NEWS

Quarterly of the Green Mountain Club SPRING 2018

REMEMBERING Dave Hardy Champion of the Woods

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 1 The mission of the Green Mountain Club is to make the mountains play a larger­ part in the life of the people­ by ­protecting and maintaining the System and fostering, through education,­ the stewardship of Vermont’s hiking trails and mountains.

Quarterly of the Green Mountain Club

Michael DeBonis, Executive Director Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor Richard Andrews, Volunteer Copy Editor

Green Mountain Club 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY BENNING Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677 Phone: (802) 244-7037 Fax: (802) 244-5867 Dave Hardy wearing E-mail: [email protected] his orange Crocs Website: www.greenmountainclub.org TheLong Trail News is published by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1910. In a 1971 Joint Resolution, the Vermont Legislature designated the Green Mountain Club the “founder, sponsor, defender and protector of the Long Trail System...” Contributions of manuscripts, photos, illustrations, and news are welcome from members and nonmembers. CONTENTS

The opinions expressed byLTN contributors and Spring 2018, Volume 78, No. 1 advertisers are not necessarily those of GMC. GMC reserves the right to refuse advertising that is not in keeping with the goals of the organization. FEATURES TheLong Trail News (USPS 318-840) is published quarterly by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. 6 / Remembering Dave Hardy: Champion of the Woods Periodicals postage paid at Waterbury Center, VT and additional offices. Subscription is a benefit for GMC 12 / Dave Hardy: Guardian of the Trail – A photo essay members. Approximately $5 of each member’s dues is used to publish the Long Trail News. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Long DEPARTMENTS Trail News, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. 3 / From the President 22 / Annual Meeting Copyright©2018 The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 4 / Mountain Views 24 / Board Report 05677. Permission to reproduce in any form any of the material in this publication without prior written 5 / Celebration of Life 25 / General Election approval of The Green Mountain Club, Inc. is granted only to individuals for their own personal hiking Held for Dave Hardy 26 / Sections ­convenience. 14 / Trail Mix 28 / GMC Outdoor Programs 18 / Groups 29 / Annual Meeting Registration 21 / James P. Taylor Outdoor Series 31 / Journey’s End Cover: Dave Hardy at Stratton Pond. Photo by Rich Windish. From the President

he Green Mountain Club mourns the loss of Director of Trail Programs, Dave Hardy, who passed away last TNovember following an illness with cancer. Since his death I’ve heard expressions of grief from every corner of our community. As hundreds of GMC volunteers and staff know, Dave was the heart and soul of the complex organization that maintains the Long Trail System, the Vermont , and our Northeast Kingdom Trails; every decision it takes to maintain 500 miles of hiking trails and 66 overnight facilities went through Dave at some point. His vision and mastery of the system was prodigious. Dave had personal relationships with hundreds of volunteer trail maintainers, section leaders, and shelter adopters and every spring and summer for two decades he recruited, trained, and John Page on the Smugglers’ Notch Boardwalk led our field staff. Perhaps most importantly, he was GMC’s liaison with our public partners. To all of this he brought a keen intelligence, a dry wit, and his unique “thought bubbles.” My best memories of Dave, though, are of the times I spent This issue of theLong Trail News is a tribute to Dave and the with him in the woods. Often this was on official visits to sites profound influence he had on the club and its trails. Certainly on the trail where problems needed addressing, but I was also no other “Trails and Shelters” leader at GMC has had as much fortunate enough to do a lot of pleasure hiking with him. I recall impact on the Long Trail since Roy Buchanan relinquished the one particularly epic winter traverse of the Willoughby State reins of the Long Trail Patrol in the 1960s. But Dave’s place at Forest where we broke trail in waist-deep snow. He was a great GMC went beyond his stellar work as director of trail programs. hiking companion with a penchant for leaving the trail to take Our most lasting memories of him will be as a friend, mentor, “shortcuts” that sometimes got us (semi) lost. leader, role model, and congenial colleague. Organizationally we may feel semi lost, like we’re bushwhacking I spent many hours with Dave in meetings and work sessions in the woods for a while, but we will find our way and the mission at GMC headquarters. He was always a professional who could of the club will continue to be served. Each of us who knew Dave lead from behind by steering the discussion towards the best will keep his memory alive in our own way, and we’re all richer and outcome without people realizing they had been steered. Many better for having his many years among us. times, I made a suggestion to Dave, but quickly realized that he Eventually we will find an appropriate and permanent way to had already considered the idea and either rejected it for good formally recognize Dave’s contributions to the Long Trail and the reason or was three steps ahead. He was very intelligent and Green Mountain Club. Dave will be remembered, and his passion generally knew more about the Long Trail than anyone else in the and vision for the Long Trail will continue. room but didn’t let it show. —John Page, President

Dave Hardy on LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 3 Mountain Views

The Green Mountain Club received It is difficult to imagine the Green Mountain an outpouring of heartfelt messages Club without Dave. In addition to his remarkable tenure as director of the club’s after hearing about the passing trail programs, he was a superb defender GMC Officers of our longtime Director of Trail of and advocate for the Long Trail: always John Page, President Tom Candon, Vice President Programs Dave Hardy. We wanted calm, always patient, always diplomatic, Stephen Klein, Treasurer always supportive of his field staff and trail Lee Allen, Secretary to share excerpts, some edited for volunteers. GMC Directors length, from a few of them in this Robynn Albert, General Dave hardly ever missed an annual Lars Botzojorns, General special edition, dedicated to Dave’s meeting of the Montpelier Section. There he Michelle Connor, Burlington Hope Crifo, General life work on the Long Trail. would masterfully and clearly explain to us Marge Fish, Manchester the intricacies of modern trail management Russ Ford, Northern Frontier and the fine points of the club’s working James Fritz, The full impact of Dave’s death hit me as I was Jean Haigh, Northeast Kingdom relationship with state and local agencies, Peter Hope, out doing trail work. There was sadness, but Ottauquechee which he clearly navigated with great skill. Paul Houchens, General as I worked along, I thought about Dave’s easy Anne Janeway, General At GMC annual meetings and board of Wayne Krevetski, shuffle as he hiked, his calm way of imparting General directors meetings, Dave was an articulate Sheri Larsen, General humor and wisdom, and expressions that I will Ron Lucier, Sterling staff representative. His strong voice and Doug McKain, carry always: about hung-up limbs: “I’d leave it. Bread Loaf sense of humor could easily calm any Ed O’Leary, General Just don’t have lunch under it.” About clearing Mike Peckar, Worcester heated discussion of trail issues. He was Ira Sollace, tread with a “flick stick”: “You don’t have General a unique person. We are glad the GMC Martha Stitelman, Bennington to bend down, and it’s mildly entertaining.” Cynthia Taylor-Miller, Killington dedicated the new centennial Long Trail Dann Van Der Vliet, About dealing with difficult problems with General to Dave. Howard VanBenthuysen, General partners: “I’ll just have a quiet conversation Guide Matt Wels, Brattleboro —Reidun and Andrew Nuquist Mike Wetherell, with them.” Such people are gifts. Montpelier Montpelier Section John Zaber, General —Bob Hagen Vacant, Laraway Upper Valley–Ottauquechee Section GMC Staff Directory The Friends of Bolton Valley Nordic and Main Telephone: (802) 244-7037 Backcountry, and future users of Bolton Thanks for letting us at the Waterman Fund Jason Buss, Director of Finance Lodge and Bryant Camp, will be forever know this very sad news about Dave Hardy. E-mail: [email protected] indebted to Dave Hardy. When Dave and Phone: (802) 241-8214 Guy and I met him years ago. It must have Ilana Copel, Field Supervisor Jean Haigh suggested working with GMC to been in the 1970s. We always had the feeling Email: [email protected] restore those camps, the Friends of Bolton Phone: (802) 241-8218 about Dave that if you were talking about had recently formed, and we had no idea what Lenny Crisostomo, Database Manager trails (the Long Trail!) what he was telling you E-mail: [email protected] to do with them. It felt like we had just been Phone: (802) 241-8325 was The Answer. He knew, from a boots-on- handed a gift from on high. Lorne Currier, Group Outreach and Field Coordinator the-ground perspective. And that is the best Email: [email protected] GMC spearheaded nearly two years kind of knowledge. In fact, for a trail worker, Phone: (802) 241-8327 of grant writing, negotiating regulations Michael DeBonis, Executive Director there is no other kind. It’s an understatement E-mail: [email protected] (especially for Bryant Camp’s privy), and to say how much he’ll be missed. Phone: (802) 241-8212 fundraising before building could begin. Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development —Laura Waterman E-mail: [email protected] Knowledgeable and wonderful to work Phone: (802) 241-8322 with, Dave stuck with us through an often Director of Trail Programs Vacant Dave came along at a low point in my life, frustratingly slow process. I knew he would Phone: (802) 241-8320 when he and I worked at the Portsmouth Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor always give me straight talk, without E-mail: [email protected] Naval Shipyard back in the mid-80s. His embellishments, and what he said came from Phone: (802) 241-8215 enthusiasm for the outdoors, hiking, and trail the voice of experience. Mollie Flanigan, Land Stewardship Coordinator maintenance was highly infectious, and ended E-mail: [email protected] Dave saw the completion of Bryant Camp, Phone: (802) 241-8217 up pointing me towards a lifelong love of the and knew that Bolton Lodge was well on its Matt Krebs, Operations/Publications Coordinator outdoors and the mountains that has had an E-mail: [email protected] way to completion, before he left us. I am Phone: (802) 241-8321 immeasurably positive impact on my life. I also grateful to Dave for all he did, not only for Kristin McLane, Membership and admire Dave’s decision to leave the security of Communications Coordinator the camps, but for the Friends of Bolton and Email: [email protected] a good paying but unsatisfying career and go the state forest land we preserved. He left a Phone: (802) 241-8324 fearlessly towards what his heart called him to. Amy Potter, Visitor Center Manager wonderful legacy for us all, and will be truly E-mail: [email protected] What a source of inspiration for others—a life missed. Phone: (802) 241-8210 well lived. —Ann Gotham, President of Friends of Robert Rives, Education and Volunteer Coordinator —Lincoln Vannah Email: [email protected] Bolton Valley Nordic and Backcountry Phone: (802) 241-8329

Follow Us: Celebration of Life Held for Dave Hardy

celebration of life for late Director of Trail A Programs Dave Hardy took place January 6 at the Zenbarn in Waterbury Center. A warm hearted, standing-room-only crowd of Dave’s family and trail community friends gathered on the frigid day to hear speakers recall what Dave had meant to them, and to describe his Long Trail legacy, which extends beyond Vermont’s trails throughout New England. A Hardy Party (as end-of-season field staff parties have been called) continued the celebration at GMC headquarters. Attendees shared stories over drinks and a potluck and watched a photo presentation showing Dave’s career from a young hiker through his final year with the club. Hardy souls ventured into the subzero night to light a bonfire, just as Dave had wanted. We are forever indebted to Dave for his extraordinary 25-year commitment to the Green Mountain Club, the Long Trail, the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, and Northeast Kingdom trails. While out hiking this season, pause for a moment to honor and remember this remarkable woodsman. —Mike DeBonis and the GMC staff

