NEWS

Quarterly of the Green Mountain Club SUMMER 2016

Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 1 From the President

ave you ever climbed a steep trail, The parts of the Long Trail that get stepping stone to stone on a seem- the heaviest use, such as the Long Trail/ Hingly perfect rise of steps? You won- Appalachian Trail in the south and Mount dered how nature came to provide you with Mansfield, Mount Abraham and Camel’s such a convenient staircase, and then realized Hump in the north, have been the focus of nature didn’t put those stones there. Master tread hardening efforts for decades. They are The mission of the Green Mountain Club is to trail builders like the Green Mountain Club’s now models of how to construct a hiking make the Vermont mountains play a larger­ Long Trail Patrol did. trail in mountainous terrain. Trail builders take pride in improving But another hundred miles of Long Trail part in the life of the people­ by ­protecting the tread in such a naturalized way. In a few in northern Vermont is frequently at the and maintaining the Long Trail System and years their work blends into the terrain as bottom of priority lists. Any Long Trail thru- John Page fostering, through education,­ the stewardship if it had always been there. GMC invests hiker will tell you tread hardening is much of Vermont’s hiking trails and mountains. hundreds of trail crew hours into this kind less common up north. And the tread can get of tread hardening every year. Our crews very soft indeed. ensure that the entire trail, especially the improve trails with wooden puncheon, bog Public trail work funding is greatly northern region, is maintained to the same Quarterly of the bridges and other support structures. They appreciated, but also finite. State and federal high standard. Green Mountain Club also do heavy stone work—not to make trails partners fund a little more than a third of In addition to enabling important trail Puncheon along Sucker Pond on the Long Trail easier, but to protect them, and surrounding GMC’s professional trail work on public land. improvements, we hope this effort will Michael DeBonis, Executive Director vegetation, from erosion when soil, water The club must raise the remaining funds for reinforce the work of the club’s sections, and Jocelyn Hebert, Editor Long Trail News bring more attention to a part of the Long Richard Andrews, Volunteer Copy Editor contents and hikers come together in Vermont’s wet work on public land, and all funds for work mountain climate. on private land. This is done privately through Trail that is loved by many for its rugged, Sly Dog Studio, Design Summer 2016, Volume 76, No. 2 The Long Trail is a wet (read: muddy) the generous donations of our members and remote appeal. Green Mountain Club trail even in a dry season, so minimizing supporters. The annual challenge of raising The summer hiking season has begun. 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road Features Please make time to go outdoors and experi- Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677 erosion is a priority. GMC Sections and money to support our trail work means Phone: (802) 244-7037 trail adopters do an excellent job of clearing we need to prioritize projects and identify ence Vermont’s world class hiking trails. We Fax: (802) 244-5867 5 / Tribute to Pete Richardson blowdowns, cleaning water bars, brushing additional capacity to maintain the Long Trail. are blessed with a uniquely blended land- E-mail: [email protected] out new growth and refreshing blazes, but As we develop our next strategic plan scape of natural beauty and human presence. Website: www.greenmountainclub.org 6 / Photo Monitoring in the Alpine Zone they don’t have the resources to build the later this year, we will address the need to Enjoy it all. Appreciate it all. And remember TheLong Trail News is published by The Green By Elisabeth Fenn how lucky we are. Mountain Club, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded heavy, permanent improvements needed to build sustainable private funding sources in 1910. In a 1971 Joint Resolution, the Vermont prevent serious erosion. (ideally a dedicated endowment fund) to — John Page, President Legislature designated the Green Mountain Club the 8 / Summer Ponds “founder, sponsor, defender and protector of the Long By Squirrel Johnson Trail System...” Contributions of manuscripts, photos, illustrations, and 10 / LONG TRAIL: a footpath in the wilderness news are welcome from members and nonmembers. Copy and advertising deadlines are December 22 for the By Dave Hardy spring issue; March 22 for summer; June 22 for fall; and September 22 for winter. 12 / Long Trail Shelters: A Photo Essay The opinions expressed byLTN contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of GMC. GMC reserves the right to refuse advertising that is not in 14 / 171 Hikers Complete The Long Trail keeping with the goals of the organization. 16 / First Women GMC Caretakers Post Up at Taft Lodge TheLong Trail News (USPS 318-840) is published quarterly by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 By Wendy Turner Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. Periodicals postage paid at Waterbury Center, VT and 18 / Respecting Wildlife additional offices. Subscription is a benefit for GMC members. Approximately $5 of each member’s dues is used By Kim Rosenbaum to publish the Long Trail News. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Long Trail News, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, departments VT 05677. Copyright©2016 The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 3 / From the President 24 / Volunteers Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. Permission to reproduce in any form any of the material 4 / Mountain Views 26 / Sections in this publication without prior written approval of The Green Mountain Club, Inc. is granted only to individuals 19 / Field Notes 28/ Outdoor Programs for their own personal hiking convenience.­ 20 / Trail Mix 31 / Journey’s End 22 / Board Report Cover photo: Section hikers approaching the Chin on Mount Mansfield. Photo by Jocelyn Hebert Long TrailNorthern News Long • S Trailummer on Laraway 2016 Mountain | 3 Mountain Views

Evocative Artwork to work the ropes, etc. It became a less than safe Thank you so much for the latest issue of the situation for hikers. Remembering GMC Trail Icon Long Trail News! I was idly flipping through the The New York Department of Environmental winter edition the other day, enjoying it again, Conservation finally came up with a workable and wondering when it might be spring enough policy over the years to get things turned around. GMC Officers for the next issue to arrive. And then there it was In areas of high bear problems all hikers were John Page, President in my mailbox the next day! required to carry bear canisters for their food. Tom Candon, Vice President Period. No exceptions. Enforced with rules and Pete Stephen Klein, Treasurer I’ve just begun to read through the different Lee Allen, Secretary features and departments, and have been enjoying fines, and patrolled by state rangers. To be fairer GMC Directors them, but I wanted to say a special thank you for to hikers, the ADK purchased numerous bear canisters which hikers could rent for reasonable Lars Botzojorns, General the beautiful and evocative artwork you included Michelle Connor, Burlington in this issue. The pieces of art throughout were fees at club locations near these areas. Richardson Marge Fish, Manchester It stated in the article that James Fritz, Connecticut lovely, but something I can’t identify really spoke Long Trail News eter Hughes Richardson of Exeter, GMC volunteers and employees. “Pete take on more shelter projects and finalize the Jean Haigh, Northeast Kingdom to me in Jenny Montagne’s watercolor that ac- you have already reviewed what other areas have New Hampshire, formerly of Norwich, went everywhere in the woods, and was a Long Trail route across the Lamoille River.” George Hall, General done, so if this is not new to you, it still may be Allison Henry, Killington companied Caitlin Miller’s article, “A Collective passed away on March 12 at age critical link between the Appalachian Trail Among Pete’s most lasting Peter Hope, Ottauquechee worth more serious consideration at this time if a P Connection to the Land.” The forest silhouette, ninety-one. He is survived by his wife Conservancy and Green Mountain Club,” contributions was his steady guidance of Paul Houchens, General Anne Janeway, General single-color distant ridgeline, and abstract pattern problem still exists. What New York State and the Corinne, four children, twelve grandchildren said long-time Director of Trail Programs GMC’s efforts to establish the treadway Wayne Krevetski, General of the hills just formed the perfect combination ADK did work. And I believe their bear problem and ten great-grandchildren. Dave Hardy. and boardwalk route of the Appalachian Sheri Larsen, General Ron Lucier, Sterling to call the Green Mountains to mind. was far worse than what’s been experienced in Ver- Pete “…translated his lifelong love of the Pete is remembered for his calm and National Scenic Trail at Thundering Falls Doug McKain, Bread Loaf mont to date. We were required to take canisters outdoors and determination to leave his encouraging presence. He was influential in Killington. After nearly twenty years of Millie Mugica, General I’m still an aspirational Vermonter, having John Oliva, Worcester fallen in love with the state during a visit with well away from where we were tenting and leave global campsite better than he found it into and highly respected throughout the Green planning and four years of construction, Walter Pomroy, Northern Frontier them there. If bears did find them, they soon Lexi Shear, General friends in 2009. I come to see the Green Moun- activities too numerous to count but which Mountain Club, and his thoughtful wisdom GMC with ATC and USFS assistance, Martha Stitelman, Bennington tains (and my friends) when I can, but the Long found out that they would get no reward for their include the Connecticut River Watershed, helped volunteer leaders of the ’80s and ’90s completed Vermont’s first universally Dann Van Der Vliet, General futile efforts. A workable solution. Matt Wels, Brattleboro Trail News brings some of the most beautiful parts the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the manage changes required by the 2000s. accessible stretch of AT in 2008. Mike Wetherell, Montpelier of Vermont to me when I can’t be there—both Hope this helps. Sometime I’ll share about Exeter Conservation Commission,” reads An Ottaquechee Section member, Pete Another significant contribution was John Zaber, General Vacant, Laraway the beauty of nature and that of people working the grizzly we had to drive off with rocks on one memorial. and other O-Section volunteers includ- Pete’s constant encouragement of new together to preserve that nature and help everyone the McKinley River Basin in Alaska, but that’s His global campsite most certainly ing Don Whitney, Paul Magoon, Phil volunteers and staff, like current Manchester GMC Staff Directory enjoy it safely and responsibly. Thanks for finding another story. Some old timer GMCers may included Vermont’s Long Trail/Appalachian Woodbury and Glenn Wheelock, worked Section President Marge Fish. “Pete is Main Telephone: (802) 244-7037 yet another way of sharing that beauty with me! remember it. Trail and the Green Mountain Club (GMC). to relocate a sixteen-mile section of the the reason I became active in club-wide Jason Buss, Business Manager Pete was a paratrooper in the Eighty- Appalachian Trail between Kent Pond committees, a board member, and eventually E-mail: [email protected] —(Mr.) Jan Spoor, Chevy Chase, Maryland —Todd Jenner, Laraway Section Phone: (802) 241-8214 Second Airborne Division in France in in Killington and Vermont Route 12 in vice president and then president of the Lenny Crisostomo, Database Manager Todd and Wendy Jenner, with Laraway Section 1945 during the Second World War, a 1948 Woodstock. This complex process required club,” Marge said. E-mail: [email protected] members and other GMC volunteers, built Round- graduate of MIT, and high school science skillful negotiation with the Appalachian “I was out on the first of many scouting Phone: (802) 241-8325 Bear Problems Michael DeBonis, Executive Director I was surprised to hear of the bear problems on and top Shelter in 1994. The unique log lean-to, located and math teacher. In 1964 he went back Trail Conservancy (ATC) and the Na- trips to find the perfect place for the new E-mail: [email protected] around Camel’s Hump and other areas on the trail on the Long Trail north of Route 15 in Johnson, was to MIT to work in the Admissions Office, tional Park Service. Pete’s strong relation- Bromley Shelter and trail relocation. I Phone: (802) 241-8212 dedicated to Todd’s brother Jeff. where he was director of admissions from ship with both organizations helped guide listened to Pete, then chair of the trail Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development in the latest Long Trail News. I know I’m out of the E-mail: [email protected] loop, and it’s been a few years now since I made it 1972 to 1984. Pete also worked three years the project to success. “I enjoyed very management committee, and Dave Hardy Phone: (802) 241-8322 back to Vermont to hike and experience the moun- as director of the Vermont Law School much working with Pete, and even though discuss a number of trail issues. I asked Pete Dave Hardy, Director of Trail Programs E-mail: [email protected] tains, so forgive me that. Long Trail News welcomes your comments. Admissions Office. we worked very hard it was a fun project how I could get involved in the decision Phone: (802) 241-8320 I do know the Adirondacks. I experienced my ­Letters received may be edited for length and At the start of the war the Appalachian that gave all that worked on it a feeling of making process and he said, ‘Come to a trail Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor clarity. GMC reserves the right to decline to E-mail: [email protected] first close bear encounter in New York State in a Mountain Club (AMC) hired young men, great satisfaction when it was done,” said management committee meeting, and if you Phone: (802) 241-8215 publish those considered ­inappropriate. clearing for tents not too far from the Adirondack Not all letters may be published. including Pete, to help run the White Don Whitney. like it, join the committee.’” Mollie Klepack, Stewardship Coordinator Mountain Club (ADK) building in the High Mountain’s hut system. Hutmen were After a stint as ATC Regional Vice Chair, In 2013 The GMC bestowed its E-mail: [email protected] Send to: Jocelyn Hebert, Phone: (802) 241-8217 Peaks area. It became a quite severe problem for [email protected] or famous for routinely carrying hundred- Pete continued to advise both ATC and Honorary Life Membership award upon Pete Matt Krebs, Operations/Publications Coordinator them over the years, and you could find torn ropes pound packs of supplies up steep and rough GMC staff members about trails, steward- in recognition of his many years of devotion E-mail: [email protected] Letters to the Editor, Phone: (802) 241-8321 and rags of well-hung food bags in many areas, GMC, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, mountain trails to the huts. Each made many ship and productive relations with volunteers to maintaining and improving Vermont’s Caitlin Miller, Group Outreach Specialist which was a pretty good indicator you were in bear Waterbury Center, VT 05677 trips, since there were no airlifts then. “Pete and trail partners. He became GMC Trail Long Trail and Appalachian Trail. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8327 country with educated bears. They learned how was an old hutman who relished revisiting Management Chair in 1999. “At the time Pete’s region-wide involvement with Jenny Montagne, Membership Coordinator the haunts of his youth,” said friend Derek Pete helped me, an overwhelmed former GMC, ATC and AMC made an enormous [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8324 Teare. “He and Keenie, as newlyweds, ran the field assistant recently promoted to director impact on all of these organizations and the Amy Potter, Visitor Center Manager new Zealand Falls Hut one summer.” of field programs, focus on the big picture people who were fortunate to work and hike E-mail: [email protected] From the 1980s until 2005, Pete was by asking important questions and structur- with him. “Pete’s passing leaves a large hole in Phone: (802) 241-8210 heavily involved with GMC and the ing meetings to include short reports on several trail communities and in the hearts of Green Mountain National Forest, and all facets of the program,” said Dave Hardy. those of us who knew him,” Marge said. Follow Us: shared his passion for the outdoors with “On Pete’s watch field programs expanded to

