final phase of fundrais- in February. Membership now averages chian Trail Conservancy. ing for the Winooski Valley Long Trail about 9,500, down from a high of just Relocation. over 10,000 in 2013. Reports of accomplishments by the The board participated in a vision- Mike reported that a camps commit- staff highlighted: ing exercise as a first step in a review of tee is being formed to provide leadership • The excellent spring edition of the the club’s governance and organizational and strategic oversight on camp manage- Long Trail News produced by Long structure. ment, now that the club has five enclosed Trail News Editor Jocelyn Hebert and Nominating Committee Chair Richard camps not on the Long Trail or Appa- volunteer copy editor Dick Andrews; Windish noted that the annual election lachian Trail. He concluded it has been • The club’s successful social media of general directors is underway, and a good year with the addition of new birthday celebration; that officers will be elected at the June staff, a successful field season, and near • An excellent job by Pete Antos- board meeting, held immediately after the completion of the Winooski Valley Long annual meeting. Trail Relocation. Ketcham, director of lands and facilities management, and his team, provid- – Tom Candon, Secretary

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk Continued

By then word had spread about the proved her undoing. The trail was a tan- Author Ben Montgomery calls short plucky grandmother who was walk- gle, had few if any blazes and icy water Gatewood’s story inspiring. It is also ing alone from Georgia to Maine. She to wade. After her glasses broke in a bad humbling. What this unassuming older was frequently delayed by reporters who fall, she stumbled along almost blind. But woman accomplished cannot be matched all asked the same question: Why? Her she persevered. On top of Katahdin she by another hiker, male or female. Com- answer varied. Her children had finally signed the trail register, and broke into pared to Emma Gatewood the rest of us left the house. She liked nature. She America the Beautiful. are sissies or, as she might call us, panty- thought it would be a lark. She had heard Asked how she had found the waists. that no woman had done it. Although she Appalachian Trail, she answered that The book’s structure is less inspiring, encountered rattlesnakes, porcupines, a “most of the shelters were blown down, awkwardly shifting between Gatewood’s rat and dogs, she claimed never to have burned down, or so filthy I chose to sleep hikes, her early life and national events. been afraid. Perhaps the woods felt safer out of doors … Why, an Indian would But her courage and grit carry the story. than her past domestic life. die laughing his head off if he saw those – Reidun D. Nuquist With soggy Vermont behind her, trails. I would never have started this trip Gatewood’s next challenges were the if I had known how tough it was, but I Reidun Nuquist of the Montpelier Section White Mountains and Maine. She scaled couldn’t and wouldn’t quit.” Her hike is a librarian with a special interest in the rugged Presidentials, occasionally helped draw attention to the state of the Vermont and Long Trail history. treating herself to a hut bed and a decent AT, and in that way she helped “save” it, meal. The Maine wilderness almost as suggested by the book’s title.

Long Trail News Summer 2015 27 GMC Outdoor Programs

Our education program offers a wide OUTDOOR SKILLS variety of courses and outings to help you have fun, be safe, and learn more about Plant Identification Workshop and Hike the outdoors. Saturday, June 27, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center Experienced instructors teach hiking Hiking is a great way to explore and learn and backpacking; wilderness first aid and about Vermont’s fascinating plant commu- medicine; conservation and stewardship nities. After an hour at the visitor center skills; navigation by map, compass and discussing plant identification and vertical succession we’ll have lunch and carpool to GPS; outdoor leadership; and much more. the Pinnacle Meadows Trail in Stowe. On with children or alone—all are welcome to Visit us at www.greenmountainclub.org the hike we will identify plant communi- attend. A picnic area is available for those ties, learn how they change with elevation, and sign up today. who wish to bring a bagged lunch and stay and have a plant identification scavenger after the program. hunt! Moderate, 3.0 miles round trip. Instructors: Joe Bahr, Caitlin Miller. Limit: June 18 – The Forest Floor 12. Fee: $20. Register one week in advance. July 2 – Wetlands and Streams July 16 – All about Insects July 30 – Lichens and Ferns Aug. 13 – The Year of the Tree Instructor: Caitlin Miller. Space limited. $5 suggested donation. Please sign up by the Monday of the week you would like to participate. LEAVE NO TRACE