Dave was a brilliant explainer. As we know, even if the public We are so honored to have been friends of Dave’s over the 21 doesn’t, the Long Trail is very complex, with many moving years we have been GMC caretakers on Stratton Mountain. parts. Dave had an uncanny ability to zoom in on salient facts In Dave’s years at the club he built an extraordinary and and issues. He helped us understand what was needed and what unmatched field program consisting of site caretakers, ridge action should follow. He nudged discussions along constructive runners, trail crews, supervisors, and assistants. We soon paths. I always felt as if I had a keen insider’s view after Dave discovered that Dave was mentor to all. Dave was a real master explained some byzantine parcel-management issue. He would at this—using both his engineering and communication skills somehow boil months of scouting, landowner negotiations, and to get jobs done well, and not done without fun, too. meetings with town officers down to a fascinating, technically Dave kept reshaping and refining the GMC Caretaker accurate, and often humorous report. Dave was a gift to us all, Program to make it what it is today! We continue to meet many and will be missed. caretakers and field staff who tell us that working with Dave —Ted Albers was a life changing experience for them. Dave liked to think of Burlington Section President himself as a bit curmudgeonly, but everyone saw through that pretty fast. He was kind, very funny, and ever insightful. We Dave was a great champion of the trail. Many staff from looked forward every season to the time when Dave and his Vermont Youth Conservation Corps learned from him—we wife, Carol, would visit us on Stratton. Dave would have a beer all took inspiration in his uncompromising advocacy for his and relax on the trail he loved so much. Over the years all who beloved . Vermont is a better place thanks worked with Dave for the club hold precious memories of their to Dave. experiences with him. —Breck Knauft —Jeanne and Hugh Joudry

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 5 ILLUSTRATION BY ED EPSTEIN ILLUSTRATION

1968. It was our first taste of the White and friends, including Memorial Day REMEMBERING Mountains, and we loved it. The same weekends, while I finished the Long Trail. year we camped and hiked on Mount Despite black flies and rain we had fun Desert Island in . We continued wearing cagoules and bug netting, and to camp and hike, exploring Canadian drank evening beers David carried in. national parks yearly until 1972, when David, Gerry, and I co-led a Canadian we drove to the Everglades and Disney Rockies trip in 1980, and David and I Dave World. We hiked most weekends, co-led our last distant excursion to Bryce often staying with relatives in the and Zion National Parks in 1990. White Mountains. David was our most David was an encyclopedia of enthusiastic young hiker. Vermont trails and trail work. He was Hardy At AMC August Camp in 1973 we extremely intelligent, earning high hiked every Katahdin trail, including grades in school with little apparent the Knife Edge. The same summer we effort and a unique sense of humor. camped in New Hampshire and Gerry, When exasperated, his geometry teacher Champion David, and I completed the 4,000-footers would say, “Do you think I’m up here there. David was 14 years old. teaching math for my health?” One Our first Long Trail backpacking evening David wrote a proof in standard trip, starting at the Canadian border in geometry format concluding that she of the 1974, was cut short, but David returned was indeed up there for her health. Mrs. and thru-hiked the LT in 1982. The Cowing was so impressed she saved the following year Gerry, David (now 16), proof in 1975, and gave it to me few Woods and I completed the New England years ago! 4,000-footers. Gerry and I began editing the first At AMC August Camp in 1973 edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut in 1977, so while David worked summer we hiked every Katahdin trail, jobs we spent vacations hiking in-state. including the Knife Edge. The He Grew Up in a Hiking Family David took over the guide for the fourth same summer we camped in New By Sue Hardy and fifth editions, and 40 years later Mary Anne is finishing the sixth edition, Hampshire, and Gerry, David Dave’s mother due in 2019. and I completed the 4,000-footers Gerry and I welcomed David Joseph David, Gerry, and I co-led an AMC there. David was 14 years old. Hardy to our family on June 3, 1959. trip to Newfoundland in 1979, including Three children followed: Mary Anne a five-day backpack from Western Brook in 1960, Charlie (Chuck) in 1963, and Pond to Gros Morne—terrific map-and- David studied forestry at the Patricia (Patty) in 1965. David and Mary compass stuff. University of New Hampshire but Anne were the “big kids,” while Chuck On a long Paris weekend in 1979, switched to mechanical engineering and Patty were the “little kids.” David and I walked and walked, but he when he realized most forestry jobs With young children and little made sure to take a nap every afternoon. would be with logging companies. He money, tent camping was our only travel He always said you shouldn’t stand if you worked about three years as a civilian option. This suited us just fine as we could sit, or sit if you could lie down, and with the U.S. Navy on air conditioning enjoyed being outdoors. We ventured he practiced what he preached. systems in nuclear submarines at from our home in Connecticut to In the ’80s, David organized short Portsmouth Navy Shipyard. While he Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire in backpacking trips in Vermont with family worked with the Navy, he volunteered

6 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB in the New Hampshire Chapter of the relationship and friendship that would could be the boss. When he needed to be AMC leading hikes and doing trail work. span the next 25 years. your friend, he could be your friend. He Eventually David decided what he As a young man whose own attraction was really good at being both. It was one really wanted was a career connected to the woods, mountains, and an of his gifts. to the woods and saved enough money alternative lifestyle was strong, I was in The land and people of Vermont to pursue this dream for five years; if awe of Dave’s ease in the wilderness. From made it easy for Dave, and me, to choose it didn’t work he could always return his knowledge of natural history, trail the Green Mountains. As I think back to engineering. He became a cook for design and tool use, and his ability to on those 25 years and the life that Dave cook, to the way he hoisted his backpack created after leaving the conventional over his head in one fluid motion so it work world, I realize how strongly his David was an encyclopedia landed perfectly on his shoulders—I was example influenced me. of Vermont trails and always impressed. I am reminded of Robert Frost’s trail work. Whenever I had a chance to work poem, The Road not Taken, about two with Dave on special projects, I took it. I roads diverging in the woods. In a world admired how he had woven his work life where most people follow the main the AMC at Cardigan Lodge and at into his personal life, and made it work. road, Dave had the courage to follow his Mountain Gate in the Catskills, and was I wanted to do this someday too, and it passion, and that made all the difference the winter caretaker at the Randolph was clear I could learn a lot from him. In for him. Mountain Club cabin for a season. those days, he was more than a boss—he Then he began working at GMC, first was a mentor. seasonally and ultimately as director of I worked in the Whites for a couple He Was an Old Soul trail programs, a role he kept and loved of years but returned to GMC. By 2008 By Ben Rose until just weeks before his passing. I had worked my way up to stewardship Executive Director, 1998 to 2011 coordinator and facilities manager, and Dave was working as a field supervisor Dave had worked his way to director He Followed His Passion when I became executive director in By Pete Antos-Ketcham June, 1998. About a year later, Director Whenever I had a chance to Former Director of Land and of Field Programs, Lars Botzojorns, left GMC to become executive director Facilities Management work with Dave on special projects, I took it. I admired of another nonprofit. When Lars Dave joined the GMC field program in announced his departure at a Trail the late summer of 1992 as southern field how he had woven his work life Management Committee meeting, Chair assistant, and I was hired the next spring into his personal life, and made Pete Richardson took me aside and came as caretaker at Skyline Lodge in the it work. I wanted to do this right to the point: “So, Lars is leaving. Breadloaf Wilderness. Big shoes to fill. You’re going to promote While pretending to have a broken someday too, and it was clear I Dave Hardy, right?” Dave and I both leg during the required pre-season could learn a lot from him. In revered Pete as a wise man. As soon as Wilderness First Aid training, I those days, he was more than a he said that, I realized it was the obvious accidentally kicked the person sitting thing to do. I answered, “Um... yes, yes of next to me in the head. I apologized boss—he was a mentor. course...” and introduced myself. The man looked As the new director of field programs sternly at me, adjusted his hat, and said, of field programs. We worked closely and the new executive director, Dave and I “Hi, I’m Dave. I’m your boss.” I was together to balance the needs of trails, learned our jobs together. We made many mortified. But despite that inauspicious trail lands, and the headquarters campus. road trips to attend long meetings in the introduction, we started a working When Dave needed to be a boss, he windowless conference room at Green

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 7 Mountain National Forest headquarters in I loved to hear Dave’s laugh—a hearty, Shrewsbury Peak Trail, moving big Rutland. Those drives, typically in rattling wheezing belly chuckle that invited others boulders and crafting puncheon with bootleg sedans from GMC’s donated fleet, to laugh along. He carried large loads. He lumber that had been carried in. A gave us time to converse. made great beers. He saw the big picture. volunteer who had never before done We discovered we were the same He lived his life well. His spirit will trail work joined us. It was a hot day, age, and had both first hiked the Long always watch over the Long Trail. complete with pesky black flies. The Trail end-to-end during the summer of lumber needed to be adzed, but with 1982. We had great conversations about some quick training and encouragement politics, history, books, and baseball. He He Valued Volunteers from Dave, the new volunteer was able to was well-informed on all those topics, By Jean Haigh pitch right in. That volunteer was then and ruefully philosophical. And, of GMC President, 2012 to 2015 Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, now course, we discussed the history and governor of the State of Vermont. Dave was much more than an expert people of the Green Mountain Club. If The lieutenant governor and Dave on trail maintenance. He had a genius you were a GMC volunteer or staffer struck up a meaningful and valuable for guiding and supporting GMC’s during the years 1999-2011, Dave and conversation about maintenance on the multitude of volunteers, whether section I probably discussed your soul at some Long Trail and the need for its continued or general members. support. The lieutenant governor enjoyed Dave had a wonderful and positive his time so much that he stayed into As a trail manager, Dave saw way of carefully and thoughtfully the afternoon to work on the Bucklin listening with genuine interest, his job through a hiker’s eyes. Trail and saw firsthand the damage from understanding that each GMC section He managed with a light Tropical Storm Irene. Dave always had a or individual trail adopter was working plan with an end in mind. touch, honoring continuity, on a distinctive area of the trail, with its Over the years I learned that Dave particular needs. disinclined to fix things unless respected volunteers, recognized the Dave communicated his perspective they were truly broken. importance of their work, and believed in a manner volunteers understood that they were invaluable to the Long He was a protector. and appreciated, demonstrating great Trail, Appalachian Trail, and all of patience working through differences of Vermont’s other hiking trails. The respect opinion while respecting all opinions. He point while driving on I-89 or Route was mutual. Solid friendships formed had a talent for finding common ground. 107! Rest assured, his assessments of between volunteers and Dave in their One day many years ago the Long character, while brutally honest, were time together in the woods, and many Trail Patrol was working to restore the generally kind and generous. volunteers became extensions of Dave’s Somehow people thought Dave was family outside of GMC. much older than I. Maybe his beard Dave communicated his Dave was a perceptive individual with a contributed, and there is no question that perspective in a manner quiet brilliance, who kept his sense of humor he was an old soul, but mostly it was his through it all. Oh, how he will be missed. persona. As director of field programs, he volunteers understood and was a mentor, guru, uncle, and sometimes appreciated, demonstrating disciplinarian to an entire generation of He Welcomed All wonderful young mountain stewards. great patience working through differences of opinion while By Kathryn Wrigley As a trail manager, Dave saw his Field Supervisor, 2011 to 2013 job through a hiker’s eyes. He managed respecting all opinions. He with a light touch, honoring continuity, I joined the GMC field staff in 2008 and disinclined to fix things unless they were had a talent for finding worked for the club until 2013. As field truly broken. He was a protector. common ground. supervisor for three of the five years,