• Illustration by Jenny Montagne Long Trail News Summer 2016 | 5 The results are very encouraging. In eleven years the amount of vegetation we saw in the quadrat plots increased. In 2004 forty-three Changes in Alpine Vegetation Photo Monitoring in percent of the area encompassed by the quadrat plots was vegetation; by 2015 this had risen to seventy-three percent. In addition, the por- Coverage over Time tion of bare soil decreased from fifteen percent to five percent. This indicates vegetation is colonizing areas that were previously bare. Mount Mansfield’s Alpine Zone: Not only is there alpine vegetation across more of the ridgeline, it is stabilizing soil and reducing potential erosion. Since the plot loca- tions had been chosen to represent the most badly damaged areas, this also shows that trampled sites can recover relatively quickly. The Results There was no strong correlation between distance from the trail or type of trail definition (string, scree wall, or both) and vegetative re- he results are in! In the Fall 2015 Long Trail News I summer I re-photographed all eighty-eight plots to learn what is hap- growth or lack thereof. We did find that puncheon (wooden bridging described a broad analysis of vegetative recovery in the pening to alpine vegetation now, to strengthen our trail management placed over wet or vegetated areas) helps protect vegetation. The two Talpine zone on Mount Mansfield. In conclusion to that techniques protecting Vermont’s alpine vegetation. transect plot photo sets in this article highlight the dramatic increase article I’ll consider trends and outcomes from last summer’s We were looking for changes between 2004 and 2015. Is there in vegetation surrounding puncheon. We did not see the same kind of 1a, 2004 photo monitoring. more vegetation now? Less? Did some plots show greater change improvement in transect plots with string or scree walls. 1a, 2015 That monitoring followed a study by Matt Larson in 2004 that than others? We used image classifier software to categorize each The discovery of the value of puncheon has already led to more established plot locations along the Long Trail, and photographed pixel as vegetation, rock or soil, and calculated the percentage of each projects and funding for the Green Mountain Club, and supported them as a baseline for comparison with repetitions of the study. Last characteristic for each photograph. an effort this summer to replace failing puncheon on Mount Mans- field. One of the biggest problems GMC caretakers see on busy days is that narrow puncheon does not accommodate two-way traffic, so hikers either wait their turn or step off the puncheon for a few steps. The new puncheon will be wider and also made of more durable materials. No matter how much we improve trail management techniques to minimize trampling of vegetation, it is still essential for friendly caretakers to stop and chat with hikers and inspire love and respect for the alpine zone. The lively interest shown by hikers during this study showed that 1a, 2004 classified 1a, 2015 classified they like to interact with field staff. In a positive context hikers love having plants identified and hearing about the wonderful recovery alpine vegetation is making. Our monitoring on Mount Mansfield The top two images are photos of quadrat plot 1a from 2004 and 2015. The two images below these show what opened a new avenue for visitor interaction that should continue to each photo looks like after being classified as vegetation, benefit the GMC Caretaker Program through use of new photo- Plot 7, 2004 Plot 7, 2015 rock, and soil pixels. In 2004, plot 1a was sixteen percent graphs. Future repetitions of the study will create still more valuable vegetation, fifty-seven percent rock, and twenty-seven discussions with hikers. percent soil. Compare that to 2015, when plot 1a was —Elisabeth Fenn, GMC Research Coordinator sixty-eight percent vegetation and thirty-two percent rock: there was no soil at all then. This is a marked improvement Elisabeth is a New Hampshire native. in just eleven years. Automatic classification of images pro- duced much quicker and more accurate results than manual After graduating from the University of analysis of images. Vermont she started working with GMC as Plot 1a is just west of the Long Trail at the first over- an intern stationed on Mount Mansfield. look north of the visitor center. Just a ten minute hike from She spent her second season as a caretaker the toll road parking lot, it sees thousands of visitors every on Mount Abraham, and the next season summer. The trail in this area is prominently defined by as lead caretaker on Mount Mansfield. string because this is the first time many visitors have been Last summer, she returned to Mount in an alpine zone. I did not expect to see so much recovery Mansfield to coordinate this project. here, but it probably helps that visitors have just been talk- ing to caretakers at the visitor center, so the advice to walk only on rocks is still fresh in their minds. Plot 17, 2004 Plot 17, 2015 This project was made possible thanks to generous grants from the Lintilhac Foundation and the Waterman Fund.

6 || th thee green green moun mounttainain cl cluubb Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 7 Speckled Alder Alnus incana Summer Ponds Speckled alder is a common small tree species colonizing Vermont’s Vermont’s Ponds are an idyllic habitat for many species of mammals, amphibians and migra- pond shores, meadows and other wet, nutrient rich habitats. Alders are surprisingly adaptable and can thrive in many different soil types, tory birds. Sit by a Long Trail pond on a summer day and you will see adult red-spotted newts tolerating flooding and even occasional droughts. swimming in the shallows, dragonflies lazily zooming around, and many birds busy nesting and Like legumes, alders obtain nitrogen from the air with the help of symbiotic bacteria, benefitting other tree species that grow nearby. A singing. Lie in your tent in the evening and listen to loons calling from across the pond as you member of the birch family, the speckled alder has greyish bark and are lulled to sleep by frog songs. white ‘speckles,’ which are lenticels or openings for gas exchange. Alders are monoecious, meaning the conspicuous male and fe- male reproductive structures occur on the same tree. The male catkin Dragonflies produces pollen while the female cone produces seeds. Order: Odonata, Suborder: Anisoptera Speckled alder thickets are important resources for wildlife for both cover and food. Red-winged blackbirds, flycatchers, common yellow- Vermont is home to ninety-nine species of dragonflies and forty- throats, white-throated sparrows, and several other songbirds nest in the three species of closely related damselflies (Suborder Zygoptera). branches and eat the seeds. Woodcocks probe mud under the trees as they These suborders are easily distinguished. Dragonflies are generally forage. Muskrats, beavers, deer and moose eat the leaves and branches. larger and hold their wings out to the side while damselflies hold —Squirrel Johnson their wings together at rest. Dragonflies date back to the Paleozoic Era. They reached To help you to identify the plants and animals you may see on the their biggest size during the late Carboniferous Period 300 mil- Long Trail pick up GMC’s Nature Guide to Vermont’s Long Trail lion years ago, when there was more oxygen in the atmosphere. by Lexi Shear. Available online, greenmountainclub.org. Because insects diffuse oxygen directly to their cells through tubes called trachea, evidence suggests they were able to grow much larger with more oxygen available. Some prehistoric dragonflies had a wingspan of 65 centimeters (slightly more than two feet)! Profile on the Common Loon Today’s dragonflies are smaller but they are still larger than most other insects. Trail Name: Gavia immer The larvae, also known as ‘naiads’ or ‘nymphs,’ hatch from Gear: Waterproof feathers conditioned with an oily powder and zipped up by preening create an insulating layer between the eggs, and spend most of their lives underwater feeding on other loon’s skin and cold water, preventing hypothermia. invertebrates, including mosquito larvae. When ready to molt Footwear: Large webbed feet set far back on its body propel the loon through the water. Backpack: Loon chicks ride on their parents’ backs to stay warm, conserve energy, and avoid predators. Red-spotted Newt a final time the larvae crawl out of the water and perch in a safe place where they stay until their exoskeletons harden into their Rad Outfit: Breeding plumage is a striking black contrasted with a white striped bandana around the neck, with checkered pat- Notophthalmus viridescens flying adult form. terns on the wings and body. Red eyes enable loons to see better under water. The orange salamanders that are often seen on the Long Trail in Dragonflies are aerial predators and they use their large com- Shelter: None. Loons sleep under the stars on open deep water out of reach of predators. They build nests close to the water summer are the juvenile ‘eft’ stage of the red-spotted newt. This pound eyes to search for prey. Because they need clean water to because they are clumsy on land. subspecies of the eastern newt is found on the East Coast from thrive dragonflies and their larvae are important environmental Leave No Trace Principle #1: Loons always travel and sleep Maine to Georgia. Newts are a type of salamander in the family indicators. on the most durable of surfaces, water and air! Salamandridae that generally share a life cycle which has aquatic Songs: Loons make many unique wailing, yodeling, laughing, and terrestrial stages. and hooting calls to attract mates and stay in contact with each other. Newt eggs hatch in the water. The aquatic larval, or tadpole, Trail Food: Mostly fish, with other snacks like frogs, salamanders, leeches, stage has feathery gills and a flat, fin-like tail for swimming. snails and crustaceans. Eventually the tadpole climbs onto land and spends three to four Favorite Long Trail Ponds: Stratton Pond, Griffith Lake, Little Rock Pond, and years of its life as an orange terrestrial eft. The eft then returns to any forested lake with enough open water (at least a quarter mile) for them to the water to mate and lay eggs. There it morphs into a yellowish run on the water and take off. brown color and its tail becomes flat again for an aquatic lifestyle. Long Distance Flying: When Vermont’s lakes freeze loons mi- Efts must keep their skin moist so they are often seen migrating grate south to spend the winter on the Atlantic in large numbers after rain and they are commonly found in wet, coast where they can find open water mossy areas of the forest. and fish. Skilled fliers, they occasion- The eft’s bright orange color warns predators that it produces ally reach seventy miles an hour. They toxins. All three stages can produce this chemical defense, but it is migrate north and return to Vermont’s strongest in the eft stage. The aquatic adults retain the red spots to forests in April or May for the summer warn of their toxic skin secretions. Red-spotted newts are one of breeding season.