Leave No Trace Trainer Course July 18, 9:00 a.m.–July 19, 3:00 p.m. Old Job Trail, Danby The principles of Leave No Trace (LNT) are Map and Compass I the result of a nationwide effort to educate outdoor recreationists on minimum-impact Thursday, July 8, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. GMC Visitors Center, Waterbury Center backcountry practices. This two-day course will provide you with an overview of LNT In this introductory map and compass skills, teaching ideas and materials. Upon workshop participants will learn to read a completion, you will receive a Leave No map, the principles of magnetic declination, Trace Trainer certification allowing you to and route finding strategies. Come prepared educate others on the principles and host to walk through high brush and mud for LNT Awareness workshops. one to two miles. If you have a compass, Instructors: GMC Master Educators. Fee: please bring it. Compasses will be provided $75. Limit: 6. Minimum: 6. Register two for those without one. Instructors: GMC weeks in advance. A gear list and LNT Education Staff. Limit: 20. Fee: $15. Regis- principle sign up will be sent to registered ter one week in advance. participants prior to the course. (For more Nature’s Corner details visit our website, www.greenmountainclub.org.) Every Other Thursday Morning June 18-August 13, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The Short Trail GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center Explore forest, field and stream with other families with young children, foster environmental stewardship, and meet nature loving people. Each family-friendly walk is designed to introduce the newest gen- eration to the intricacies of nature. Come

Long Trail News Summer 2015 28 GMC Outdoor Programs

YOUTH, FAMILY, AND REGISTRATION INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS Contact our office to register. Full payment by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, check or cash is required Young Adventurers Club before attending workshops.

The Young Adventurers Clubs (YACs) are a Phone: (802) 244-7037 Green Mountain Club program to get kids E-mail: [email protected] six and under and their parents outdoors Mail: 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road to hike, play, learn, and make friends. The Waterbury Center VT 05677 first YAC was founded by GMC’s Montpe- lier Section. Register online at www.greenmountainclub.org. Montpelier YAC: FEES www.gmcmontpelier.org/yac GMC members—ask about your member discount. Manchester YAC: www.gmcmanchester.org Not a member? Join and save. Bread Loaf YAC: CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS www.gmcbreadloaf.org Refunds (minus a $10 processing fee) will be Burlington YAC: provided if cancellations are made before the reg- www.gmcburlington.org FIRST AID istration deadline. Cancellations after the deadline GMC Events Calendar will be refunded 50 percent of the workshop fee only SOLO Wilderness First Aid if the space is subsequently filled. No refunds will Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, Check the GMC Events Calendar on the be made for reservations cancelled less than three 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. website for a list of hikes, outings and days before the workshop. GMC reserves the right GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center events throughout Vermont and beyond. to cancel a program at any time, in which case the Sign up early—this course fills fast! This club will notify registrants and make full refunds. sixteen-hour, hands-on course will prepare you for backcountry medical emergencies. Note: Workshop dates and venues may change Its focus is on the prevention, recognition, due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. and treatment of injuries and illnesses. Please call or e-mail GMC before any workshop for Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification or the latest updates. Updates, additional workshops Wilderness First Responder (WFR) recer- and more information can be found online at www. tification is provided upon completion. Instructors: Stonehearth Open Learning greenmountainclub.org. Opportunities staff. Limit: 30. Fee: $190. AGE REQUIREMENT Please contact GMC if you need WFR recer- tification (additional fees apply). Register The minimum age to participate in a workshop is two weeks in advance. sixteen, unless otherwise noted.