8 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB I worked closely with Dave to, as we journalists and activists, or sought higher wanted to chair the Vermont Trails and used to say, herd cats, put out fires, and education. The list is long. Greenways Council so he could better manage chaos. By inviting everyone to participate work with all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts. and always making sure there was a place He was always willing to help provide Dave welcomed every person at the table for those with opposing opportunities for other trail users while he worked with into the Green views, Dave knew that the Long Trail and protecting the Long Trail. Appalachian Trail management process Dave appreciated the importance of Mountain Club fold—including would only be strengthened. historic preservation, despite occasional generations of trail workers, His inclusive practices are why the frustration. He was especially startled caretakers, and construction loss of him ripples so widely through to find structures—from the 1960s, the trail community. By engaging people for heaven’s sake!—were potentially crews. He accepted people as on hard topics and encouraging them “historic.” they were... to show up as their authentic selves, he Dave shared insight developed in created an extended trail family and a long career, supported me through Dave took a chance in hiring me. I an enduring legacy, based on the love difficult times, and kept me focused on doubt he imagined at the time that the of both a community of people and a what mattered: the trail, the volunteers, woman limping around the Back Forty physical place—the Long Trail. the resources, the hiking experience. field staff housing area, with quarter- And maybe most importantly, Dave sized heel blisters and puffy knees just a He Shared His Wisdom was a good friend. He always treated few weeks into her season, would one me and my Forest Service colleagues day become his trusty field supervisor. By Jennifer Wright with respect, and lightened challenging But he let me keep coming back, and Forest Service Recreation Specialist situations with his humor. Even after I left the Green Mountain National Forest there I was one winter, poking my head I met Dave when I began working for he kept me informed, and invited me to into his office to tell him my grand plan the Green Mountain National Forest in projects he knew I was interested in. for organizing the field supervisor’s 2010. With little experience managing office. trails, I was eager to learn from and with Dave welcomed every person he the trail community. Dave appreciated the importance worked with into the Green Mountain Dave welcomed me, teaching me of historic preservation, despite Club fold—including generations of trail the history and vision of the GMC, workers, caretakers, and construction its committees, and other important occasional frustration. He crews. He accepted people as they partnerships. He was patient, willing to was especially startled to find were and didn’t try to fit them into a revisit a site repeatedly to make sure the structures—from the 1960s, for prescribed box. He focused on their time was right for a project. Or to wait strengths and allowed them to shine, for hot-button issues to cool. heaven’s sake!—were potentially standing by to help guide them if needed. Dave was a great synthesizer, listening “historic.” Emboldened by their time working to all and then crafting a compromise. for Dave, GMC field staff members have He was a walking index of people and Recently I spotted a man wearing an applied knowledge learned from him players in every agency, town, and GMC orange tuque, and immediately thought to succeed at other trail clubs (AMC, section. At the Forest Service we joked of Dave. I’m sure whenever I see an Randolph Mountain Club, Adirondack that meeting with Dave really meant orange tuque or a purple or orange Mountain Club); the National Park meeting with a full crew of people. hoodie, I will think of him again. I Service; and the U.S. Forest Service. He was collaborative, making sure all am honored to have worked with and They have become environmental film interested and affected parties were learned from such a knowledgeable, kind, makers, hot shot fire crew members, involved. One day he told me that he and influential man.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 9 He Left a Legacy now the go-to resource for the greater trail Dave paid close attention to popular but By Lars Botzojorns community, was an outgrowth of that effort. ecologically sensitive sites near water on the Dave led the charge to change most southern part of the LT/AT: Stratton Pond, Director of Field Programs, 1992-1999 overnight sites from pit privies to moldering, Little Rock Pond, and Griffith Lake. He Dave Hardy’s Green Mountain Club legacy is batch-bin, and beyond-the-bin privies, worked to consolidate impacts away from multifaceted. When I hired him as southern depending on the level of use, including shorelines if possible, and to leave parts of field assistant in 1992, he already understood the creation and coordination of a small the ponds’ surroundings trail-free so natural the interplay of the elements of trailwork: army of porters to ferry wood shavings and processes could recover unimpaired. soil, rock, water, wood, footsteps. As years bark mulch to backcountry sites. GMC’s Dave was pragmatic, recognizing that passed he became adept at anticipating and caretakers tend to not call themselves new uses of trails like endurance events balancing myriad issues affecting trail systems, sanitation workers, but this aspect of their could be accepted if they minimized and he built an encyclopedic knowledge of duties is crucial. adverse impacts on other users and the our system and its challenges. Second, Dave was a tireless advocate land. He accommodated new organizations Dave supervised an overhaul of the Long for the caretaker program. He gently but seeking trails for mountain bikes, all-terrain Trail’s overnight sites. He sought volunteer firmly encouraged our public and private vehicles and backcountry skiing, and forged leadership and skills for these projects as the management partners to support positions, relationships with those that shared GMC’s club always has, and he made sure historical not just caretakers at marquee sites, but also concern for responsible stewardship of the context guided renovation or replacement wilderness monitors and the Coolidge Range backcountry. of any structure. The recent restorations of ridgerunner. He inspired caretakers to teach Finally, Dave spent countless hours Bolton Lodge and Bryant Camp are but the of his own time helping revise various latest examples. Dave was a tireless advocate for guidebooks, and enjoying the camaraderie Other flagship projects Dave handled of GMC staff and volunteers on the trail were the Winooski and Lamoille River the caretaker program, gently but and around the region. It is in this spirit I bridges; major relocations of the Long Trail at firmly encouraging our public remember my friend and former colleague Smugglers’ Notch and Sherburne Pass to skirt and private management partners as we carry on his ideals as thoughtful Killington and Pico Resort development; stewards of hiking trails. and relocation of the Appalachian Trail at to support positions, not just Thundering Falls in Killington, including the caretakers at marquee sites, but 900-foot universally accessible boardwalk. also wilderness monitors and the Dave also took on expansion of GMC’s maintenance responsibility to include the Coolidge Range ridgerunner. entire Appalachian Trail in Vermont and a network of new trails in the Northeast the club’s mission and the ethics of Leave Kingdom. Every initiative proved Dave’s No Trace to a diverse public, goals as vital as ability to plan and get things done. backcountry sanitation. Arguably still more important were The third area Dave felt strongly about Dave’s efforts to address his concern for was sprawl, which you may not associate human impact in three areas of ecological with trail management, but affects the hiking stewardship. experience and the life cycles of the many One, unglamorous but essential as lifeforms with which we share the woods. visitation grew, was sanitation. Dave worked The Long Trail remains a primitive respite with volunteer Dick Andrews and staff from a technology-driven world, a place member Pete Antos-Ketcham to improve where we should “leave only footprints,” and disposal of human waste. Publication of in the words of the of 1964, the ATC’s Backcountry Sanitation Manual, where man is a visitor who does not remain. BY ED EPSTEIN ILLUSTRATION

10 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 11 DAVE HARDY Guardian of the Trail . . .the Long Trail as we know it today is a reflection of Dave’s vision and life work. —JOHN PAGE Protected fragile shorelines. Little Rock Pond. PHOTO BY JULIA LUCKETT

Improved the Trail experience. Long Trail.

12 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB Made the LT accessible. Smugglers’ Notch Boardwalk. Managed backcountry waste. Battell Privy. PHOTO BY HOWARD MUSCOTT PHOTO BY HOWARD

Improved access to AT. Thundering Falls Boardwalk. Expanded hiking opportunities. Unknown Pond in Northeast Kingdom. PHOTO BY SHERI LARSEN

Protected the alpine zone. Mount Mansfield. Led generations of field staff. Tillotson Camp.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 13 Preserved historic shelters. Butler Lodge. Built bridges. Winooski River Footbridge. Trail Mix

Cowles Cove Shelter & Privy Up for Improvements Bolton Lodge The Green Mountain Club is seeking funding to send our construction crew Historic Bolton Lodge Open to Cowles Cove Shelter this field season. Located a few miles south of Burnt Rock, On December 15, President John Page funds before restoration could begin. Then the shelter is a key staging point for hikers and former President Jean Haigh cut the construction crew carefully followed traversing the difficult stretch to Camel’s orange tape spanning the entrance to historic preservation guidelines to restore Hump and the Monroe Skyline. Bolton Lodge and pushed the door inward, the lodge, keeping its rustic character and Built in 1956, Cowles Cove has none signaling the official opening of the historic charm while bolstering it to withstand of the rot or roofing problems that have shelter. Many enthusiastic supporters, decades of hikers and backcountry skiers to kept us busy elsewhere in the last few years, including members from the Burlington come. however, the trampoline-like floor has too Section, which had built the lodge in Today GMC manages rentals of the few joists and badly needs replacement. 1928 to replace deteriorating Dunsmore lodge for the State of Vermont between July Shelter adopters and field staff have Lodge, were there to applaud the GMC 1 and March 31. Demand is high in winter, patched the growing number of holes construction crew’s latest success. and renters are encouraged to book on the with wood, sheet metal, and, occasionally, Bolton Lodge was a respite for day reservations open for the following generous quantities of duct tape, but they backcountry hikers and Nordic skiers season. (Check greenmountainclub.org/ can no longer keep up. The crew plans to for decades, but like Dunsmore, fell cabins to learn more about this and other replace the floor and add joists to make it into disrepair. The GMC and partners GMC rental cabins.) more durable, with less bounce. worked together to obtain permits and —Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor Cowles Cove privy will be improved too. The open-air chum platform with a seat, while regarded by some GMC field staff members with tongue in cheek affection as the “privy with a view,” is not appreciated by all. We suspect hikers will happily accept a limited view for a privacy screen that will shield them from the glances of shelter guests and passing hikers. Today’s inverted-trash can riser will be replaced with a sturdier hard plastic throne to help make the privy experience safer, and more enjoyable. Finally, a tent platform will be built near the shelter to improve overnight capacity, opening the site to organized groups hiking Camel’s Hump and the Monroe Skyline. Birch Glen Lodge to the south and Montclair Glen Lodge to the north are overused and shifting group use to Cowles Cove will help balance use on Bolton Lodge Interior that section of the Long Trail. —Kevin Hudnell, Field Assistant