the few salamanders that can live in water with fish. i ons by S qu rrel Johnson Illustrat

8 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 9 Junction signs hangs in mint condition in the stairwell of the Inn at Long Trail. Mr. I Have a Friend Who Works on Mountain Trails; Ogden’s signs led hikers through the Killing- his particular passion is putting up signs ton section, along the Vermont Appalachian telling hikers where they are now, Trail leading eastward to Hanover, and up how far they have yet to go, LONG TRAIL the trails on Mount Ascutney. A few of his arrows to tell them where to turn signs ranged further afield—we have one in and blazes to keep them on the trail. a footpath in the wilderness the club’s collection from Montclair Glen Lodge on Camel’s Hump. At a meeting of fellow trail workers Don Whitney of Springfield contributed when someone tells of hikers getting lost You can’t be a real country unless you to be an expression of organizational energy and remote Brandon Gap showing signs more than a few beautiful signs to the Bob Lindemann Sign because they didn’t see his handiwork he have a beer and an airline. It helps if you and, perhaps more importantly, skill and from the 1920s. The landscape and buildings Vermont AT as the trail moved away from pounds the table and recites his mantra, have some kind of a football team, or craftsmanship. Above all, signs should add to in the background have changed so much roads in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning Sterling Section member Bob Linde- “they don’t see because they don’t look.” some nuclear weapons, but at the very the trail experience. that a game can be made of figuring out with methods learned from Herb Ogden Sr. mann’s signs are recognizable by their least you need a beer. Whenever my family visited the North the sign’s location by the destinations and An engineer, Don developed ways to speed precision and slightly slanted lettering. His I’ve taken my friend aside and explained –Frank Zappa Country, trail signs greeted us and pointed distances listed. his work, including jigs and fixtures for signs can still be found on the trail today at that some people don’t see because they the way to the next adventure. The White Around the 1930s, hand-painted signs straight lines, and templates for curved letters Hagerman’s Overlook north of Sterling Pond watch carefully where they step, others always wanted to start a story with this Mountains had a curious mix of National yielded to signs carved with routers. My the- and numbers. He switched from the painted and pointing the way to Whiteface Shelter. perhaps because they look at the scenery, quote. A possible corollary to Zappa is, Forest, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) ory is that the shift was inspired by the rustic spruce he used at first (he couldn’t find Three other sign makers have filled in or are involved in a good conversation. Iyou can’t be a real hiking trail without and Randolph Mountain Club signs. The architecture that accompanied the birth oak) to unpainted pressure-treated wood, where needed in the past ten or fifteen years. and from tracing characters from stencils Al Fiebig trail signs. AMC’s brown-painted wooden signs with and growth of national parks and forests. The late of Waterbury crafted He listens and being a not unreasonable man Growing up in southern New England bright yellow lettering stood out for not The Green Mountain National Forest was to composing signs on a computer. He also block-lettered signs, and moved us away from mumbles “you may be right,” but then, like a there indeed were trails without signs. Some revealing trail distances; I’ve since learned established in 1932 and large brown routed made a few signs for the Long Trail, many for the old standard of dark board with light let- child reluctant to give up a favorite thumb, of those trails are now National Scenic Trails. that there is wisdom in avoiding numbers, signs soon appeared on the Long Trail. (Log trails on Mount Ascutney, and some for trails ters to light board with darkened letters. Cat mutters, “do you suppose if we painted a (Hint: the Appalachian Trail was one of because in the woods, nothing is exact. shelters built by the Civilian Conservation in Norwich. Eich of Waterbury spent long hours in the yellow line down the middle of the trail…?” GMC field barns routing signs in between them.) Generally, well-made trail signs seem From the start of the Long Trail construc- Corps appeared soon thereafter; Old Job —Don Hill tion in 1910 until the 1930s LT signs were and Peru Peak Shelters are still with us.) her AT thru-hikes. And 1970s summit hand-painted with just enough information Today the national forest is quietly changing ranger naturalist and caretaker (also current to guide the hiker. The 1922Long Trail to routed signs of unpainted western cedar, Trail Management Committee member) Guidebook reads: “The Long Trail has been and state forests are installing lightly stained Howard VanBenthuysen of Hyde Park has built in sections, largely by local enthusiasts spruce and pine signs. recently produced many signs for the Long who have given time and money to put it There doesn’t seem to be a well-docu- Trail. Howard’s signs have distinctive curved through, and various systems of marking have mented history of early sign makers but we ends and a polyurethane finish. been used, so they are not always uniform.” can assume they, like nearly all GMC folk, A few summers ago GMC employed The Long Trail then traversed a more di- were volunteer trail enthusiasts. Trail sign Long Trail Patrol member Sam Schlep- verse mosaic of public and private lands than makers today are still volunteers who are gen- phorst as a part-time sign maker after he it does now, which also fostered diversity in erous with their time and skills. While GMC badly broke his leg skiing. Sam spent the signage. One of the first color illustrations in does have guidelines, one could say each sign summer learning the craft and helped with a the 1922 guidebook classified trail markers maker has, or had, their own style, one of the GMC sign-routing workshop in 2012. other than the white painted blazes still used Long Trail’s many charms. Don Hill Sign Our agency partners have contributed L-R: Howard VanBenthuysen and Attorney today: red discs, white discs, red and white In the 1960s, Herb Ogden Sr. of Hart- some distinctive signs, too. Ken Norden of General William Sorrell discs, red metal arrows, white metal or wood land routed beautiful brown painted signs on The recently departed Don Hill of St. the Green Mountain National Forest has arrows, white lettered arrows designating oak boards with impeccable white lettering Albans, made unique signs for the northern made signs for the Long Trail in federal We and our land managing partners need direction and distance and red signs with detailing distances to multiple destinations Long Trail employing very small letters that wilderness areas for years. Seasonal employ- to review sign content and agree on it before white lettering. and noting elevation. A couple are still out reflected his penchant for precision and ees of the Vermont Department of Forests, production. We try hard to harmonize dis- It’s likely that GMC’s desire to publicize there on the trail today. One of his Pico a long love of the northern reaches of the Parks and Recreation have made signs for tances posted on signs with those published the new trail led to the prominent white trail. His signs are easy to spot because he Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield since in GMC’s Long Trail Guide, and with field crossroads signs that stood out for hikers mounted them on brackets so that as the tree before my time at the club. Shane Prisby has information collected over the decades, but traveling by in that new contraption, the grew, the bolts would not pull through and made more than a few, and Tom Simmons, “exact” continues to elude us. automobile. Old photos show large arrow- damage the sign. Don not only made signs now retired, deserves special mention for his If you have photographs of old Long shaped signs on wooden posts with “Long but contributed mightily to the maps of the work on northern and southern Long Trail Trail or Vermont Appalachian Trail signs or Trail, a footpath in the wilderness” in con- Long Trail Guide printings of the 1990s. terminus signs that hikers pass today. historical information about signs or sign spicuous black painted letters. Smaller arrows Former state senator Bill Carris of Rut- I tip GMC’s collective cap to Long Trail makers, we encourage you to share them with on the post pointed toward nearby towns land contributed many unpainted, pressure- sign makers past and present, and welcome us. And may a sign or two appear on your and trail landmarks. “Massachusetts State treated wooden signs to the Long Trail/ new ones. There is a learning curve but en- next hike when you need them most. Line 181.6 miles.” “Taft Lodge 17.2 m.” Appalachian Trail in the 1990s when the old thusiasm, patience and safe working practices –Dave Hardy Herb Ogden Sr. Signs I’ve seen photos of downtown Bolton trail signs started to fail or disappear. are really the only prerequisites. Director of Trail Programs