Long Trail News Summer 2015 29 Advertise in the LongTrailNews call Jocelyn: 802-241-8215

Long Trail News Summer 2015 30 Journey’s End

Call of the Trail have always liked trails. Rambling water moving, even though its flow is not breathe and live in the moment. When trails that take a day to cover, and yet in sight. Walk farther and the sound I hiked the last part of the Pacific Crest short trails, like the ones in our grows stronger; a waterfall tumbles by Trail with my husband, we traversed a local town forest. I like the Pacific unencumbered. A trail might show the section far from roads, accessible only ICrest Trail with its smooth graveled paths way to a clump of pink lady slippers or a by foot or horse. That experience was that gently switch back and forth across mossy log reeking of the earth. It might profound and glorious. I felt humbled by towering mountains, and the rugged lead to a beaver lodge. How can a couple the magnitude of where I was and grate- East Coast alleyways with their steep of rodents build so masterful a home? So ful to be there. Here in Vermont, eight ascents and descents. Some trails have many possibilities await. wilderness areas beckon, and trails lead only cairns or white blazes marking the Trails connect people. Think how to most of those opportunities to explore way across bare rock. Others use ladders many others have traveled the paths we the rarely explored. to climb ledges, or boardwalks or halved have: backpackers, day hikers, wander- Trails connect us to ourselves. After a logs to meander through swamps and salt ers from all over the world. Did they slog hard day at work, a walk on a local trail marshes. I like them all. through rain too? And climb the Stratton can offer relief and perspective. A longer, I recently read Cheryl Strayed’s book, Mountain Firetower to admire the view? tougher trail gives us a chance to test our- Wild, part of which takes place on the How many other dads hoisted a tired selves and learn who we are, how capable Pacific Crest Trail. The popularity of the child on strong shoulders for a ride? our lungs and bones, how determined book and the subsequent 2014 hit movie We also have an invisible but power- our mettle. Walking for a week on the started me wondering about trails, their ful connection to people who tend the Long Trail simplifies daily activities, and power, their lure. What, exactly, calls trails. A trail might lead to a hand-hewn encourages self-reliance and trust. us to them? It’s got to be more than the bridge. How did people build so beauti- I’ve hiked sections of the Long Trail, growing evidence that hiking promotes ful a bridge in the middle of nowhere? and wandered along many other trails on good health. The answer I found is this: Every year hundreds of volunteers carry both coasts. Every time I step on a trail, I trails connect. lumber, tools, food and water, and trek connect with another part of myself and The connection can be as simple as the Long Trail to clear blow-downs, trim the world around me. I can’t wait to do it linking one point to another: the start of vegetation, relocate trails and build wa- again. the Long Trail to its northern terminus, terbars. Others repair shelters or educate – Elizabeth G. Macalaster a parking lot to a summit, a main trail to hikers about endangered plant species. a shelter or lookout. They intersect and Thousands of trail caretakers volunteer Elizabeth Macalaster, a Green Mountain zig right or zag left. There’s a maze of each year throughout the country, all for Club member, is the author of Reckoning choices, but somehow it’s hard to get lost. us, people they don’t see or know. at Harts Pass, a wilderness thriller set on Trails connect us to the wonder and Trails connect us to wilderness. Time the Pacific Crest Trail. When she’s not hik- surprise of the natural world—you never in a place undisturbed and uninhabited ing, she’s working on a sequel to her novel. know what might be around that next by humans offers escape. We find peace bend. What an irresistible tease to hear and solitude, a chance to hear ourselves

Long Trail News Summer 2015 31 Periodicals Postage PAID Waterbury Center and Additional Offices

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Limited Edition GMC Retro Logo T-shirt GMC turned 105 this year! We’re feeling nostalgic so brought back the old logo t-shirt, available in 2015 only. Forest green. Women’s XS-XL. Men’s S-XL. $17.95

New colors! GMC Logo T-shirts GMC shirts are a great way to show your support for the Green Mountain Club and the Long Trail. We have several new colors New! Trucker Hat and a variety of styles and fabrics to choose from. We’ve added the trucker style to our selection of GMC logo caps. The breathable polyester mesh back- Purchase these items, GMC publications, and memberships ing will help you stay cool while you hike. Available at our online store: www.greenmountainclub.org, in dark green. Adjustable plastic snap closure means at our visitor center store in Waterbury Center one size fits all. $18.95 or by calling (802) 244-7037.