14 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB Tucker Johnson Shelter Replacement Thanks to a generous donor, the Green years until it burned. Mountain Club plans to build a new Working with the Green Mountain Tucker Johnson Shelter. The shelter was National Forest, GMC proposed to located on the Long Trail north of Route 4 build the new shelter 100 feet south of near Willard Gap in the Green Mountain the original site, creating a larger buffer National Forest, and lost to a fire in 2011. between it and the brook. The new shelter A new shelter and moldering privy in this will replicate the previous Tucker Johnson area of high hiker traffic will reestablish Shelter, designed by 1970s GMC President overnight lodging and waste management, George Pearlstein. The shelter will be wood relieving pressure on other sites near frame with double decker bunks on each Sherburne Pass and the Appalachian Trail. side and a table in the middle. A liberal roof The original Fred Tucker Lodge was overhang will provide good protection from built in 1938 as a memorial to early Board wind and rain. A benefit of this design and of Trustees member Fred H. Tucker. In construction is that much of the material 1969, the Long Trail Patrol, Louis “Sandy” can be precut and prepared off site, and Stare, and Killington Section members built then transported and assembled on site. Tucker Johnson Shelter to replace the aging Following final approval by the Green and dilapidated lodge, this time honoring Mountain National Forest, construction Mud Season Celebration Tucker and Otto Johnson of Proctor, who will begin this summer so the shelter can be bequeathed funds for its construction. opened this fall. and Egg Hunt with Tucker Johnson Shelter lasted forty-two —Mike DeBonis, Executive Director Laughing Moon Chocolates Saturday, March 31, 10:00 a.m. – Noon GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center

Children of all ages and their parents are invited to take a walk on The Short Trail during our eighth annual non- competitive Mud Season Celebration and Egg Hunt. When the search is over, children can turn in the eggs for chocolate and other goodies from Laughing Moon Chocolates. Please come dressed for the outdoors and BYOB (bring your own basket)! After the hunt, head to Laughing Moon Chocolates in Stowe to meet the Tucker Johnson Shelter Easter Bunny. FREE. Open to the public.

2,692-Acre Rolston Rest Tract Conserved The Trust for Public Land recently adapted as part of the new backcountry hut wetlands will help maintain the health acquired 2,692 acres of land in system in Vermont burned to the ground on of the popular recreational fisheries Chittenden, Killington, and Mendon, January 16 in a suspicious fire. At press time in Lefferts Pond and Chittenden including Rolston Rest Shelter and 3.2 The Trust for Public Land and partners were Reservoir, as well as the flood resilience miles of the Long Trail. In addition to weighing options to determine whether to of Rutland County. Preservation of this conserving portions of the Long Trail, replace the structure or not. parcel will also protect the viewshed two miles of the Catamount Trail will The land, the largest private inholding in from the Appalachian Trail, just a mile be conserved. the Green Mountain National Forest, will be to the south. A four-season log house located on conveyed to the national forest. The protection —Mike DeBonis, Executive Director the property that was planned to be of 11 miles of headwater streams and 97 acres of

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 15 Trail Mix

Smugglers’ Notch Boardwalk Open: Long Trail Relocation in Notch Complete

Governor Phil Scott (front)

Hikers and tourists have a new reason to visit government officials in the visitor center, the provide trail and other area information, sell Smuggler’s Notch: to walk the one-eighth mile crowd went into the crisp autumn air to cut a GMC maps, and point the way to restrooms. universally accessible boardwalk that is now ribbon and christen the boardwalk. Waves of We thank the Lamoille County Planning part of the Long Trail. pleased participants made their way onto the Commission, which managed the boardwalk Constructed by the trail designers and decking, some stopping at wheelchair turnouts project; the Vermont Department of Forest, builders of Timber and Stone, LLC of East to read interpretive panels, enjoy views, and Parks and Recreation; and Spruce Peak Resort Montpelier, the boardwalk minimizes hikers’ catch up with old friends and colleagues. Association, the landowners, for working impact on an ecologically sensitive wetland Completion of the boardwalk marks the with GMC to enhance the Long Trail in this north of the Barnes Camp Visitor Center. The final stage of a multi-year Long Trail relocation popular destination area. five-foot-wide boardwalk ends at a viewing in the Notch. This summer, northbound hikers We are also grateful to Senator Sanders for platform providing magnificent new views of can take the new trail down Mount Mansfield, obtaining a Federal Highway Administration the Notch. cross Vermont Route 108, meander through appropriation that funded about 80 percent of An opening celebration in October, 2017, the woods, walk the boardwalk, and take a the boardwalk construction costs. drew Governor Phil Scott, Congressman break at Barnes Camp. They can return to the And, of course, we are proud of the Long Peter Welch, a representative of Senator Bernie trail behind the visitor center building and Trail Patrol crews and volunteers, led by our late Sanders, leaders from project partners, and continue north to Sterling Pond and beyond. Director of Trail Programs, Dave Hardy, who strong GMC staff and member turnout. Barnes Camp Visitor Center is staffed in worked hard to scout, flag, and build the trail. After comments by project leaders and summer by knowledgeable volunteers who —Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor

Support the Long Trail: Other Ways to Give If you are 70½ or older, you can donate Mountain Club. might be more advantageous to more part or all of your IRA required minimum For a retiree in the 25% tax bracket, people than it was in the past, because the distribution directly to the Green an IRA charitable contribution of $5,000 standard deduction has increased. Mountain Club. could reduce the federal income tax We recommend consulting your Here’s how it works: Essentially, bill by $1,250. This may reduce your financial advisor before setting up any such you would not receive the distribution income tax liability if the total of your transfer or donation. yourself, you would not be taxed on deductible expenditures would be less —Alicia DiCocco the distribution, and the money would than the standard deduction. Under the Director of Development go directly to supporting the Green new federal income tax law, this option

16 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative Many of us live in Vermont because its natural landscape and diverse outdoor recreation opportunities add so much to our quality of life. But our recreational infrastructure is also a big part of the economy, with direct spending for outdoor recreation equipment and experiences totaling more than $2.5 billion in Vermont. Trails managed by the Green Mountain Club and three other organizational members of the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council bring in more than $30 million in total spending, support 365 jobs, and create $2 million in tax revenue annually. In short, trail-based recreation is big business in Vermont, and people are paying attention. Governor Phil Scott created the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) in Sketch of new Beaver Dam Camp

ILLUSTRATION BY CHAD FORCIER ILLUSTRATION June, 2017, and appointed a 12-member steering committee representing outdoor businesses, nonprofits, Beaver Dam Camp Update conservation organizations, service providers, and user Nestled in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom on the shore groups. The Green Mountain Club has a seat on the of Wheeler Pond are GMC’s two rustic rental cabins, Hadsel- committee. Mares and Beaver Dam. The cabins have hosted countless adventures and celebrations in the 14 years we have owned them. The purpose of VOREC is to: The camps came to GMC through Chris Hadsel and Bill ➊ Promote business opportunities. Mares, club members who graciously donated the camps in 2004. Hundreds of people have since enjoyed the serenity of ➋ Increase participation opportunities. the pond, stunning mountain views, and nearby hiking trails on ➌ Strengthen the quality and extent of our their visits. recreational resources. Ironically, the beavers for which Beaver Dam Camp is ➍ Strengthen the stewardship of our recreational named raised the level of Wheeler Pond and the cabin’s resources. foundation posts began to slowly tilt toward the water. In the spring of 2016 the cabin was deemed unsafe and was closed. In the last six months the collaborative hosted seven The GMC Camps Committee, with help from Land public listening sessions, launched an online survey, and Stewardship Coordinator Mollie Flanigan, decided after much held four meetings and a kick off conference in Grafton. discussion that building a new cabin would be the best use of The collaborative received thousands of comments resources. The GMC Board approved replacing the cabin at its January meeting. and suggestions to promote and strengthen Vermont’s Committee members Matt Wels and Chad Forcier donated recreation economy and resources. Public input was their building and architectural expertise to design and estimate analyzed, and supported a series of recommendations costs for a simple cabin that will fit the landscape nicely. Once presented to the governor in December. Beaver Dam Camp is taken down and removed, the new cabin As a member of the steering committee, I have been will be rebuilt further from the shoreline, just behind the site of impressed with the vision shared among businesses, the old camp. nonprofits, service providers, and stakeholders to The club is pleased to be moving forward with this project, develop action to strengthen our recreation economy and will begin a fundraising campaign soon. while not degrading or losing what makes Vermont’s —Jean Haigh, Camps Committee Chair recreation resources special. Please visit the following website to learn more about VOREC and its work: fpr.vermont.gov/VOREC. To help rebuild Beaver Dam Camp visit: —Mike DeBonis, Executive Director greenmountainclub.org/special-projects/