10 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 11 Long Trail Shelters

Theron Dean Shelter Taylor Lodge

Amulets Along Vermont’s Long Trail

My hand bolts through darkness to silence the alarm on my watch tucked in the spidered corner of this worn wooden shelter. No one rises earlier than I slow with the weight of a half-century moving silently so as not to awaken Taft Lodge strangers with whom I’ve shared intimacy of sleep. Narrow funnel of light channeling from my forehead I stuff my bed, my food, my sodden clothes Montclair Glenn Lodge into my pack, gather photo by Matt Larson my pen, my pages, my damp socks lace my boots, and stagger, hefting my small, heavy world onto my back. Patting my pockets, my map presses my hip, my compass my breast, my knife folded against my waist, as I bandage my prayer within my father’s red bandana wrapped around my knee as I entwine my prayer etched in two bands of silver encircling my wrists. I breathe in and breathe out Rumi’s prayer in curls of wet birch bark as I step into the damp night of morning. —Dawn ‘TaosDawn’ Chandler Whiteface Shelter Tillotson Camp 2015 Long Trail Hiker 12 | the green mountain club Corliss Camp Plona “Timber!” Kristofer, Eleanor, WV Bruce “Papa Tortuga” Robertson, Bradenton, FL JP “Jpeezy” Krol, Randolph, NH Jennifer “Miles to Go” Rosenthal, East Arlington, VT Delia Kulukundis, Astoria, NY Daniel Roush, Burlington, VT Mike “Duner” Landon, Thetford Center, VT Phyllis “Groovy Ruby” Rubenstein, Montpelier, VT Jennifer “Sprout” Lane, Waterbury, VT Ben “Stonecutter” Schersten, Somerville, MA David “Tofu Pup” Lemonick, Pittsburgh, PA Paul “Skyline” Schmid, Milford, OH Mark “Maniac Uno” Lena, Orono, ME Seth “Schmiedy” Schmiedeknecht, Allendale, MI Nina “Whiteflower” Levison, Amherst, MA Ari “Irrational” Schneider, Medford, MA Prem “The Sadhu” Linskey, Georgia, VT Terence “The Lichen Lawyer” Schoone-Jongen, DC You Did it! Mary “Madre” LoTemplio, Morrisonville, NY Lesley Schuster, Hyde Park, VT Sara “Kiwi” LoTemplio, Morrisonville, NY Robert “Buffalo Bob” Siebeneck, Waukegan, IL Heather “Hoot” Lyon, Rockport, MA Mark “Outback” Smith, Hampton, NH Justin Maimone, Waynesboro, VA Michael “Sparky” Sokolov, Newton, MA David “Rootbelly” Majzler, Bridport, VT Ira “Mountain Goat” Sollace, North Middlesex, VT Joseph “Gimpy” Marchione, Benbrook, TX Chris “Slim Jim” Spencer, Tampa, FL Debbie “Glimmer” Marcus, Quechee, VT Tammy “Cookie” Stemen, New Haver, CT Edwin “Spark” McGrath, Chazy, NY Christopher “Glaciers” Stemen, New Haver, CT Ian “Cliff” McKay, Middlebury, VT Anna “Idgie” Stevens, Shoreham, VT 171 Hikers Complete 272-Mile Footpath Through Green Mountains Erin “Snack Attack” Mcluin, St. Albans, VT Harry “Boggle” Stone, Dover, MA Peter “Opi (Juan-Kanopi)” Mihaly, Middletown, CT Joseph “Fireball” Strain, Bexley, OH Congratulations to the following hikers who walked the rugged footpath over the Green Mountain Range Karen “K2” Mills, South Burlington, VT Kristen “Swift” Sykes, Florence, MA Todd “Son of Odin” Nappi, Collingswood, NY Erica “Ballin’” Taft, Stow, MA from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian border and became Long Trail end-to-enders: Hannah “High Efficiency” Narowski, East Corinth, VT Michael “The Blur” Tidd, Allston, MA Meredith Naughton, Calais, VT Jeff “Truhnfish” Truhn, Seymour, TX Frederick “Geezer” Norton, Essex Junction, VT Michael “Hui” Vacek, Flushing, NY Lori “Passionflower” Overton, Sarasota, FL Reid “Mowgli” Van Keulen, Kingston, NH Julie “Woven” Pacholik, Bridport, VT Saybra “Red Blaze” Varisano, Burlington, VT Oliver “Nobody Knows” Adams, Dorset, VT Anna Berg, Calais, VT James Ellis, Orlando, FL Catherine “Green Mountain Girl” Paris, Jericho, VT Alison “Dreamcatcher” Walford, Dorval, QC Sydney “Humming Bird” Adreon, Vergennes, VT Hannah “Lost and Found” Birnbaum, Rochester, NY Abel “Virgil” Fallon, Thetford Center, VT Liz “Battle Star” Parmalee, Somerville, MA Haley Webb, Allston, MA Sarah Alper, Amherst, MA Thomas Bleazard, West Kirby, Merseyside, UK Patrick “Dosu Kinuta” French, Franklin, NH Sabine “Four Eyes” Pelton, Orlando, FL Jordan “River” Weisberg, Fort Myers, FL Heidi “Baby Bear” Anthony, Pinellas Pa, FL Joseph “Samwise” Bonasia, Smithtown, NY Lori Jo “GI Jo” Gardner, Littleton, NH Mike “Wilson” Perrin, South Burlington, VT Keith “Prospector” Wendrychowicz, Mahwah, NJ Elaine “Night Crawler” Anthony, Pinellas Pa, FL Justin “Juke Box” Bondesen, Bryant Pond, ME John Geyster, Shelburne, MA Melissa “Little Sister” Perry, Land O’Lakes, WI Susan M. Williams, Bellows Falls, VT Steve “Poxbat” Badowski, Stratford, CT Kathy Borrell, Cochranville, PA Sharon “Booya” Gilchrist, Livingston, TX Stacey Plocic, Wheelock, VT Terri “True Grit” Wilson, Lebanon, NH Randal Bailey, Arlington, MA Bob “Robbo” Bradley, Canton, CT Rose “Crow” Goldberg, Bethel, ME Amy Potter, Hartland, VT Clare “Detroit” Wilson, Warren, VT Joe “Backtrack” Barnett, Maplewood, NJ Sue “Mama Bear” Brass, Dorval, QC David “Hivernaut” Golibersuch, Manchester, VT Dan Potter, Hartland, VT Michele “Monarch” Winterberg, Standish, ME Jacob “Beans” Barnett, Maplewood, NJ Melissa “Herbal Lucy” Bridges, St. Johnsbury, VT JeanMarie “Poo Boot Hobble Wobble” Gossard, Andover, MA Caitlin Quinn, Tunbridge, VT Tracie “South Pole” Winters, Sanford, FL Rachael “Lieutenant Rachael” Bassett, West Brookfield, MA Bob “The Instigator” Brown, Springfield, VT G. Scott Graham, Fairlee, VT Charles “Goat” Raeburn, Hampton, NH Chris “Leo” Wright Jr., Bryn Mawr, PA Mathieu “MapMat” Bastien, Montreal, QC Connor “Moe Baykin” Brown, Springfield, VT Ari “Rally” Grant-Sasson, Newton, MA Jim “Simba” Rahtz, Cincinnati, OH Max “Sox” Zielinski, Chicopee, MA Fred “Tater Salad” Beddall, Florence, MA David “Piano Man” Bryant, III, Springfield, VT Sierra “Surplus” Grennan, Lake Placid, NY Michael “Catnip” Rankin, Morgantown, WV Elaine, “Cadi” Zumsteg, Stuart, FL Gabriel “Blackberry” Beland, Montreal, QC Christian “Compass” Burriss, Atlanta, GA Cindy “Hug’a Rock” Griffith, North Middlesex, VT Earle “Ranger Ray” Ray, Bristol, VT Jakob “Hiccup” Berbrich, Littleton, NH Bob “Grandcanyonbob” Cafarella, Phoenix, AZ John “Bultaco” Grout, Plainfield, NH Diane “Sniffles” Capogna, Nassay, NY Kenneth “Neo” Hancock, Hiawassee, GA Laura “Glitter” Cappio, Duluth, MN Geof “Goat” Harris, Kingston, NH Lisa “Hobo” Clemmey, Arundel, ME Tom “Marmot” Hartman, Woodstock, VT Abby “Twiley” Colbert, Waterbury, VT Chris Hawkins, St. Johnsbury, VT Charles “Papa Chuck” Colver, Waukegan, IL Amy “Trippy” Hawkins, Niwot, CO Hilary Coolidge, Proctor, VT Danielle “Bear Bell” Hayes, Burlington, ON Lael “Ender” Costa, Andover, MA Jocelyn “Zuni Bear” Hebert, Calais, VT Karen “K2” Costello, South Burlington, VT Al Hendricks, Ennis, MT David “Crockett” Craig, Locust Valley, NY Michael “Peanut” Hoberman, Shelburne, MA Donna “Happy 60” Day, Essex Junction, VT Rick “More Knorr” Hopkins, Montpelier, VT Rick “DharmaBum” DeAngelis, Montpelier, VT Daniel “LT Dan” Horne, Murfreesboro, TN Angela “Bucket” deBettencourt, Oak Bluffs, MA Jory Innes, Tunbridge, VT Eliza “OMI” Densmore, Williamstown, MA Rose “Roasted” Jackson, Greenfield, MA Daniel “Puck” DeRosier, Aldan, PA Kevin “Space Monkey” Jacobs, Aspen, CO Shalin, “Shay” Desai, Hudson, MA Janna “Frito” Jacobson, Bellingham, WA Bram, “Boot” Diamond, Newton, MA Matthew “Murphy” Jarrett, Pierce, CO Allison Diehlmann, Tunbridge, VT Theresa Lynn “Zippy” Johnson, West Glover, VT Kathy “Thirsty Boots” Dixon-Wallace, Milo, ME Emlyn “Pac-man” Jones, Craftsbury, VT Ross “Blue Mumme” Donley, Stowe, VT Lydia “Ladyslipper” Jones, Craftsbury, VT Mary “Flute” Drake, Atlanta, ID Samuel “Crooked” Kay, Shelburne, VT Richard “Thor & Dick” Duquette, Holyoke, MA Jennifer “Sprinkles” Kelley, Syracuse, NY Heather “Firefly” Durkel, Jeffersonville, VT Pat “Red Wolf” Kelly, South Strafford, VT Peter Duval, Underhill, VT Julian “Yallah” Keuzenkamp, Brooklyn, NY Douglas, “Gray Jay” Eaton, Sunderland, MA Peter “Bad Wheel” Kirk, Rutland, VT

14 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 15 When we finished our daily chores we explored the trails on the mountain. Most A Night at Taft Lodge nights we climbed to the Chin or Adam’s I was fourteen in 1972 when my mother read about the first women Apple to watch the sunset. It was wonderful caretakers at Taft Lodge in the newspaper. Inspired to get me to meet to experience the mountain in all kinds of one of them, she asked if I wanted to go for a hike. weather and conditions. The sunrises and 1972 Mom offered to drive my friend Robin and me to the Long Trail sunsets were stunning, the fog and clouds so we could spend a night at Taft Lodge. I had been camping and hik- were magical, and the storms were awesome ing before, but never without a parent or Girl Scout leader. My father First Women and definitely commanded our respect. That was not so sure this was a good idea. Mom, however, was confident summer some hikers were caught on the in my hiking ability and certain it was a great opportunity for me to become more indepen- GMC Caretakers summit during a violent thunderstorm. They dent. She did wonder how young girls would be treated by other hikers at the shelter and took shelter under a big rock, but lightning told us to talk to the caretaker if we needed help. struck the rock and stunned them. They Post Up at Mom dropped us off on the Mountain Road near the trailhead. We couldn’t find the eventually made it down to the cabin but trail, so we walked higher into the Notch. Eventually we found the sign for Hell Brook Trail, were pretty shaken. Taft Lodge and started climbing. It was long. It was steep. It got dark. We pulled out flashlights and kept Dogs had porcupine encounters and hiking. Finally we came to a junction with a sign to Taft Lodge. ended up with quills in their snouts and hikers We arrived well after dark to a crowded shelter with lots of guys, including a troop of got minor bumps and bruises, but there were Boy Scouts. Wendy, the caretaker, welcomed us and showed us a bunk. She was friendly to no major accidents. We were lucky. everyone and helpful to us. Robin and I talked about how fun it must be to spend the Later in the summer we got a puppy to summer outdoors—but not so fun to hike down the mountain every week for food. keep us company and named him Rudy. Susan After hiking to the summit the next morning, we descended on the Long Trail. Our ad- took him home at the end of the summer. venture was a great success and, as my Mom thought it would be, a confidence builder for me. There were two rangers on the moun- On my fiftieth birthday I asked Susan, a friend my age, if we should do something tain during the day, a caretaker at the Cliff significant in our next ten years—like hike the entire Long Trail. She immediately agreed. House and a caretaker at Butler Lodge, so Since 2006 we have been putting in the miles to finish. It’s been rocks, roots and rain in some it felt like a little community. At the end of sections, but also exhilarating. the summer it was hard to leave and go back We are twenty-two miles from completing the last stretch to Canada which we plan to to civilization. do this fall. Two hundred and seventy-three miles in ten years! There’s talk about doing our On a recent visit to Vermont my sister told favorite sections again. ABOVE: Wendy Turner and Susan Valyi in 1972. me about the March 24 presentation “Green t was 1972 when I got the call from the wooden bunks, a picnic table, and a wood Every day on my commute I see the Mount Mansfield ridgeline, and remember how BELOW: Wendy Turner in 2015. Mountain Girls: Women of the Long Trail.” Green Mountain Club: “Yes, we want to stove, but it suited us just fine. amazingly beautiful it was to see Vermont at my feet—thanks to Mom and the first female It was sponsored by the Vermont Historical hire you, but…” I had replied to an adver- We arrived in June and rode the Gondola GMC caretakers. I Society, the Vermont Commission on Women tisement in a magazine for a caretaker position up the mountain to the Cliff House. We then —Carol Czina at Taft Lodge on Mount Mansfield. “What hiked to Taft Lodge. We didn’t have much and the Green Mountain Club in honor of a great way to spend the summer,” I thought. to unpack: a cook stove, sleeping bag, some Women’s History Month. Montpelier Section It was the ’70s, and things were changing clothes and a few books. The door to the lodge President Reidun Nuquist walked the audi- rapidly. I never expected this job to be the had been gnawed by some animal, and our ence through history by showing old photo- least bit controversial, but they had never first night we were awakened by a family of graphs and highlighting stories about the first Worthy Heirs hired a woman caretaker before so decided it porcupines who snuck through the hole and women to walk the Long Trail and others who I may be wrong, but I think the Green Mountain Club was well ahead of other eastern would be safer to post two women at the busy, proceeded to make themselves at home. They worked on the trail and for the GMC. outdoor organizations in hiring women for the field staff and giving them major responsi- high-profile lodge. Well, that sounded great to eventually ate the crumbs littering the cabin Since I had firsthand knowledge, I added bility right away. The first women at Taft Lodge were great examples of that policy. me—the more the merrier. floor and left. We made sure to fix the door a few stories of my own. Toward the end of More people know about Taft than voted in the last presidential election, and most of I was twenty-one that summer, and had the next day. the evening a woman told us how her mother them try to visit the place at least once a season. A caretaker could have a full-time job just just finished my junior year at Montclair Our duties that summer were like those had allowed her and a friend stay at Taft sitting on the bench in front and waving to hikers walking through the yard. Oversee- State College in New Jersey. My caretaker of today’s caretakers: trail maintenance, litter Lodge when she was fourteen only because ing the Long Trail’s equivalent of Grand Central Station (only Stratton Pond had more partner, Susan Valyi, was eighteen and a control, educating the public about fragile she had read in the newspaper that there were overnight guests — and not by much) took real skill. Being a Taft caretaker required the student at Dawson College in Montreal. alpine areas, and making sure hikers followed two women caretakers. She said she fell in talents of a seasoned diplomat joined with those of a hardened circus ringmaster. Patience We had never met before but quickly be- good trail etiquette. never had a bad experience. Everyone was love with hiking then, and we were both very was a must, as were a highly developed sense of humor, an ability to improvise on the spot, came good friends due to our mutual love Taft Lodge, located on the highest very accepting of us as caretakers and didn’t touched to know we had connected way back and a willingness to do a lot of heavy lifting on projects of all kinds. of the mountains. Vermont peak and only 1.7 miles from the think it was anything unusual. in 1972. The Taft women with whom I worked when I was a Vermont Forests and Parks ranger- It was never going to be a job to make Long Trail crossing at Smugglers’ Notch, Once a week we hiked down the moun- The best result of that evening is that naturalist up on the ridge—Wendy Turner, Susan Valyi, Libby Tuthill, and Nancy money; we felt the job itself was the reward. is probably the busiest shelter on the Long tain and hitchhiked into Stowe for supplies. Susan and I reconnected after losing touch Pettingill—had all of these talents, and more. They were worthy heirs to the Roy Buchanan This was a good attitude to have, because Trail. During the week it was pretty quiet, We also took advantage of flora on the moun- for a while; I now live in Colorado, and she and Will Monroe tradition, and they in turn set a standard that their successors have had we were splitting $150 for the summer, plus but on weekends it could get a little crazy. tain by cooking fiddlehead ferns and eating in Ontario. We continue to climb mountains, to work to match. The Lodge, the mountain and the club were all lucky to have them. what we could make by charging 50 cents per We met people from all over and loved hear- wild blueberries. We became known for the and agree that the summer of 1972 was one of —Victor Henningsen, Butler Lodge Caretaker, ‘71 and ‘77 person per night. I’m not sure if lodge is really ing their stories. Although at times it was muffins we baked on our cabin stove and sold the best summers of our lives. and Mount Mansfield Ranger Naturalist , ‘72 and ‘73 the right word for a one room cabin with eight challenging to keep things under control, we to the campers. —Wendy Turner

