NEWS Quarterly of the Green Mountain Club SUMMER 2019 The mission of the Green Mountain Club is to make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people by protecting and maintaining the Long Trail System and fostering, through education, the stewardship of Vermont’s hiking trails and mountains. Quarterly of the PHOTO BY JOCELYN HEBERT PHOTO BY JOCELYN Green Mountain Club Sleeping in the trees near Goddard Shelter Michael DeBonis, Executive Director Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor Richard Andrews, Volunteer Copy Editor CONTENTS Green Mountain Club Summer 2019, Volume 79, No. 2 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677 FEATURES Phone: (802) 244-7037 Fax: (802) 244-5867 E-mail: [email protected] 7 / Privy Portrait: William B. Douglas Privy Website: greenmountainclub.org by Jocelyn Hebert TheLong Trail News is published by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded 8 / Hiking the Monroe Skyline with GMC Volunteer in 1910. In a 1971 Joint Resolution, the Vermont Legislature designated the Green Mountain Club the Pete Saile “founder, sponsor, defender and protector of the Long Trail System...” by Jocelyn Hebert Contributions of manuscripts, photos, illustrations, and news are welcome from members and nonmembers. 10 / Sun or Shadow: Mental Health and the Outdoors The opinions expressed byLTN contributors and by Rob Rives advertisers are not necessarily those of GMC. GMC reserves the right to refuse advertising that is not in 12 / Share Your Story keeping with the goals of the organization. by Scott Finn, Sandi Pierson, and Ann Fisher TheLong Trail News (USPS 318-840) is published quarterly by The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. 16 / Celebrating Staff Hiking Milestones Periodicals postage paid at Waterbury Center, VT, and by Mike DeBonis additional offices. Subscription is a benefit for GMC members. Approximately $5 of each member’s dues is 20 / 2018 End-to-Enders and Side-to-Siders used to publish the Long Trail News. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Long 24 / Kurt Melin Leaves GMC After 10 Years Trail News, 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. by Ilana Copel Copyright©2019 The Green Mountain Club, Inc., 4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. Permission to reproduce in any form any of the material in this publication without prior written DEPARTMENTS approval of The Green Mountain Club, Inc. is granted only to individuals for their own personal hiking 3 / From the President 28/ Trail Mix 34 / Sections convenience. 4 / Mountain Views 30 / Inn Profile 36/ Board Report 6 / Blue Blazes 32 / Land Stewardship 38 / Journey’s End Cover: 2018 end-to-ender and side-to-sider 26 / Field Notes 33 / Volunteers Doug Lloyd (“Trundler”) looking out over Little Rock Pond. Photo by Jocelyn Hebert. From the President e all set goals and then work Woods, a comical tale of two guys hiking the hard to attain them. Although Appalachian Trail, had just been published, Wsome are easier to achieve than and it piqued our interest in getting outdoors others, meeting even our smallest aspirations to enjoy the beautiful Green Mountains right brings satisfaction. The day I completed here. my Long Trail end-to-end hike—a goal I The adventure took some planning! Some worked toward for many years—brought me hikers just pick up a backpack and head out extraordinary satisfaction, a sense of pride, and the door. Not us. I cannot tell you how many reason to celebrate. times we went back and forth to our local gear Since the 1940s, GMC has recognized store. Backpacks, sleeping bags, hiking boots, hikers who completed the Long Trail in the rain gear, cooking equipment—you name Long Trail News. Most of these hikers, known it, we researched and bought it. Then came as end-to-enders, hiked from the southern decisions about food, our itinerary, and car terminus at the Massachusetts-Vermont spotting. This was not a one-summer effort; in border to the northern terminus at the fact, it unfolded over nine summers. Tom Candon Vermont-Canada border. Some completed My hiking partner was unable to complete their end-to-end hike in a few weeks, while the trail, so I continued walking sections GMC’s Director of Field Programs, the late others, like me, hiked the trail in sections over solo, with my son, or—fortunately for me— Dave Hardy. Meeting Dave was a memorable many years. with the Green Mountain Club, which was experience, and on the same hike I met—and My Long Trail adventure started when celebrating its 100th anniversary by doing an our group lost—Prickles the Porcupine, a friend suggested that he and I try to hike extended section-to-section Long Trail relay. the famous stuffed GMC mascot for the the entire trail. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the My first GMC relay hike was led by end-to-end adventure. Happily, Prickles was found, and we all finished the GMC’s celebratory end-to-end relay at Journey’s End, simultaneously completing my own end-to- end hike. Looking back at my photos and re-reading my trail journal certainly has refreshed my memories of that great experience. I’d like to congratulate last season’s end-to-enders, and wish those of you undertaking the effort this year an experience as enjoyable and memorable as my own. —Tom Candon, President Excerpt from Tom’s Long Trail Journal PHOTO BY KRISTIN MCLANE • LONG TRAIL NEWS SUMMERHiker ascending 2019 | Jay 3 Peak Mountain Views Bourn Pond trail it was. And I don’t recall seeing any blazes As 40-plus-year hikers on the southern Long as I followed as close as I could to the two GMC Officers Trail who are very fond of Bourn Pond and the of them almost running through the woods, Tom Candon, President Lye Brook Wilderness, we were fascinated to leaping from small ledges into the snow. We Sheri Larsen, Vice President read Preston Bristow’s excellent commentary Stephen Klein, Treasurer made it to the bottom as light was fading, and Ed O’Leary, Secretary in the winter 2018 magazine. We have long headed to the parking lot. It was empty. We GMC Directors wondered why Bourn [Pond] and the Branch were left behind! (Later, the drivers said each Robynn Albert, General Lars Botzojorns, General Pond Trail area in general seemed forgotten had thought the other had us). Michelle Connor, Burlington stepchildren to the Stratton Pond-Stratton We were not about to walk to Richmond Hope Crifo, General Elisabeth Fenn, Sterling Mountain area with the LT/AT in terms of or Waterbury, so we crossed the Winooski on Bob Fish, Manchester upkeep. Now we are looking forward to finding the railroad trestle, ran across both lanes of the Russ Ford, Northern Frontier James Fritz, Connecticut the old route of the Long Trail prior to 1978! Interstate to Route 2, and hitchhiked back to Jean Haigh, Northeast Kingdom Tom Kahl, Upper Valley-Ottauquechee —Craig and Amy Barry Burlington, arriving about 8 p.m. And we all Anne Janeway, General thought it was a most enjoyable day. Amy Kelsey, General Wayne Krevetski, General Adventures with Don and George Even though I never saw them after George Longenecker, Montpelier I lost track of both George Pearlstein and Don graduation, I am really happy to know they Nancy McClellan, General Rich Minogue, Bennington Wallace until reading their obituaries, several contributed so much to the GMC and were John Page, Immediate Past President Mike Peckar, Worcester years apart, in the Long Trail News. In both still hiking. Kenna Rewcastle, UVM Board Fellow cases, I was sad I hadn’t caught up with them —Karin Gottlieb Ira Sollace, General Larry Walter, Killington after I returned to Vermont to live in Dann Van Der Vliet, General Howard VanBenthuysen, General 2001. Matt Wels, Brattleboro Don and George were stalwart Bruce Yelton, Bread Loaf John Zaber, General members of the UVM Outing Club, Vacant, Laraway which was very active when I was GMC Staff Directory at UVM in the early 1960s. They Main Telephone: (802) 244-7037 were both older than the average Jason Buss, Director of Finance E-mail: [email protected] undergraduate, and maybe it was in Phone: (802) 241-8214 deference to their advanced age that Ilana Copel, Field Supervisor Email: [email protected] we elected them President (Wallace) Phone: (802) 241-8218 and Vice President (Pearlstein). Lenny Crisostomo, Database Manager E-mail: [email protected] I may have written about this Phone: (802) 241-8325 memorable occasion when I saw Michael DeBonis, Executive Director George’s obit, but it’s one that will be E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8212 forever etched on my mind. The outing club Water color by end-to-ender Kati Christoffel Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development made a trek to Camel’s Hump in late October, E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8322 when the Champlain Valley was still in fall, An Appreciative End-to-Ender Mollie Flanigan, Conservation Manager but the Hump had picked up significant snow. I finished my northbound end-to-end hike E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 241-8217 We drove to the parking lot, and 10 or 12 of on Sunday, Sept. 23 [2018], and I wanted to T Hanson, Development Assistant us headed up to the top. We all summited, thank you for maintaining such a special trail E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (802) 882-8107 and then Don and George invited me to join for anyone to hike. I had a fantastic experience, Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor them descending a different trail from the and was consistently impressed with the E-mail: [email protected] group, which was going back the same way they trailwork, shelters, and lovely privies you all Phone: (802) 241-8215 Matt Krebs, Operations/Publications Coordinator ascended.