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 17 Groups Two Decades of Group Outreach on the Long Trail reen Mountain Club Caretaker Pete them, even with high-impact practices. Mountain National Forest responded swiftly Ketcham manned his post outside That changed with the backpacking and instituted regulations on campfires, Gthe visitor center at the top of the boom of the 1960s and ’70s. After World campsite locations, and waste disposal. Mount Mansfield Toll Road in 1997. His War II, higher incomes, more leisure, and The GMC stepped in as an educator in group feedback forms provided striking improvements in transportation brought collaboration with agency partners, starting insight about the way many groups hiked the masses of people to the mountains to enjoy the Ranger-Naturalist Program in 1969 Long Trail twenty years ago. For you alpine- their independence and the freedom of the and reviving the earlier Shelter Caretaker loving, solitude-seeking Green Mountain woods. Program to foster low-impact hiking and Club members, his comments call for a camping practices. warning: may cause emotional distress. Hikers were encouraged to follow Very noisy & foul-mouthed. Found carry-in carry-out practices, to use fuel stoves some litter and cigarette butts. These instead of campfires, and to step on rocks folks had a group size that was too large rather than alpine plants. They were urged to and not enough leaders for kids. Too limit groups to four to six with a maximum of ten, and to have at least one leader for much vulgarity being heard by others… Pete’s sighting of a 45-person high every five followers. Groups were also asked school group hiking across the alpine to use tents or tarps and leave shelter space summit was not unprecedented. More than open for individuals. twenty years later, summer camps, colleges, The intense educational effort was largely outdoor guides, Scout troops, and schools successful with individual hikers but fell still use the Long Trail. But there is a big short in addressing the challenges of group difference: today we have a Group Outreach use which can cause a disproportionate Coordinator. amount of adverse impact on natural resources and affect the recreational Group Use before the experience of others. Groups at small campsites can destroy vegetation and wildlife Group Outreach Coordinator habitat, tempting future campers to cook The Long Trail has attracted organized or tent in the enlarged area. Overwhelmed group hikes since its inception in 1910. In Willams College students at Stamford Stream leaders and under educated participants may fact, a group actually led to its founding. PHOTO BY LORNE CURRIER lead to improper disposal of food and human Vermont Academy Assistant Headmaster As Trails and Shelters Committee Chair waste, contaminating water and attracting James P. Taylor’s frustration with limited Dane H. Shortsleeve wrote in the November, nuisance wildlife. hiking opportunities as he led students 1971 Long Trail News: “The Trail is being Group size isn’t the only factor. According on bushwacks in the Green Mountains used more and more each year—it is so to Jeff Marion, U.S.G.S. Recreation Geologist reportedly inspired his Long Trail vision. popular that problems are being created.” and a founding member of the Leave No If you have ever spent more than a couple He wondered how the club would meet the Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, “The of days on the Long Trail you probably have demands of increasing usage: “The trail was specific behavior, high versus low impact, is encountered a youth group from Farm and never designed for the large camp groups and likely a much stronger determinant of resource Wilderness Camps, a freshman orientation traffic we are experiencing…” and social impact than size of a group.” In trip from Harvard, or even a Green The problems were serious. Alpine tundra other words, fifty Leave No Trace Master Mountain Club section. plants which had defied ice, snow, and wind Educators could complete the Long Trail with Groups presented few problems during for millennia were crushed by the thousand- less impact than a group of eight novice Scouts the first 60 or so years of the trail’s existence. fold increase of footsteps. Long Trail shelters on an overnight. So, GMC set out to instill In the mid-1930s a group could cut all the burned by accident, undesignated trailside proper group practices. firewood they wanted and tramp straight campsites appeared by the dozens, and refuse across alpine zones with minimal visible dumps grew. The Vermont mountains were How it Was Done effect. The hiking population was so small being “loved to death,” as observers said. Tim Sullivan walked into his office on that impacts were dispersed, and ecological The Vermont Department of Forest, June 1, 1998, to find a box on his desk communities were resilient enough to absorb Parks and Recreation and the Green containing all the elements of group outreach

18 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB management. Little did he know it would be his Pandora’s Box. Tim was the first GMC Group Outreach Coordinator, filling a 20 hour a week internship position funded at the time by grants from the Appalachian Trail Conference and the Windham Foundation of Grafton. The position was created as a direct response to Pete Ketcham’s disturbing feedback form. The group outreach job was a big one, but Director of Field Programs Lars Botzojorns, Education Coordinator Karen Sharpwolf, Field Supervisor Dave Hardy, and others had established good strategies and techniques, and had collected useful information to help Tim succeed. A group contact database Tufts students on AT already had 300 entries (which grew to 785 PHOTO BY LORNE CURRIER by 2005) of information for every group One session was with 75 leaders from has been largely consistent and successful for known to have used the Long Trail. Harvard University’s Freshman Orientation more than 20 years. The Vermont Housing Summit and site caretakers had begun Program prior to their departure to hike on and Conservation Board has funded GMC’s recording group encounters, good or bad, the Long Trail and in the White Mountains. AmeriCorps group outreach position since on detailed forms in 1997. The 192 forms The feedback forms were positive, showing 2000, allowing thirteen individuals to submitted that year included trip leader and Tim’s workshops were helping. enhance the program and leave a unique contact information, as well as caretaker Overcrowding of shelters and tenting mark. comments and ratings of leadership, areas would be hard to eliminate but Tim Sullivan pioneered, shaping the preparedness, impact knowledge, and establishing designated group sites was program and working out initial kinks. Matt behavior. Tim could now begin earnest a good first step. The second step was Larson helped build the half-mile Short Trail education efforts to prevent adverse impacts. launching a voluntary notification system, behind the GMC Visitor Center, where He mailed letters, postcards, information created to prevent two, three, or more groups today youth groups come to learn about the packets, and brochures to group program at a site at once. Long Trail. Thorin Markison used his superb directors and trip leaders, impressing upon Tim received itineraries from program graphic design skills on the second edition of directors and entered them on a spreadsheet the ATC’s Backcountry Sanitation Manual, In other words, fifty Leave No that enabled him to become a trail which educates groups of all ages. Jenna Trace Master Educators could traffic controller of group use, suggesting Whitson and Nika Meyers worked to build complete the Long Trail with adjustments to avoid conflicts. By 2017 there the Long Trail Bound website, developing an were 492 registered group overnights. education curriculum and gathering helpful less impact than a group of eight Instilling an ethic of stewardship, respect, tools and resources for people hiking with novice Scouts on an overnight. and understanding in group users would children on the trail. And, that’s just a few of help enormously. For decades GMC has the valuable contributions made so far. them the importance of group size limits, welcomed schools, colleges, summer camps, As I near the finish of my first year Leave No Trace practices, and pertinent and Scout troops that wanted to volunteer of service with AmeriCorps, I have been trail information. Included was a list of for service projects on the Long Trail/ thinking about my own contributions to designated overnight group sites, the result Appalachian Trail. In the late 1990s GMC GMC. I haven’t built an interpretive trail, of a systematic evaluation of the Long expanded service project opportunities to and my graphic design skills dead-end at Trail in 1995. The list would help prevent include new groups to give them a chance PowerPoint. But in addition to working with overcrowding at small, ecologically fragile to learn and give back to the trail. This an ever-growing number of groups on the sites such as Montclair Glen Lodge on improved relationships with problem Long Trail, I am helping transition the field popular Camel’s Hump. groups such as the one Pete Ketcham had programs during a time of enormous change Group leaders were urged to take encountered on Mount Mansfield. as the club evolves without Director of Trail part in free workshops at GMC covering Programs Dave Hardy. And that is a unique Leave No Trace, alpine ecology, and group More than Coordinators position to be in. preparedness. In his first season Tim ran The 1998 all-star staff laid a solid foundation —Lorne Currier, VHCB AmeriCorps seven Leave No Trace and Backpacking for for the Group Outreach Program, which Outreach and Field Coordinator Groups workshops, reaching 300 people.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 19 Groups Five Reasons We Love Questing By the 2017 Long Trail Questers

The Farm & Wilderness Questers Program is headquartered at Saltash Mountain, one of eight summer camps operated by the Farm & Wilderness Foundation in the area around Plymouth. In the Questers Program teens go backpacking, canoeing, rock climbing, or on service trips. A Long Trail hike is one of the more ambitious adventures offered. Indian Brook Camp, Timber Lake Camp, Flying Cloud Camp, and Barn Day Camp are some of the other Farm & Wilderness camps. Questers on the Long Trail PHOTOS COURTESY OF FARM & WILDERNESS OF FARM PHOTOS COURTESY

his year two groups of Long to survive in the wilderness, made me Trail Questers hiked 272 miles feel more self-sufficient, and I’ve gained Tnorthbound from Massachusetts the desire to take on future outdoor to Canada. During our 36 days on the trail adventures,” said Jessie Cali (Indian Brook we focused on becoming better leaders 2011-2013, Saltash Mountain 2014-2015, and learning about ourselves. Here are five Questers 2017). things we love about the Questers program. Living Unplugged and Remote Making Lifelong Friendships Hiking the Long Trail surrounded by nature Hiking the Long Trail brought us closer is an amazing experience. “As I was hiking as a group and community. “We were all down the trail through trees, rocks, and friends by the end, we supported each bushes I became one with the wilderness other in hard times, and celebrated in around me,” said Zev Breen (Barn Day Questers at Journey’s End the awesome moments, making lifelong Camp 2010-2012, Saltash Mountain 2013- bonds,” said Eva Clews (Indian Brook 2016, Questers 2017). “Being isolated deep Experiencing, in many ways, 2011-2013, Saltash Mountain 2015-2016, in the forest of Vermont is a wonderful a rite of passage into adulthood Questers 2017). place to discover yourself.” For Emmett Miller (Timberlake 2013-2014, Gaining Confidence in our Outdoor Skills Overcoming Adversity Flying Cloud 2015-2016, Saltash Mountain 2016, Questers 2017), the trek “was a chance Most of each Long Trail Questers trip is On our journey we faced biting insects, to prove that we were ready for the rights and led by campers. They take turns collecting blisters, rain, hot humid days, and conflicts responsibilities of adulthood.” water, hanging food in bear bags, setting that can come with sharing close quarters, up tents, cooking with a backpacking limited food, and long hiking days. Each stove or campfire, and doing other chores. of us learned a lot about compassion and GMC encourages all groups By the end of our trip each camper had equity, helping each other, and working mastered the skills for each chore, and in community to achieve our goals as a to use the Group Notification skills such as basic first aid and Leave No group. We learned to ask for help, listen Calendar found on our website. Trace practices. “The skills I gained on my to each other, and solve challenges using greenmountainclub.org/groups/ Long Trail quest gave me the confidence consensus.

20 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB 26th Annual James P. Taylor Outdoor Adventure Series

Join us for inspiring presentations that will transport you to mountains and waterways near and far—a great way to spend an evening!