16 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 17 Field Notes

Thanks to financial support from the U.S. Vermont. When the trail is complete it will • Begin the long awaited restoration Forest Service, the Vermont Department lead from East Dorset to Mad Tom Notch of Bryant Camp located on Mount Respecting Wildlife of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and the Road, adding a link just north of Bromley Mansfield State Forest and prepare for fall Appalachian Trail Conservancy we have a Mountain from the Battenkill Valley to the restoration of Bolton Lodge. especting wildlife is an obvi- proper food storage and by not leaving very full slate of projects in front of us— Long Trail/Appalachian Trail. • Plan a late August airlift to Butler and ous principle of Leave No Trace trash. The importance of this cannot be enough for three trail crews. The Patrol will also dismantle the Taft Lodges on Mount Mansfield to move R(LNT), since the foundation overstated. Bear encounters have been condemned Hell Hollow Bridge and move roofing materials to Butler, and logs to of LNT is respect. When we enter wild increasing in the past few years partly Volunteer Long Trail Patrol it away from the brook so draft horses can Taft for replacing rotted logs. spaces, we walk through the homes of through human carelessness. The Volunteer Long Trail Patrol, based at the remove it from the wilderness. Motorized and countless animals with habits, instincts, As another example, chipmunks at USDA Forest Service Mount Tabor work mechanical equipment is not permitted in Caretakers routines, and needs we know little or shelters are cute, but they aren’t designed center in Danby, will spend three weeks in the federal wilderness areas. Our backcountry caretaker program should be nothing about. Imagine an elk charging to eat our food, and feeding makes them Glastenbury Wilderness. The Patrol will work with Land at full strength, thanks to funding from agency into your living room. Your day would abandon natural habits they should be There they will rehabilitate access to Little Stewardship Coordinator Mollie Klepack to partners, the Mount Mansfield Broadcasters, likely be disrupted and you would prob- practicing. Also avoid unintentionally Pond, and open a side trail from the end of reclaim open areas in the Appalachian Trail Stratton Mountain Resort, Killington Resort, ably be distressed. feeding wildlife by leaving food scraps Little Pond Road to the Long Trail/Appala- corridor in Shrewsbury and Pomfret in late Sugarbush Resort and Smugglers’ Notch ski When animals are under stress, their behind. We should pick up and pack out chian Trail just north of Hell Hollow Brook. summer or early fall. areas, and individual donors. Last year’s high ability to survive and thrive is compro- dropped trail mix, potato chips, orange They will also install rocks along the banks of In northern Vermont, they will do tread visitation threatened all of our annual use mised. Through no deliberate act of malice, peels, and even bread crumbs. If it didn’t Hell Hollow Brook to facilitate hiker crossing work on the Burrows and Monroe trails on records, and the attention hiking has received we can cause them to be vulnerable to pred- grow there naturally, it doesn’t belong there. near the site of the Hell Hollow Brook bridge. Camel’s Hump, the Frost Trail on Mount from the movie industry, most recently with ators. We can force changes in their habits, The stringers rotted and the bridge was con- Mansfield, the Waterbury Trail on Mount the film version ofA Walk in the Woods, will or even cause them to fall ill and cease to Exposing them to chemicals –Even bio- demned two seasons ago. Hunger, and will improve the Long Trail near probably lead to even busier trails this summer. thrive, simply through contact with us. degradable soap disrupts the chemical bal- The Patrol will also work four weeks on Lockwood Pond, just south of Tillotson Camp. We will continue caretaker coverage at the One of my roles as a backcountry ance in water. Some pond skimmers, those the Long Trail between the Pico-Killington Stratton Mountain Firetower, Stratton Pond, caretaker for the Green Mountain Club neat bugs that cruise the surface, will sink ridge and Churchill Scott Shelter installing Construction Crew Griffith Lake, Little Rock Pond, along the was an ambassador for wild things. My and drown because soap reduces the sur- drainages and repairing eroded trail. And they The construction crew also has a full slate Coolidge Range, Mount Abraham and Ster- experience has been that most people face tension of water. Bug spray on your will spend a week replacing puncheon on the this summer—enough to call for an early ling Pond. And we will have full coverage at are mindful and respectful of the critters skin when you take a dip enters the water, Branch Pond Trail, just south of Bourn Pond. start. They will: Montclair Glen Lodge and the Hump Brook around them, but some caused uninten- and could poison the very creatures we Tenting Area on Camel’s Hump, and Butler tional harm to wildlife by: want to keep around to eat the bugs we are Long Trail Patrol • Re-deck the bridge along a ledge of the and Taft Lodges on Mount Mansfield, plus trying to repel. Try to rinse off chemicals The Long Trail Patrol, GMC’s professional Lake Trail, which connects Danby to the the summit caretaker program on the Camel’s • Picking creatures up. some distance away from a pond before trail crew, will concentrate on northern Long Trail near Griffith Lake. Hump and Mount Mansfield alpine areas. • Feeding them, either deliberately or by you swim. If you choose to use soap, use Vermont, but will also continue work • Complete restoration of Boyce Shelter, on —Dave Hardy leaving trash behind. it sparingly, and at least two hundred feet rebuilding the East Dorset Trail in southern the Long Trail north of Middlebury Gap. Director of Trail Programs • Exposing them to chemicals by using from ponds, rivers or streams. soap, sunscreen or bug spray in or near ponds and waterways. Pursuing them – We’ve all heard about the • Pursuing them to take photographs. guy who snapped a killer pic of a moose The Principles charging him on the trail, before he dove Picking them up – Spotted newts in a pond out of the way. Don’t be this guy (if you can According to are cute and fun to watch. But picking them help it). Also, it’s just really not nice to stalk up terrifies them, and the oils and substanc- any living thing. It is always stressful, and LEAVE NO TRACE es on our skin can harm them. Newts might we might send it into harm’s way. This is • Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not compromise their fragile bodies in fear and especially true for a mama trying to protect follow or approach them. attempts to escape. They think we want to and care for her young. Nothing is more • Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife eat them. The same goes for fish, red efts, compromising for an animal than forcing damages their health, alters natural frogs, toads, snakes, butterflies, or any oth- it to choose fight or flight when protecting ers we can get our hands on. Let’s keep in its juveniles. Just stay on the kind side and behaviors, and exposes them to predators mind how we would feel if a giant creature keep a nice distance. and other dangers. got a hold of us. Enjoy your time on trails, and keep • Protect wildlife and your food by storing wildlife happy and safe. We want them all to rations and trash securely. Feeding them – One of the many great continue to grace our experience of the wild • Control pets at all times, or leave them at things about hiking in Vermont is that by revealing their world to us. home. most bears are still wary of humans and Happy trails! • Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: won’t approach shelters or tents for an —Kim Rosenbaum easy meal. Let’s keep it that way through Former GMC Field Assistant mating, nesting, raising young, or winter. Little Rock Pond Caretakers McKayla Baker and Sabory Huddle