Admission is $5 for members and $8 for nonmembers; kids under 12 are free. Tickets are available at the door only. Proceeds support local sections and the GMC Education Program. Please check the GMC website, greenmountainclub.org for full calendar, updates, and changes. Pavel Cenkl

Finding Resilience on Scandinavia’s Arctic Trail Pavel Cenkl Thursday, March 29, 7 p.m. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center Join Pavel as he shares photos, videos, and stories from his eight-day, 360-kilometer run along the Arctic Trail in Norway and Sweden in August, 2017. His run was part of a project to explore, record, and share evidence of a rapidly changing climate and its effects on local communities, Sami culture, and mountain environments Michelle Cournoyer in the north. An experienced ultramarathon runner, teacher, and writer, Pavel will share stories and insights from northern landscapes The Salkantay Trek: The Other Inca Trail including Svalbard—which, at 80 degrees north latitude, is one of Michelle Cournoyer the northernmost archipelagos in the world. Thursday, March 15, 7 p.m. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center The Salkantay Inca Trail is a less traveled trekking route to Machu Picchu that encompasses nine bio-zones, including the Cordillera Vilcabamba, a spectacular Andean mountain range; forested canyons; and cloudforest. Michelle Cournoyer from Boundless Journeys will share her experience hiking this remote and largely unknown trail past towering peaks, glacial lakes, Salkantay Mountain, and banana, avocado, and coffee plantations, while enjoying the comfortable mountain lodges, fireside pisco sours, and gourmet meals. She will discuss the itinerary, terrain, accommodations, altitude and Quechua culture. Bob Hauptman Beyond Glamping: Hut-to-Hut Trekking in the High Tatras of Slovakia Caitlin Cusack A Mountaineering Life in Deed and Word Thursday, March 22, 7 p.m. Bob Hauptman GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center Friday, April 6, 7 p.m. To truly embrace the experience of trekking in Slovakia you must end Manchester Community Library, Manchester your day with a beer and a healthy helping of sausages or dumplings. Join author and mountaineer Bob Hauptman for a presentation of Join Caitlin as she recounts her recent adventure navigating the his adventures climbing mountains and researching mountaineering cuisine, culture, and breathtaking landscape of the High Tatra books, including Deadly Peaks: Mountaineering’s Greatest Mountains of Slovakia. Caitlin and her husband Matt spent six Triumphs and Tragedies. Bob has traveled in 40 countries, and has days hiking hut-to-hut through the highest part of the Carpathian reached the highest points in 45 states. He will display specialized Mountain Range. There they found the endangered tatra chamoix, mountaineering equipment and unique images of mountain terrain. turquoise mountain lakes, sawtoothed ridges, and a land steeped in a Admission is free, but donations to help build a new observation rich cultural and natural history. tower on will be welcomed.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 21 9

GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB’S 108th Annual Meeting Friday–Sunday, June 1–3 Hulbert Outdoor Center, Fairlee

he 108th Green Mountain Club Annual Meeting, hosted not allowed), and enjoy a fun filled summer weekend with friends. by the Upper Valley–Ottauquechee Section, will take place It will be a wonderful opportunity for GMC members to share Tat the beautiful Hulbert Outdoor Center on Lake Morey stories and club news, and to celebrate our year’s accomplishments. in Fairlee. We have exclusive use of the camp, so there will be plenty Registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. If you are not of space! You may reserve cabin or tent space for Friday or Saturday attending the work hike or board meeting, please do not arrive night or both. before then. Lifeguards will not be on duty, so swimming and boat Load the car with your boots, pack, tent, bike, kayak, camp access from the camp will not be permitted, but there is public chair, and favorite campfire clothes (but please not your dog, who is access nearby. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JUNE 1 SATURDAY, JUNE 2 SUNDAY, JUNE 3

10:00 a.m. 6:15 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Work hike at a location near Birding walk. Afternoon outings begin (some Hulbert Outdoor Center TBD longer hikes may start earlier – (check website for details). 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. check the schedule posted at Meet at Hulbert Outdoor Trail run. Join Education and the meeting). Center at 10 a.m. to carpool to Volunteer Coordinator Rob trailhead. Bring lunch, liquids, Rives for a three- to five-mile run. 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. work gloves, and bug repellent, Yoga. Some mats will be 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. and dress for the weather; provided. Please bring your Registration and own if possible.

tools will be provided or bring BY ED EPSTEIN ILLUSTRATION complimentary breakfast. your own favorites. Contact Sign up for afternoon activities. 6:00 p.m. gmc@greenmountainclub. 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Dinner. By reservation only. Breakfast. By reservation only. org by May 30 to sign up. 9:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Annual meeting. 6:45 p.m. 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Silent auction ends. Trail maintenance workshop. Board of directors meeting. 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. We’ll cover topics such as Kids’ activities. Arts and crafts 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. pruning and clipping, blazing and games will be provided all Speaker, photographer, and Registration begins. and erosion control. No day for children. There are also adventurer Stephen Gorman: prior experience is necessary. outdoor play spaces. Supervision “Expedition to Ultima Thule.” 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Tools will be provided. This is Registration and welcoming will not be provided. 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. valuable for new trail adopters, reception with pizza, salad, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Bonfire and social hour.Play and will take place on the and refreshments, followed Bag lunch buffet. By guitar, banjo, mandolin…the Appalachian Trail. Meet in the by storytelling. Bring your reservation only. spoons? Bring them along— Hulbert parking lot. favorite adventure stories to you never know when an share. 11:45 a.m. impromptu jam session 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Silent auction to benefit GMC will start. Section communications begins. workshop. Learn from other sections their best practices for communicating with members SEE PAGE 29 FOR REGISTRATION FORM via newsletters, social media, and other online options.

22 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB

LODGING EVENING PRESENTATION: Expedition to Ultima Thule Last winter photographer and author Stephen Gorman made a three week dogsled expedition over sea ice with the Inughuit, or Polar Eskimos—the northernmost people in the world and one of the last true hunter-gatherer communities in Greenland. For centuries the Inughuit have lived in northwest Greenland, and even by Arctic standards their settlements are remote and their culture unique. Until “discovered” by Sir John Ross in 1818, they believed they were the only Cabin people on earth. Inughuit provided Robert Peary with the dogs, sleds, and expertise to reach the North Pole in 1909. Reserve cabin space or pitch a tent. See reservation form on page The Inughuit still hunt seals, walrus, narwhal, and 29 for more details. polar bears on sea ice for subsistence. In summer they hunt narwhal using kayaks and hand-thrown harpoons. Numbering no more than 1,000, they use only ice-age OUTINGS OVERVIEW technology to preserve their culture. (Distances are roundtrip. Visit greenmountainclub.org for full Globalization and climate change threaten their way of description of outings.) life, language, and traditions, which may disappear. If they do disappear a rich body of knowledge will be lost. Sawyer Mountain. Hike. 3.2 miles. Moderate. Echo Mountain. Hike. 2.2 miles. Moderate. Family friendly. Wright’s Mountain. Hike. 1.6 miles. Easy. Bill Hill. Hike. 3.0 miles. Easy. Houghton Hill. Hike. 5.2 miles. Easy to moderate. Flagpole Hill. Hike. 2.4 miles. Easy. Bald Top. Hike. 3.8 miles. Moderate. Holt’s Ledge. Hike. Appalachian Trail. 3.4 miles. Moderate. Moose Mountain. Hike. To South Peak on Appalachian Trail. 4.0 miles. Moderate. Mount Cube. Hike. 4.0 miles. Strenuous. Stephen Gorman Black Mountain. Hike. 3.6 miles. Strenuous. Appalachian Trail Corridor. Hike. Bushwhack along the AT Stephen Gorman has photographed and written five large- corridor boundary, learn about stewardship of the trail corridor. format books and dozens of articles for national magazines 3 miles. Moderate. focused on understanding the connections between nature and humanity: how we depend on the ecosystems around us Cycle from Fairlee to Lyme. Road bike. 25-mile loop. Helmet to sustain our material and spiritual lives, how we adapt to and required. Easy to moderate. modify the landscapes in which we live and work, and how . Paddle. From Orford, NH. Distance according our ideas of nature shape our relationships with the world. to conditions. Bring canoe or kayak. PFD required. Easy. From an early age Stephen longed to explore and understand his native land and people, and he offers a unique perspective on the conservation issues of our time. For updated Annual Meeting information, He holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University, where he studied biophilia—nature’s role please visit in human health, productivity, and wellbeing, and helped greenmountainclub.org/meeting found the program in environmental communications. Steve lives in Vermont with his wife Mary and their dog Josie. He is an avid downhill, backcountry, and cross country skier, a long distance trail runner, a road cyclist, a whitewater kayaker and expedition canoeist, and a competitive ice hockey player. Find him online at stephengorman.com.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 23 Board Report

embers of the Green Mountain of the old camp will take place this summer. Club Board of Directors met Making progress on the club’s strategic Saturday, January 6, at GMC plan goal of improving operational HeadquartersM in Waterbury Center. For once, efficiency, the board unanimously approved almost everyone appreciated being indoors, the purchase of its leased solar panels, to given the breezy subzero weather. be financed by a loan from unrestricted Executive Director Mike DeBonis endowment funds. highlighted several recent accomplishments Moving toward the strategic plan goal including: income and expenses tracking of becoming an employer of choice, the AT THE GREEN MOUNTAIN close to the fiscal year 2018 budget; board unanimously approved a revised set of CLUB’S 108TH ANNUAL reopening Bolton Lodge; revising and personnel policies. MEETING ON SATURDAY, updating the club’s personnel policies; Nominating Committee Chair Lee Allen developing a Business and Corporate reported that board members Hope Crifo JUNE 2, four general seats Sponsorship Program; and planning for the and Lars Botzojorns have expressed interest will open on the board of 2018 GMC Annual Meeting, to be hosted in serving second three-year terms. The directors. General directors by the Ottauquechee Section at the Hulbert committee is nominating Nancy McClellan serve with directors elected Outdoor Center on Lake Morey in Fairlee. and Amy Kelsey to fill Board vacancies (see Staff reported on potential revenue page 25 for candidate list and bios). by the sections. Directors sources and expected expenditures for The board approved changes to the are elected to three-year fiscal year 2019 and beyond, and gave an Ottauquechee Section’s bylaws, including terms, with a limit of two update of a consultant’s analysis of the club’s renaming the section to the Upper Valley- consecutive terms. The fundraising capacity. A detailed fiscal 2019 Ottauquechee Section to better reflect budget is now being prepared for board its location in the Upper Valley of the GMC Nominating Committee review and approval at the March board Connecticut River. presents the following meeting. The board adjourned shortly after candidates for approval: The board approved a motion to rebuild noon so members could participate in a Beaver Dam Cabin on Wheeler Pond in celebration of life ceremony for late Director › Amy Kelsey, first term Barton in the Northeast Kingdom, a GMC of Trail Programs Dave Hardy at Zenbarn in › Nancy McClellan, first term rental property that had been deemed Waterbury Center. › unsound and closed in 2016. Deconstruction —Lee Allen, Secretary Lars Botzojorns, second term › Hope Crifo, second term How to Vote:

Mud Season Reminder Please vote for up to four The Green Mountain Club reminds hikers and trip directors. If you have a leaders that spring mud season runs from snowmelt family membership, you until the trails are dry, generally around Memorial Day may vote twice. All section weekend. and at-large members are Some trails are closed, and hikers are urged to stay off all wet trails during this time. This will allow the trails eligible to vote. to dry and reduce erosion and maintenance needs. Please E-mail your vote to use your best judgment, and avoid trails in high elevation spruce-fir forests. gmc@greenmountainclub. Look for spring hikes at lower elevations on trails with org, with “Voting for southern exposure on forested hardwood slopes. Be aware that while these soils dry out General Directors” in the fastest, they also have the highest fire danger. subject line. Please be sure Consider walking on mountain roads (for instance, Ascutney, Burke, Okemo, to include your member Smugglers’ Notch), closed to vehicles in spring, but mud free with nice views. For number, located on your information on spring hiking alternatives, please visit greenmountainclub.org. membership card. Ballots Thanks for helping protect Vermont’s hiking trails! must be received by April 1.

24 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB ANNUAL ELECTION OF General Directors

Amy Kelsey is executive director Lars Botzojorns grew up in of the Catamount Trail Association Massachusetts, but came to know the (CTA), where she works with Green Mountains in his youth as he landowners, land managers, volunteers pursued climbing the New England and other partners to ensure the long- 4,000-footers. After working in the term sustainability and conservation Appalachian Mountain Club hut of the Catamount Trail, the 300-mile system in the White Mountains of New backcountry ski trail traversing the length Hampshire in the 1980s he moved to of Vermont. She will be stepping down in Vermont with his wife. April to pursue new opportunities. Amy was trail director at CTA from Lars has a master’s degree in natural resources planning. In 1992 2008 to 2012, and watershed planner at the Addison County Regional he joined the GMC staff as director of field programs, and became Planning Commission in Middlebury from 2006 to 2008. intimately familiar with the Long Trail System and the Appalachian Amy has substantial experience in outdoor and environmental Trail in Vermont. During his tenure with GMC he worked closely with education. She has been a senior level field instructor for the National the club’s sections and management partners. Outdoor Leadership School, an environmental educator for the Lars was GMC’s interim executive director for six months. He left Chewonki Foundation, and an adjunct faculty member in Johnson the club’s staff in 1999 to work as executive director of Keeping Track, State College’s Environmental and Health Sciences Program. She a regional organization devoted to wildlife conservation planning and holds a BA in geography and environmental studies from Middlebury education. In 2004 his passion for education took hold, and he began College, and an MS in community development and applied teaching fourth grade in Jericho, where he teaches his students about economics from the University of Vermont. forest ecology and Vermonters’ interaction with the land. Since attending college in Vermont in the mid ’90s, Amy has been Lars is a member of the Bolton Conservation Commission, and an active and appreciative trail user who has hiked much of the Long in the last ten years he has led efforts to protect and manage the town’s Trail. Amy lives with her family near Mount Mansfield, a favorite local 400-acre Preston Pond Conservation Area, which includes a trail destination in all seasons. system adjacent to the Long Trail.

Nancy McClellan moved to Hope Crifo was elected to the GMC Burlington in 1991 to work at the board in 2016, and chairs the GMC Lintilhac Nurse Midwifery Service. Endowment Committee. She also Growing up in Buffalo, and relocating serves on the Budget and Finance and here from Minneapolis—Nancy Camps committees. understood snow and cold. She was Hope received her BA from not, however, familiar with the Green Hunter College, City University Mountains, but after accompanying her of New York, and an MA from son on an end-to-end Long Trail hike she Yonsei University, in Seoul, Korea. She was hooked. Nancy has continued to hike many long-distance trails is employed by Community Bank and is a including the Appalachian Trail, the John Muir Trail, the Coast to Chartered Financial Analyst. Hope volunteers with the Chartered Coast Trail in England, and the Haute Route. Nancy volunteers with Financial Analyst Institute; Everybody Wins! (a literacy mentoring GMC as a trail adopter, a Barnes Camp greeter and interpreter, a program); and the National Ski Patrol. She also serves on the board member of the Sections Working Group of the GMC Strategic Plan of directors of The Friends of Bolton Valley Nordic and Backcountry, initiative, and vice president of the Burlington Section. and the board of Community Capital of Vermont. Since retirement Nancy has been involved in international relief Preferring medium length trails, Hope has completed the Long work in Greece and Haiti. She has also served as chair of the Vermont Trail, the Northville-Placid Trail, the West Coast Trail, and most of Chapter of the March of Dimes, and continues to co-chair the the Ozark Highlands Trail. In the winter she primarily backcountry Development Committee of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. skis at Bolton Valley. Hope lives in Middlesex with her spouse and Nancy is honored to be considered for the board. three largish dogs.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 25 Section Directory Sections Bennington Maintenance: Harmon Hill to President: Lorna Cheriton, (802) 447-1383 E-mail: [email protected] Website: meetup.com/gmcbennington End-To-End Again Brattleboro Maintenance: Winhall River to Vt. 11 and 30 2013 President: George Roy, (603) 381-7756 E-mail: [email protected] Along this toilsome trail, alas! Website: brattleborogmc.com Bread Loaf Once and only once I pass, Location: Middlebury area Through the rains that never cease, Maintenance: Sucker Brook Shelter to Emily Proctor Through heat and bugs with no relief. Shelter President: Ruth Penfield, (802) 388-5407 A heavy pack and painful feet E-mail: [email protected] Website: gmcbreadloaf.org The best laid plans may well defeat. Burlington ’Tis stubbornness alone, my friend, Maintenance: Winooski River Footbridge to Smugglers’ That drives me to the northern end. Notch President: Ted Albers, (802) 557-7009 I shall not pass this way again. E-mail: [email protected] Website: gmcburlington.org Connecticut Location: Hartford, Connecticut 2017 Maintenance: Glastenbury Mountain to Stratton- Arlington Road Yes, four years ago that was my mantra President: Jim Robertson, (860) 633-7279 of endurance—”I shall not pass this way E-mail: [email protected] Website: conngmc.com again.” So what was I thinking, following Killington this white-blazed trail, all 272 miles of it, Location: Rutland area from Massachusetts to Canada yet again? Maintenance: Vt. 140 to Maine Junction President: Barry Griffith, (802) 492-3573 The great mystery of the Long Trail no challenges—some uncomfortably cold E-mail: [email protected] for my partner Alan and me is that we are nights, four straight days of rain (courtesy Website: gmckillington.org Laraway drawn back to an experience so difficult of Hurricane Harvey), a stretch of Location: St. Albans area (okay, painful) that at the time we swear weather too muggy for September. There Maintenance: Lamoille River to Vt. 118 President: Bruce Bushey, (802) 893-2146 we will never repeat it. “The greater the were impossibly rough sections of trail, E-mail: [email protected] obstacle, the more glory in overcoming backaches, feet rubbed raw, unrelenting Website: gmclaraway.org it” Molière said. Maybe at 66 we were just down-hill metatarsalgia pain, coccyx- Manchester Maintenance: Vt. 11 and 30 to Mad Tom Notch looking for bragging rights. Or maybe we bruising falls, the unexpected second visit President: Marge Fish, (802) 824-3662 needed a dose of hiking Zen. Who can to Emily Proctor Shelter after walking an E-mail: [email protected] Website: gmc-manchester.org worry about such mundane things as roof hour in the wrong direction, a full pee jar Montpelier repairs and undersized Social Security knocked over in the tent, the frightening Maintenance: Camel’s Hump to Winooski River Foot- checks when simply putting one foot pre-dawn cry for help from a man lost in bridge and Smugglers’ Notch to Chilcoot Pass President: Steve Bailey, (609) 424-9238 ahead of the other takes all one’s mental the woods... E-mail: [email protected] Website: gmcmontpelier.org and physical energy? But we soldiered on, still Pokey and Northeast Kingdom My favorite explanation, though, Tag-Along, swapping trail names as Maintenance: Willoughby and Darling State Forests and is the theory that when humans recall we swapped the lead position, Canada the Kingdom Heritage Lands President: Cathi Brooks, (802) 626-8742 an event, we really aren’t capable of bound. Once safely out of the woods, E-mail: [email protected] replaying the entire sequence of its the aches and pains (mostly) healed, Website: nekgmc.org Northern Frontier moments; most are so trivial they don’t the mishaps seemed funnier with each Location: Montgomery warrant brain cell space. Instead, our retelling. Maintenance: Hazen’s Notch to Canada residual feeling is determined by its three On the flip side we had some glorious President: Jane Williams, (802) 827-3879 E-mail: [email protected] predominating moments: the best, the hiking weather, beautiful views, Alan’s Website: gmcnorthernfrontier.org worst, and the last. delicious ginger cookies and gourmet Upper Valley-Ottauquechee Ah ha! Clearly the LT moment trail dinners, the pleasure of meeting Location: Upper Valley, and New Hampshire best Maintenance: Appalachian Trail: Maine Junction to is finishing (though beer, nachos, and a many memorable people, and of course NH border President: Dick Andrews, (802) 885-3201 zero day at the Inn at Long Trail is a close the immense satisfaction of rising to the E-mail: [email protected] second). And finishing, obviously, is also challenge of a difficult trail (in two fewer Website: gmc-o-section.org the moment. So the unspeakable joy days than last time, no less). We’ve heard Sterling last Location: Morrisville/Stowe/Johnson of reaching Journey’s End carries twice it said that “If you can do the Long Trail Maintenance: Chilcoot Pass to Lamoille River the emotional weight of any perceived you can do anything.” I like to think of President: Greg Western, (802) 655-6051 E-mail: [email protected] worst moment. In fact, in hindsight, it’s that in a broader context than hiking; it’s Website: gmcsterling.org hard to think of the bad times as anything nice to feel indomitable for a while, even Worcester but humorous. if it’s only an illusion. Location: Worcester, Massachusetts Maintenance: Stratton-Arlington Road to Winhall River It wasn’t that last summer’s trek had —Morgan Irons, Montpelier Section President: Ram Moennsad, (603) 767-2962 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gmcwoo.org Vermont Town Highpoints Adirondack 46 What do you do after hiking the Long Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and After completing the Long Trail in 2007, my hiking partner the Northeast’s 4,000-footers? Susan and I thought it would be fun to head across Lake A couple of years ago I saw a warning in the Adirondack 46er Champlain and try hiking a peak in the Adirondacks. We magazine: “You don’t stop climbing because you get older, you get older decided to hike Mount Marcy. Why not go for the highest one because you stop climbing.” Taking that to heart I decided to work on first?! the Vermont 3,000-footers and the Vermont 200 highest. Just after climbing Marcy I heard about the ADK 46, the Then, before finishing those lists, I found the Vermont town peaks reaching 4,000 feet or higher, and thought they would highpoint list, and decided to see how many of those I could reach. So be a great next hiking project. Well, eleven years later, I still far I have done 96, or 38 percent. I encountered posted property on haven’t finished my ADK challenge. This is partly because three highpoints, and I suppose I may find more. I’ve been distracted by other big hiking adventures, and partly Several highpoints are on the Long Trail, and a few others are on or because many of my remaining hikes are on “herd paths” very near the Appalachian Trail between Killington and Norwich. Some (meaning there’s no official maintained trail) and I have been are easy climbs on other trails, while many others are tough bushwhacks. humbled by my last few hikes there. The terrain is rocky, rooty, Some highpoints are on property conserved by land trusts, but still may and wild, and I’ve learned that it’s especially important to be have no trails. A couple I plan to do this year are also on the Vermont well prepared for these expeditions. 200 highest list, which is very helpful. But I’m feeling ready, and (fingers crossed) determined For a change of scenery, I occasionally head to New Hampshire for that 2018 will be the year that I reach my goal to become a a town highpoint there. I’m up to 27 of their 235 highpoints. So I am 46’er! never at a loss for a summit to climb. —Deb Van Schaack —Tom Massoth Bread Loaf Section Upper Valley-Ottauquechee Section