18 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 19 Trail Mix

Goodbye to Long-Time Visitor Center Manager Jen Donley

March 11 was a day of celebration and good- another couple from the UK a few years ago, byes. Not only was it the Green Mountain and we are still in touch. Over the years I have Club’s 106th birthday, it was Visitor Center had visitors from Israel, France, Germany, the Manager Jennifer Donley’s last day at the club. Ukraine. Tons of Canadians. It was always fun After nine years Jen D (as she was known to chat with them.” around the office) and her husband Ross Highlights of her time here were the rais- (long-time GMC volunteer) decided to move ing of the new headquarters building, opening home to Pennsylvania to be closer to family. the visitor center and store in 2009, celebrat- Jen started in May, 2007, when the visitor ing the club’s 100th Anniversary in 2010, and center was temporarily in the Herrick Build- completion of the Winooski River Footbridge ing, which now houses staff offices. She stood in 2015. behind a counter in a cramped space with a I asked her least favorite part of the job few bins of merchandise next to the entrance. (though I knew the answer): “Mud season! A sheet of plastic hung in a doorway to a Hikers have spring fever. All they want to do is construction zone, where a post and beam get outside and hike, and I have to encourage building for a new visitor center and more them to stay off wet trails. It can be frustrating.” coaching basketball, hitting local rail trails on office space was under way. Jen says she will miss the beauty of the foot or bike, travelling the globe with Ross We Have a New Website! I stopped in that spring to drop off my Green Mountains, the great trails so close to and, of course, going to Steelers games. We are grateful to Earthlogic for all of • Volunteer report forms that can be filled • Listings of our coming outdoor skills end-to-end journal, and to ask about volun- her home in Stowe, and the slower pace of Did I mention that Jen D called everyone their hard work helping us build a new out electronically. workshops and James P. Taylor speaker teer opportunities. Though her work space life. But she is looking forward to being back she liked Doll? Thank you, Doll. We wish you website, and for donating half of the cost • Information on GMC conservation and series. wasn’t ideal, Jen was cheerful and helpful. A in Pennsylvania—“the snack capital of the the best! back to the Green Mountain Club. stewardship efforts. • Online reservation for GMC’s Hadsell- few years later she hired me for a season in world”—spending time with her eight nieces —Jocelyn Hebert Our dynamic new site includes: • Current membership information Mares Cabin rental at Wheeler Pond. the visitor center. I came to know her well in and nephews, playing soccer with old friends, Long Trail News Editor • Easily accessible information about and access to section websites and the • Visually inspiring photography! the last five years, and learned how energetic hiking on the Long Trail, Vermont’s section outings calendar. and optimistic she is. Her positive attitude If you haven’t had a chance to check Appalachian Trail and Northeast • A convenient and secure way to renew made her exceptional not only at her job, but it out, we hope you will soon. And Kingdom Trails. your membership online or make a as a friend. please, let us know what you think! Visit, Mollie Klepack New Land Stewardship Coordinator • A new blog with articles and stories donation. At lunch on her final afternoon I sat while greenmountainclub.org. from the field and updates on general • Updated online store with GMC maps, Jen bustled about helping people as she always The Green Mountain Club is pleased to welcome Mollie club activities. books and merchandise. did. A French-speaking woman asked whether Klepack as our land stewardship coordinator. her hiking party should worry about bears. A Mollie comes to GMC after working for a number gentleman asked what would be a good place of conservation organizations, including the Nature to stay overnight. Jen’s mission was always to Conservancy of Vermont, and most recently the Univer- make her visitors happy, even if it meant tak- sity of Vermont Extension where she was a forest pest Returning Field Staff Leaders outreach coordinator. She has a bachelor’s degree in en- ing her last bite of lunch at 3:00 p.m. We are glad to welcome back Ilana Copel, Matt Shea and Kurt Melin, who will lead GMC’s backcountry caretakers, trail crews, and vironmental studies from the UVM Rubenstein School Between mouthfuls, phone calls and special projects construction crew. visitors, we talked about her favorite part of of Environment and Natural Resources. the job. “Meeting and working with so many Mollie will manage the more than 25,000 acres of awesome coworkers, many of whom I remain conservation land overseen by GMC. She wants to be Ilana Copel Matt Shea Kurt Melin good friends with, was one of the best parts,” a catalyst ensuring the vitality and health of Vermont’s mountains, hiking trails, This will be Ilana’s Matt is beginning Kurt has worked for she replied. outdoor recreation opportunities, and all of the species that live along the trail fifth season with his third season GMC since 2008, With her military family, Jen moved often corridor. GMC. In her new with GMC, having first on the Long when she was young, and later travelled with Managing our conservation lands is a big undertaking so Mollie will work role as northern most recently Trail Patrol and then Ross to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, closely with the GMC Stewardship Committee and corps of volunteer corridor field assistant, she served as trail crew as a Winooski River Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Iceland, monitors. She has already visited key properties, met with volunteers, and planned will oversee care- supervisor in 2015. Footbridge crew England, Germany, France, Portugal, Poland, the summer work schedule. takers posted on This summer he will member. He led Austria and Ghana. Her extensive travel back- Mollie and her fiancé Jacob are renovating a 140-year-old house in the Old Mount Mansfield, be field supervisor the special projects ground helped her to readily connect with North End of Burlington that they bought last year. Other interests include mak- Camel’s Hump, and will coordinate construction crew last visitors from all over the world. ing pottery, singing in a community chorus, playing guitar, road biking, gardening Mount Abraham and at Sterling Pond. field staff training and management in year and will return to lead the crew again “Just yesterday a couple came in, and the and cooking. Ilana was lead caretaker on Mount Mans- the summer and fall. Matt honed his this season. Projects this year include the man was from South Africa,” she recalled. We are pleased to have Mollie join the staff and are looking forward to work- field in 2015 and brings a deep knowledge backcountry skills working for the Pacific restoration of historic Bolton Lodge and “A couple of weeks ago I met a couple who ing with her to strengthen our land stewardship program. of the Long Trail System and backcountry Crest Trail and with the U.S. Forest Service Bryant Camp and badly needed bridge are dairy farmers from Switzerland. I helped management to her new supervisory role. in Alaska before coming to GMC. repairs and shelter roof replacements.

20 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 21 Trail Mix Board Report

treated with permethrin, follow instructions resident John Page welcomed year 2017 budget proposed by the budget Each working group will develop My Gift to GMC on the label. Also check gear for crawling attendees to the March 19 GMC and finance committee and endorsed by recommendations for operating proce- “With great joy I confirm to you ticks—these opportunists may hitch a ride PBoard meeting, and thanked board the executive committee that maintains dures, policies, and/or bylaws, which will that the Green Mountain Club is a and attach to skin later. members and staff for their participa- core functions and funds important trail be reviewed by the executive committee tion and input at the January governance projects. The board unanimously ap- for submission to the board. John said a charitable beneficiary of my estate. Detect and treat early. The first sign of retreat. John shared ideas on initiatives to proved the budget. committee will also be appointed to begin My gift is designated for trail pro- Lyme disease is often an expanding red rash provide more sustainable multi-year fund- Director of Trail Programs Dave preparation of a new five year strategic tection and shelter maintenance— at the site of the tick bite. The rash usually ing for the Long Trail Patrol to improve Hardy reviewed several proposed proj- plan. The last strategic plan covered 2011 something you do exceedingly well appears seven to fourteen days after the bite, the treadway in northern Vermont. ects: reroutes for the Long Trail-Appa- through 2015. and for which all hikers are appre- but sometimes takes up to thirty days to ap- Executive Director Mike DeBonis said lachian Trail and the Lye Brook Trail; Mike DeBonis reviewed the status of a ciative. I know the Long Trail—I Deer ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease pear. Not everyone gets the rash, so be on the the Winooski River Footbridge project is permanent closure of the North Shore proposal to convert the Mount Mansfield earned my end-to-end in 1996, and I and anaplasmosis, are becoming more com- lookout for symptoms of early Lyme disease: completed, with all bills paid. He said the Trail; and improved facilities around summit station to a research and educa- began the trail in 1975! Completion mon across Vermont. Ticks hide in high fatigue, headache, fever, chills, swollen lymph club’s new website is up and running with Stratton Pond. He described the plan to tion center. The club is concerned with of it was one of the greatest, person- grass, bushy vegetation and leaf litter through nodes, muscle and joint pain. positive reviews—an amazing accomplish- replace Tucker-Johnson Shelter in the potential effects on the alpine environ- ally fulfilling dreams that I’ve ever the warm season, waiting for a warm body Anaplasmosis can also cause fatigue, ment for a $12,500 investment. Finally, future. The shelter burned several years ment, and is participating in discussions accomplished! that can provide a blood meal to pass by. So headache, fever, chills, muscle pain, but also Mike reported on a Hubbard Brook ago. The board unanimously approved a among proponents of the proposal. So, here is my gift so you can take the precautions below when hiking, do- causes nausea, cough and confusion. Unlike Research Foundation workshop that con- motion by the trail management commit- Nominating Committee Chair continue your stewardship of this ing yard work or just playing around. Lyme disease, anaplasmosis rarely causes a vened scientists and recreation managers tee to designate the Little Pond Trail as a Rich Windish said the committee had unique asset, the Long Trail. Thank rash. Both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis Repel. Before heading out, apply insect repel- to learn more about one another’s work, side trail to the Long Trail. nominated the following members to you for the good trails and shelters can be successfully treated with antibiotics, lent with up to thirty percent DEET. Treat and to identify areas of common interest. John Page reported that the club’s fill at-large board positions: Howard you provided for me. Continue to especially if given early. provide them for those who are still clothes and gear with permethrin, or wear Treasurer Stephen Klein noted that governance review had identified four VanBenthuysen, Ira Sollace and Ed to hike this great state on the Long factory treated clothing. Wear light-colored Track ticks. The Vermont Department of ten months into the fiscal year dona- broad areas for further consideration by O’Leary for three year terms; and Wayne Trail. Happy Trails!” clothing (the better to spot ticks), long sleeves Health has created an online mapping tool, tions are up, but revenue from member- working groups: Krevetski for a second three year term. and long pants. Tuck pants into socks or wear Tick Tracker, at www.healthvermont.gov/ ships and grants is lower than budgeted. The spring Long Trail News included —Written in 1998 by member and • Roles of the board and staff; gaiters (factory treated gaiters are especially ticktracker. The tool enables users to report Expenditures are within budget, and cost biographies of the nominees. Long Trail end-to-ender. • Board structure; effective) to keep ticks away from skin. tick bites, identify species, and see where containment efforts are reducing operat- —Lee Allen With this gift in our trails and • Functions of committees; other tick bites have occurred in the state. ing expenses. Stephen presented a fiscal Secretary shelters endowment her legacy will Inspect. Check yourself often to catch ticks • Roles of sections. The more reports posted by users, the better live on in the work we do to main- before they bite. Do a daily head-to-toe tick the information the tracker can provide. tain and protect the Long Trail. We check on yourself, children and pets. are honored to have the support of The Health Department’s website, healthver- Remove. Lyme disease transmission can be friends whose lives are so enhanced mont.gov, also offers extensive information prevented if a tick is removed within about by their Long Trail experiences that about ticks and tickborne disease prevention thirty-six hours, but ticks are so small they they want others to enjoy the same. and treatment. can go unnoticed if you aren’t looking for For more information on —Dr. Harry Chen, M.D. them carefully. (Nymphs, the immature form, planned giving, please contact Vermont Commissioner of Health Alicia DiCocco, director of devel- are no bigger than poppy seeds.) Showering opment at adicocco@greenmoun- within two hours of coming indoors has also Dr. Chen, a longtime GMC member, lives with tainclub.org. been proven effective. Tumble dry clothing his wife Anne in Burlington. They have three chil- on high heat for an hour. If drying clothes dren, all of whom are Long Trail end-to-enders.