can’t think of a better way to spend my weekends than to visit Side-to-Side Trails more quaint Vermont towns like Wallingford, Danby, and I looked at my worn and crinkled Long Trail map one day and Dorset and explore their trails. tallied the number of side trails I had completed over the years; I —Jocelyn Hebert, Northeast Kingdom Section had hiked enough of them that I decided to work on finishing all 88 and becoming a “side-to-sider” (or a “blue blazer”, as I like to If you are looking for a new hiking goal, try our side-to- call it). side challenge and use GMC’s spreadsheet to track your It’s been fun seeking out the trailheads, some in small towns progress. For more information and to download a spread- I had never visited before. Vermonters may know about the 251 sheet visit greenmountainclub.org/s2s. Club, another adventure challenge offered by historian Dr. Arthur Wallace Peach (1886-1956). In a 1954 edition of Vermont Life Magazine, Dr. Peach proposed “to organize a 251 Club to be made up of Vermonters and others who can show that they have visited, not merely driven through, the 251 towns in the state.” To me, this sounded like a fun goal too. What better way to not merely drive through a town than to hike in its mountains? A Calais resident, it’s easier for me to get to the northern and central trails, so that’s where I’ve made most of my progress. I’ve checked off the Frank Post and Forrester trails and the town of Lowell; the Davis Neighborhood Trail and the town of Johnson; Beaver Meadow, Chilcoot Pass, and Whiteface trails and the town of Morristown. You get the idea. I use an orange Sharpie to highlight the side trails on my Long Trail map, but now also keep track using GMC’s new spreadsheet, which lists the trails in each division and calculates your progress. According to my spreadsheet, I am 43.8% complete, with 93 of the 166 miles left to go. I can see that I need to camp out down south this summer if I’m going to make any progress in divisions 1 through 4. But, I

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 27 Green Mountain Club Outdoor Programs

At GMC we are always looking for ways to help you have fun, be safe, and learn more about the outdoors. Educational workshops are added to our website all year, so be sure to visit greenmountainclub.org periodically to sign up. Workshop full? Ask to be added to the waiting list. Here are a few of our current offerings:

SOLO Wilderness First Aid Introduction to Backpacking Introduction to Backpacking Saturday and Sunday Thursday, April 19, 6—8 p.m. backpacking knowledge they’ve March 31–April 1, 9 a.m.—5 p.m. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center End-To-Ender Panel acquired through trial and error. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center Are you interested in Friday, May 4, 7– 9 p.m. Instructors: Morgan Irons and Sign up early—this course backpacking, but not sure GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center, and broadcast live through Orca Media Alan Paschell. fills fast! This 16-hour, hands- where to start? With so much Limit: on course will prepare you information available about gear, This is an informative question- 30. for backcountry medical food, shelters and more, it can be and-answer, show-and-tell panel Fee: $10 Non-member, $8 emergencies. Its focus is on easy to feel lost before you even to provide good backpacking GMC Member. the prevention, recognition, step outside. Learn how to hit information to hikers aspiring Register at least one week in and treatment of injuries and the trail safely from the GMC’s to hike the whole Long Trail. advance. illnesses. Wilderness First experienced education staff. This Wondering about the best Aid (WFA) certification or workshop introduces the basics lightweight tent or how to Wild Edibles of the Northeast Wilderness First Responder of backpacking—from gear and avoid the monotony of PB&Js? Saturday, May 26, 9–12:30 p.m. (WFR) recertification is trip planning to first aid and Join in person or online to GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center provided upon completion. learn the ins and outs of a long- nutrition. Please feel free to bring Are you intrigued by mushroom distance hike and get answers Instructor: SOLO. equipment you own or anything and plant foraging? Join to your questions about food, Limit: 30. else you’d like advice on. Ari Rockland-Miller of The Instructor: equipment or planning. Fee: $190 Non-member, GMC education staff. Mushroom Forager on a tour Instructors: Panel of end-to- $170 GMC Member. Limit: 20. of late spring’s wild tastes and enders. tonics. In May, the woods burst Contact GMC if you need Fee: $20 Non-member, $16 Limit: 50. with a profusion of tender new WFR recertification and/or GMC Member. greens and mushrooms. Our CPR (additional fees apply). Fee: FREE. Register at least one week in program begins with a colorful Minimum age: 14. Register at advance. Never Too Old: presentation introducing least two weeks in advance. Senior Backpacking wildcrafting safety, strategy, and sustainability, along with Thursday, May 10, 6—8 p.m. GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center highlighting species of wild greens and mushrooms. Then, enjoy a If thru-hiking the Long Trail guided foray around the Green is still on your bucket list, but Mountain Club Visitor Center you’re thinking maybe you woods as we learn about the should give it up at your age, culinary and medicinal treasures think again. GMC members of springtime. Stick around for a Alan Paschell and Morgan Irons tasting after the hunt! did a Long Trail thru-hike in Instructor: Ari Rockland-Miller. 2013, and again in 2017 at 62 and 66, and lived to tell the Limit: 20. tale. “Pokey” and “Tag-Along” Fee: $40 Non-Member, $32 will share what they’ve learned GMC Member Please register at least one week Never Too Old: Senior Backpacking about senior hiking, including its humorous side, and basic in advance.

28 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB 2018 GMC Annual Meeting Reservation Annual Meeting is Friday–Sunday, June 1–3. Please register no later than Friday, May 18.

Name: ______LODGING (ON-SITE CABINS OR TENTING/RV SPACE) Cabins have four bedrooms and two bathrooms each. Each Guest(s): ______bedroom has two sets of bunk beds; linens are not provided. ______Groups smaller than four may share a room with others. You can pitch your own tent in a large open field on the proper- Section:______ty (vehicles can drop off gear but must return to the parking Address: ______lot). Or, for the same price you can utilize one of the plat- form tents which each have four beds (linens not included). ______RVs can park in the parking lot, but no hookups are available.

Phone: ______Friday night cabin:______@ $32.00/person E-mail: ______Saturday night cabin:______@ $32.00/person Friday night tenting or RV space:______@ $15.00/person REGISTRATION (REQUIRED)______@ $ 26.00______Saturday night tenting or RV space:______@ $15.00/person Includes Friday night reception and Saturday breakfast Total: $______FRIDAY RECEPTION ❑ Yes, I/we will attend the Friday evening reception LODGING NEEDS ❑ I require wheelchair accessibility MEALS (CATERED BY HULBERT OUTDOOR CENTER) ❑ I cannot climb to a top bunkbed Saturday Lunch: ❑ Vegetarian ❑ Meat______@ $12.00 Roommate Request: ______Saturday Dinner: ❑ Vegetarian ❑ Meat______@ $25.00 Sunday Breakfast: ❑ ______@ $8.00 WORKSHOPS Total: $______❑ Yes, I/we will attend the Sunday Trail Maintenance Workshop ❑ Yes, I/we will attend the Sunday Section Communications Workshop To register online: greenmountainclub.org/meeting MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Green Mountain Club ❑ Check ❑ MasterCard ❑ Visa ❑ Discover Mail payment and form by May 18 to: Green Mountain Club, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Card number: ______Waterbury Center, VT 05677 Exp. date:______3-digit security code: ______To register by phone: Call GMC’s membership coordinator (802) 241-8324 Billing zip code: ______(M-F, 10am-5pm) Signature:______Date: ______

Walk the Long Trail at Berlin Mall From January 13 to April 22 the Berlin Mall welcomes walkers to experience an indoor version of the Long Trail and help raise funds for the Green Mountain Club. Mall owners (Heidenberg Properties Group) are donating funds to support The Long Trail based on miles logged. Walk a Division or two or three, or walk the entire trail!

Register online at www.theberlinmall.com/walk or onsite at the mall.

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 29 Advertise in the LongTrailNews Call Jocelyn at 802-241-8215

30 | THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB Journey's End Getting Lost with Dave Hardy t is no exaggeration to say gave way to a loving and that Dave Hardy knew generous spirit. His mellow, Imore about the Long calm demeanor was reassuring Trail System and the Vermont under even the most Appalachian Trail than anyone challenging of circumstances. else. Every inch of trail, every Dave was a quiet leader whose boundary and every piece of most impressive strength was conserved land, he knew as inspiring others and bringing intimately as the back of his out the best in people. It is hand. Dave seemed to have hard to explain, but you just every detail of the vast array felt safe in his presence. Dave of trail features—from sturdy Hardy was as solid as they rock staircases and well-built come. water bars to dozens of shelters Dave was also one hell of and privies—committed to a unique individual, never to memory. It is unlikely there be duplicated. He was offbeat, will ever be another person sarcastic, and a bit subversive, with the knowledge and living life on his own terms and familiarity Dave had with without much regret. Vermont’s hiking trails. Rich Windish and Dave Hardy So when we inevitably Despite this, Dave and I found ourselves wandering routinely got lost together— about in search of a clue with haplessly, humorously, and quite often helplessly. This usually which to extricate ourselves from whatever mountain or hollow we happened on a field scouting mission, tangled in the brush, looking had stumbled into, I never worried. I knew that Dave would figure it for the “shortcut” Dave was sure lay just beyond the next corner. out. He always did. Or perhaps we were out in winter, with white blazes obscured and When Dave got sick with cancer, it quickly became clear that this the footpath buried under snow. But it was unmistakable when it was one situation from which he might not escape. Though strong in happened. “Rich,” Dave would say, “where is the trail?” “I thought you body and spirit, he knew that this was bigger than him. To the end, knew,” I would call out, in a slight panic. though, he faced his illness with courage and conviction. True to form, Now I do not mean to suggest we were ever in any danger. Far from he passed away just as he lived, surrounded by friends and family, in a it: Dave and I shared a commitment to preparation and safety, with room full of hikers talking about trails and mountains. packs full of provisions and gear. And, this being Vermont after all, we It is difficult to conceive of the Long Trail without Dave Hardy. I were never really that far from a road. But more times than I can count, will feel his loss for a very long time. But I know he will always be there we found ourselves wandering aimlessly, laughing aloud and trying to in spirit, guiding me back to the trailhead, with his steady, shuffling gait navigate our way back to wherever it was we had come from. leading the way. Whenever I am lost, either on the trail or elsewhere, I In truth, we were never actually that lost. Getting temporarily lost will always think of my friend. I know that when I reach the end of my often felt like part of the plan. In fact, it was at these times that I came journey, he will be there waiting for me, with beer in hand and a sarcastic to appreciate Dave the most. As well as a strong hiker with impressive remark about what took me so long to find my way back. skills, Dave was patient, kind, and caring. His somewhat gruff exterior —Rich Windish, Brattleboro Section

LONG TRAIL NEWS • SPRING 2018 | 31 Periodicals Postage Green Mountain Club PAID 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road Waterbury Center Waterbury Center, VT 05677 and Additional Offices

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