Vehicle Donations Needed! The Long Trail Patrol needs pickup trucks and other vehicles to continue its vital work maintaining the Long Trail. If you can help, please contact Matt Krebs at (802)-241-8321 or [email protected]. Bromley Mountain Sunrise P H oto by amy p otter

22 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 23 Volunteers Historic Barnes Camp, Volunteer Opportunities with GMC Adopt a Trail or Shelter Volunteer Long Trail Patrol experienced GMC staff. A one week com- Smugglers’ Notch Visitor Center Help enhance the hiking experience for ev- Run away and join the trail crew for a mitment is required, but volunteers can choose to stay longer! What is Barnes Camp? A Day in the life of a The ground floor of Barnes Camp dis- eryone by becoming a Long Trail adopter. week! Meet new people from all over the We can help you get started on basic country and the world as you spend a week Barnes Camp has been a home to loggers, the Barnes Camp Volunteer plays posters and images of its early use as a Volunteer with Your Section logging camp. The building also houses parts maintenance of a trail or shelter. Whether or two living and working in the Vermont terminus of the original Nose Dive Ski Trail, Many visitors just wanted tourist information Check the calendar of events on our new of the original Mount Mansfield rope tow, you want to volunteer on your own, with woods. Learn how to build and maintain a skier dormitory, a gift shop and—until or the use of a rest room, but most asked about website for work hikes organized and which has been cut into sections and used as your family, or with your outing group, hiking trails, or hone your skills on some recently—just storage. Built in 1927, it is a hikes, trails and other outdoor recreation led by your local GMC section. Joining balcony and stair rails in the building. maintaining a section of the Long Trail or engaging and essential trail projects. All historical gem at the base of Mount Mans- opportunities. Volunteers assessed weather, section work hikes is a great way to meet Meeting people from all over the U.S., a GMC shelter is a great way to give back sessions last one week, and crews are field in Smugglers’ Notch. hikers’ experience, equipment, clothing and other GMC volunteers and to give back to Israel, China, England, Australia, France to the Long Trail System. made up of six to eight volunteers led by Following a major renovation in 2014, provisions when making suggestions. Some your section of the trail. Barnes Camp now features a rustic interior visitors asked where to camp or eat, or how to and many other places, volunteers enjoyed with original beams and beautiful pine get to “the top” (of Mount Mansfield) by car. sharing their love for Vermont with ap- GMC Outreach Ambassadors preciative visitors. They also took a lot of throughout. It is a lively summer provider One volunteer gave four Long Trail thru- Volunteers are needed to represent the group photos! of outdoor and general tourist informa- hikers a ride to Stowe, and others drove hikers GMC at various festivals, events and gath- tion, and soon will become a trailhead back to their vehicles at the Long Trail. Meeting Space erings throughout the state. No experience for the rerouted Long Trail. Eventually a “I thoroughly enjoyed answering ques- is necessary—just a love for the Long Trail Barnes Camp has a lovely meeting space for boardwalk will lead from the camp across tions about what trails to take, which hikes and willingness to share information with rent on the second floor equipped with a a wetland, providing beautiful views of the are best for families with small children, and the public! surroundings. of course, gazillions of requests about how conference table and chairs, ample windows Three organizations joined the Green to get to Bingham Falls,” said Kathy Powell. and a balcony with spectacular views of the Thursday Volunteers Mountain Club to support Barnes Camp’s Mount Mansfield Ridge. “I also told families about the swimming Come and help GMC with a wide range of transformation: the Lamoille County Plan- For more information contact Aaron hole at Foster’s on Notchbrook Road in indoor administrative projects on Thurs- ning Commission, Stowe Mountain Resort Jacobs at [email protected]. Stowe, which is more appropriate for those days at the GMC headquarters in Water- and the Vermont Department of Forest, with little ones. Quite a number of GMC bury Center. Sense of humor necessary! Parks and Recreation. members came to see Barnes Camp for the Does Barnes Camp Last summer GMC volunteers staffed first time since the renovations and were Need More Volunteers? Shuttle Drivers the information desk at Barnes Camp duly impressed. A section leader felt that the Indeed it does. The more the merrier! Last With limited public transportation in Friday through Sunday on many weekends meeting room would be an excellent venue summer there were too few to open every Vermont, long-distance hikers often from July 4th through Columbus Day for the next section meeting in the fall.” weekend. We hope for at least double the need help to get to trailheads. Volunteer weekend. Some weekends they saw a mere Many visitors ask historical questions. number to enable opening Friday through shuttle drivers help hikers reach the trail handful of visitors, but they helped nearly “Those who stopped to chat were very Sunday from June 24 to October 9. Shifts are or get home after their journey. You may a hundred on holiday weekends with good pleased with talking about the history of the 8:00 a.m. to noon, and noon to 4:00 p.m. charge for gas. Contact the GMC weather. building, the Lyons family, and Stowe and Some volunteers paired up and stayed a full Visitor Center to be added to our Barnes Camp also sells bottled water, Cambridge in general,” said Barbara Baraw. eight hours. Any help is welcome. transportation list at (802)-244-7037 or the Mt. Mansfield Hiking Map, the Long “My weakness is that I am not a hiker. I am Last summer volunteers who put in a [email protected]. Trail Map and the Long Trail Guidebook, as an historian who has done quite a bit of specified number of hours received perks like well as some State Park items such as decals. research about Barnes Camp.” Mount Mansfield gondola tickets, a twenty percent discount for Waterbury’s CC Out- door Store, and two free nights of camping Please visit our web site at in any Vermont State Park. Perks may vary greenmountainclub.org/volunteers from year to year but there is a showing of appreciation for this volunteer gig! or contact Membership and If you have even a few hours, please Volunteer Coordinator consider volunteering. Meeting and helping Jenny Montagne if you are so many people who love Vermont and the Long Trail is stimulating and rewarding. For interested in any of these details, contact Membership and Volunteer volunteer opportunities. Coordinator Jenny Montagne, jmontagne@ [email protected] greenmountainclub.org or 802-241-8324. —Cindy Griffith Volunteer Long Trail Patrol quarrying rocks or (802) 241-8324. Barnes Camp Volunteer

24 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 25 Section Directory Sections Bennington Maintenance: Harmon Hill to Glastenbury Mountain President: Lorna Cheriton, (802) 447-1383 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.bennington.com/outingclub Montpelier Section President’s Message Brattleboro As I near the end of my last term as section president, I am al- Today’s outing descriptions are more Maintenance: Winhall River to Vt. 11/30 lowing myself the luxury of looking back, not to the first year of detailed as to location, distance, degree President: George Roy, (603) 381-7756 E-mail: [email protected] my recent three terms, but back to when I first joined the Green of difficulty, and equipment. True, it is Website: www.brattleborogmc.com Mountain Club in the distant 1970s. One thing that strikes me is easier to produce a longer newsletter now Bread Loaf that outdoor activities have become much more specialized. than it was then, when we cut stencils and Location: Middlebury area Maintenance: Sucker Brook Shelter to Emily Proctor Shelter Take gear, for instance: sporting goods companies have multiplied used a mimeograph machine. But it is also President: Ruth Penfield, (802) 388-5407 and gone global, while anticipating our every fitness need. I used to true that members want or need more E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gmcbreadloaf.org be perfectly happy cross-country skiing in the same cotton anorak I information before they decide to sign up for an outing. Burlington used for hiking; now I ski in ‘performance’ clothing and high-tech Maintenance: Jonesville to Smugglers’ Notch gloves with chemical hand warmers. When I pack for a day hike, I can Now generally well equipped, Montpelier Section members have President: Ted Albers, (802) 557-7009 choose between four different-size packs, two with CamelBak hydra- more focused outdoor interests than they had in the past. In winter, E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gmcburlington.org tion systems. I am also reasonably well equipped for other activities, some stick exclusively to cross-country skiing while others prefer Connecticut like paddling, biking, and snowshoeing. Your own stash of gear is snowshoeing. When the weather warms up, some favor biking or Location: Hartford, Connecticut likely as good or better than mine. paddling over hiking or trail work. Some like challenging outings Maintenance: Glastenbury Mountain to Arlington-West Wardsboro Road The ongoing development of gear—benefitting both competing while others choose shorter and easier trips. President: Jim Robertson, (860) 633-7279 athletes and general outdoor enthusiasts—has played a factor, over Our preference for some types of outings over others means that E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.conngmc.com time, in changing and re-focusing section outings. In past years, the we seldom meet members with priorities that are different from our Killington Montpelier Section’s outing calendar included simple listings like: own—other than at annual meeting or perhaps at a Taylor program at Location: Rutland area • Overnight backpacking somewhere in the Green Mt.’s. 6-8 mile hike. the GMC Visitor Center. Maintenance: Vt. 140 to Tucker-Johnson Shelter site • Family afternoon at Lake Elmore. Hiking, canoeing? Bring a picnic. The recent twice-a-year section membership meetings with President: Barry Griffith, (802) 492-3573 E-mail: [email protected] • Annual moonlight ski, in Berlin. programs are an attempt to bring us together. No matter what kind of Website: www.gmckillington.org Although section membership in the 1970s, was a mere frac- outings we favor, as GMC members we all share one important thing: Laraway tion of what it is today, outing participation equaled and sometimes a love of outdoor adventure. Location: St. Albans area Maintenance: Vt. 15 to Vt. 118 exceeded what we have seen in recent years. —Reidun Nuquist President: Bruce Bushey, (802) 893-2146 E-mail: [email protected] Sterling Pond Shelter Manchester Maintenance: Vt. 11/30 to Griffith Lake President: Marge Fish, (802) 824-3662 Current Shelter Adopters E-mail: [email protected] My Adopted Shelter Montpelier The Green Mountain Club maintains sixty-six overnight sites on the Long Trail System and Vermont Appalachian Trail. Fortunately we Maintenance: Bamforth Ridge to Jonesville and Last spring I saw the GMC Montpelier Section had an opening to adopt the Sterling have a strong force of volunteer shelter adopters, many of whom, like Fabienne, are section members who check on them. Thanks to all Smugglers’ Notch to Chilcoot Pass President: Steve Bailey, (609) 424-9238 Pond Shelter, one of my favorites. I quickly sent my application and was accepted. I felt of our present (and past!) adopters. This year’s adopters are: E-mail: [email protected] like a proud new parent, and I still do! Seth Warner Shelter John Barnes Skyline Lodge Pete Antos-Ketcham Website: www.gmcmontpelier.org I hiked to the shelter as often as I could through summer and fall. I visited with Tim, Congdon Shelter Bob Adams Emily Proctor Shelter Sue & Bruce Isham Northeast Kingdom the caretaker, who did a fantastic job throughout the season. We shared a few good stories Melville Nauheim Shelter Buddy Hayford Cooley Glen Shelter George Lockwood Maintenance: Willoughby and Darling State Forests and Battell Shelter Jeffrey & Diane Munroe the Kingdom Heritage Lands and laughs. Toward the end of the season I hid a care packet of goodies in his tent while Goddard Shelter Dave Silverman & John Cahill Glen Ellen Lodge Peter Saile President: Luke O’Brien, (802) 467-3694 he was working. I imagined it would bring him a little comfort and a smile after a busy Kid Gore Shelter Timothy Gore E-mail: [email protected] Stratton Pond Shelter Lee Allen Theron Dean Shelter Joplin James Website: www.nekgmc.org summer. Day and thru-hikers had nothing but compliments about him. The shelter and William B. Douglas Shelter Rick LaDue Birch Glen Camp Pete Antos-Ketcham Northern Frontier surroundings were immaculate, as were the trails in the vicinity. North Bourn Pond Tenting Area Brian & Logan Thomas, Deb Napsey Cowles Cove Shelter Peter Russell Location: Montgomery I found myself hiking with different eyes when I went up to the shelter. Instead of try- Spruce Peak Shelter George Roy & Brattleboro Section Montclair Glen Lodge Mike Gillis Maintenance: Hazen’s Notch to Journey’s End Hump Brook Tenting Area Thomas Hartman President: Jane Williams, (802) 827-3879 ing to avoid the large number of visitors, I embraced the opportunity to educate, inform Bromley Shelter Marge & Bob Fish E-mail: [email protected] and be of assistance. I also beamed with pride and joy about my adopted shelter. Peru Peak Shelter Dick Andrews Bamforth Ridge Shelter Lawerence & Nancy Thomas Duck Brook Shelter Ottauquechee Though not expected, I decided to visit the shelter during the winter one day. The Griffith Lake Tenting Area Dick Andrews Kerstin Lange Buchanan Lodge Morgan Ruelle Location: Upper Valley, and New Hampshire weather was perfect. I am a four-season runner, so I ran to the top of Smugglers’ Notch Lost Pond Shelter Bob Whitney Maintenance: Appalachian Trail from Maine Jctn. to Old Job Shelter Ron Betts Puffer Shelter Jeff Bostwick the New Hampshire line Road wearing micro-spikes and carrying a little pack with emergency supplies. To my Taylor Lodge Jason Storer President: Dick Andrews, (802) 885-3201 Big Branch Shelter David Quesnel E-mail: [email protected] surprise, I saw the Sterling Pond Trail was packed, and decided to run up as far as I could. Little Rock Pond Tenting Area Glenn Hamilton Twin Brooks Tenting Area Jamie Ide Website: http://gmc-o-section.org When I could no longer run I sauntered along the trail following soft boot packed foot- Little Rock Pond Shelter Bruce Moreton of Night Eagle Wilderness Adventures Butler Lodge Dave Hardy & Carol Gregory Sterling steps until I arrived at my adopted shelter. Greenwall Shelter Doug Fontein, Cathy Reynolds, Jo Reynolds, Izzy Fontein Taft Lodge UVM Outing Club & John Abbott Location: Morrisville/Stowe/Johnson There it was, sitting silently in the snow as if awaiting me. It looked a bit hollow without Minerva Hinchey Shelter Gerry & Cheryl Martin Sterling Pond Shelter Fabienne Pattison Maintenance: Chilcoot Pass to Vt. 15 Whiteface Shelter Jim Pease President: Greg Western, (802) 655-6051 the buzzing of warm summer days. I took a minute to eat a handful of trail mix and take in Governor Clement Shelter Zach Cavacas Bear Hollow Shelter Ron Lucier E-mail: [email protected] the serene beauty of the place. I quickly bid farewell as I was getting cold and still had the Rolston Rest Shelter Joe Sessock Website: www.gmcsterling.org David Logan Shelter Roundtop Shelter Howard VanBenthuysen four-mile return trip to run, vowing to make a winter overnight trip on my next visit. Robert Widger Worcester Sunrise Shelter Bill Zeiler Corliss Camp Patrick Audet Location: Worcester, Massachusetts --Fabienne (Fab) Pattison, Montpelier Section Sucker Brook Shelter Nancy Pecca Spruce Ledge Camp Scott Christiansen Maintenance: Arlington-West Wardsboro Rd. Adapted from GMC Montpelier Section Newsletter, Trail Talk, Spring 2016. Boyce Shelter Don Groll Hazen’s Notch Camp Larry Bruce & Howard VanBenthuysen to Winhall River President: Patricia Faron, (508) 892-9237 E-mail: [email protected] Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 27 Green Mountain Club Outdoor Programs Conveniently located and easily accessible, the Green Mountain Club Meeting Hall is the perfect setting for your next business Rent the GMC Meeting Hall meeting, seminar, private party or special Our education program offers a wide variety of courses and outings GMC Events Calendar event. It is perfect for lectures, training programs, concerts, weddings and retirement to help you have fun, be safe, and learn more about the outdoors. Check the GMC Events Calendar on the website greenmountainclub.org for a list of and birthday parties. Experienced instructors teach hiking and backpacking; wilderness hikes, outings and events throughout Ver- The hall accommodates 120 people on mont and beyond. the second level of the rustic timber framed first aid and medicine; conservation and stewardship skills; GMC Visitor Center. The outdoor campus navigation by map, compass and GPS; outdoor leadership; and much GMC Education Program Sponsors has lawn space with ten picnic tables and a half-mile loop trail through the nearby more. Visit us at greenmountainclub.org and sign up today. GMC Education Workshops are made woods where a relocated historic Long Trail possible in part by the support of the busi- shelter can be seen. ness community and other friends of the Temperature controlled and equipped to Forest Forensics in the Vermont Woods How the Camel Got its Hump club. To find out how you can support the GMC Education Program, please call (802) modern standards, the hall includes a state- Saturday, July 16, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. August 6, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. of-the-art media system with high speed Location: To be determined Camel’s Hump State Forest 241-8327 or e-mail groups@greenmoun- tainclub.org. wireless Internet, surround sound, overhead Learn how to read a forested landscape in Learn how glacial activity contributed to LCD projector and retractable screen, digital this exciting new workshop inspired by the unique and easily recognizable shape of Registration lectern, wireless microphone, and plenty of Tom Wessels’ popular book, Forest Foren- Camel’s Hump during this full-day hike. We’ll folding tables and chairs. sics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested ascend the Monroe Trail from the Duxbury Register at greenmountainclub.org or call For rates and other information please Landscape. side of the mountain, stopping to discuss the our office. Full payment by credit card, visit greenmountainclub.org/about/ check or cash is required before attending mountain’s geography as we go. Then, we will meeting-hall-rentals/ or contact Visitor Participants will learn the basics of the workshops. relationship between land and forest, veer off onto the Dean Trail taking a short Center Manager Amy Potter at apotter@ Phone: (802) 244-7037 how to estimate a forest’s age, and how break at the junction with the Long Trail greenmountainclub.org or (802) 241-8210. to recognize its past use—all while to learn about the natural history of Wind E-mail: [email protected] Nonprofits, government agencies and club hiking through some of Vermont’s most Gap before continuing to the summit. At Mail: 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road members receive discounts. beautiful woodlands. the summit we will break again to take in the Waterbury Center, VT 05677 sweeping panoramic views and discuss the The hike location and directions will be surrounding topography before we return to Fees sent out a week in advance. Moderately the parking lot, arriving no later than 5:00 difficult. Total distance: 4 miles p.m. This is a strenuous hike requiring some GMC members—ask about your member maximum. hand-over-hand scrambling. Total distance: discount. Not a member? Join and save. Joe Bahr and Caitlin Miller. Instructors: 7.5 miles. Cancellations and Refunds Limit: 8. Fee: $30. Register one week in Instructors: Joe Bahr and Caitlin Miller. advance Refunds (minus a $10 processing fee) Limit: 8. Fee: $30. Register one week in will be provided if cancellations are made Rain date is Sunday, July 17. advance before the registration deadline. Cancel- Rain date is Sunday, August 7. lations after the deadline will be refunded 50 percent of the workshop fee only if the space is subsequently filled. No refunds will be made for reservations cancelled less than three days before the workshop. GMC reserves the right to cancel a program at any time, in which case the club will notify registrants and make full refunds. Note: Workshop dates and venues may change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Please call or e-mail GMC before any workshop for the latest updates. Updates, additional workshop listings and more information can be found online at greenmountainclub.org. Age Requirement The minimum age to participate in a work- shop is sixteen, unless otherwise noted. P H oto by SHER I larsen

28 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 29 Journey's End From the Journal of Idgie 13. September, Day one, miles com- 17. September, Day six, miles: 17, pleted on the LT: 10, total miles 13.7, total: 67.2, Little Rock Pond Shelter Congdon Shelter The world and I woke up together this morn- The fact that I am carrying a spice kit and ing. Standing atop Bromley I watched the made a quesadilla for dinner tickled every- reddening sky illuminate the thick fog that one. Not surprising but it seems my food had filled in the low-lying areas, each crevasse preparation is much different than others. full, mountain tops poking above. The sky But I don’t care! I love the process of was an incredible pallet of blood orange, cooking and eating good food on the trail. deep pink, green, blue, black. As the day It enhances the hiking experience greatly. rose, so did we. We each do it our own way, though, and After an hour of hiking, we saw a black that’s part of being here, to complete this bear on Styles Peak! I heard a noise to my trail and this hike in the way that makes right, saw a tree shaking and a black bear sense to me. scampered down. It paused, stared at us, then moved on. On Peru Peak we startled a large 15. September, Day three, miles 8.9, group of grouse. It was a full day of wildlife: I have learned more about my personal- total 36.6, Story Spring Shelter efts, snakes, hawks, toads. But, man, that bear. ity. I am impatient, but I need time. I am adventurous, but I need to be comforted. I Today I could have gone up and over to 22. September, stopped counting miles, like to push myself, but I am not afraid to Stratton Pond but decided not to. The consider giving up. pusher in me wanted to keep going, but I David Logan Shelter FINALLY JUST ON THE LONG TRAIL. reminded myself that part of this whole ex- 1. October, day nineteen perience is also savoring the moments when It feels smaller, more familiar. It is so beauti- I am not hiking…As the hours passed, joy ful how it winds along the mountainside cov- I am so glad I pushed on today. The climb up returned to me and I began to notice many ered in fallen leaves. Only those who wish to Jay was not so bad. I spent so long up there, things that surrounded me: the thick layer know Vermont hike north of here. alone, relishing the sunset. I was able to look of dead leaves on the ground; the stillness of This afternoon Elizabeth and I turned a back at the ridge I had hiked along the past few puddles before I disturbed them; the dead corner and entered a pocket on the moun- days. I saw Lake Champlain, drank in Canada. ferns plastered to the side of a boulder with tainside. The quiet startled me. We stood I realized, the obvious fact, that oh sh*t, I have new ones sprouting up; a huge mushroom for a long time and listened. I closed my eyes, almost walked the length of this state! growing, trapped between two trees. absorbing the sound of silence. A crow from So much of me wants to push on all the a long way off called, the peace not broken, 6. October, Done with the Long Trail time, to finish this trail quickly… I have 273 just added to. As the minutes and days propel forward, [miles] and I need to be patient with them. much of my time is spent reflecting back- When the miles are too many, I need to be 26. September, day fourteen, ward. In constant motion but mentally stuck energized. When they are too few, I need to zero day (Burlington) in steps, hours and weeks behind. be calm. As I stood on Mount Ethan Allen looking Vermont IS where you find it. over—Fayston to the southeast, Mansfield I love this state and the opportunities for 16. September, day four, miles 10.8, to the north—I felt so grounded and in awe. me here. I feel like a better person, a contrib- total 47.4, Stratton Pond I am here to discover more about this state. uting member of society when I am happy. Backpacking makes me happy. I am removed The view from the firetower was incred- Meeting Vermonters on the trail and reading from society, relying on its resources less but ible…There was a bird trapped in the glass books about ecology and the landscape has interacting with it more. I am learning from enclosure and I took my shirt off to trap it helped. But looking out onto the valleys it, not taking from it. I am home. and let it go. Although such a small and and hamlets below made me realize just how seemingly insignificant living being, it was many places there are left for me to discover… Idgie (Anna G. Stevens) is from Shoreham, surreal to be holding this sparrow. Its heart Vermont. She thru-hiked the Long Trail last was pounding so quickly, I hoped it wouldn’t 30. September, day eighteen, Advertise in the fall. She currently resides in Colorado where die from a heart attack. Our lives had few Tillotson Camp she works in experiential education. She spends commonalities but we shared the experience LongTrailNews The thing about hiking when it’s cold and a portion of each year in Vermont and Maine of life in that moment, and the reassurance of call Jocelyn: rainy is that if you stop, you will die. At least leading backpacking trips and enjoying all the the woods. 802-241-8215 that is what it feels like. So you can’t stop. outdoors has to offer.

30 | the green mountain club Long Trail News • Summer 2016 | 31 Green Mountain Club Periodicals Postage 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road PAID Waterbury Center Waterbury Center, VT 05677 and Additional Offices

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New Edition! Northeast Kingdom Hiking Trail Map Reformatted, updated and enlarged! Includes: recently completed hiking trail on Middle Mountain, trails around Lake Willoughby and Wheeler Pond, and other local favorites to Burke, Gore, Monadnock, Bluff, Brousseau and Averill Mountains.

If it’s time to update your hiking maps, choose from GMC’s collection of waterproof pocket-sized area maps or purchase the full- sized Long Trail Map covering the entire Long Trail. GMC members receive a 20 percent discount. Available online, greenmountainclub.org or in the Visitor Center located in Waterbury Center.