Vermont: "Ver-Mud would be more appropriate", IT iS time to slip-and-slide!
Mud, slippery rocks, moss-covered wooden walkways, and wet tree roots. These few things pretty much sum up the footpath of the AT through Vermont. With each challenging climb rewarding you with a variety of vistas and shockingly green mossy forest, hiking here is what I imagine hiking in Sherwood Forest or The Shire would be like. Sure, there are some downsides, like the sometimes horrifying bugs that swarm you, and the near constant dampness of your feet. Overall however, Vermont is a magical place that I return to as often as I can.
For the first 105 miles after you cross from MA into VT the Vermont Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail are the same. This affords you the chance to meet many other thru-hikers on their way to completing the 273 mile Long Trail. With the remaining AT thru-hikers having long since diminished in numbers from far away Georgia, it's nice to see some other backpackers that are out on a mission of trail completion. The shelters get a bit more crowded, but overall I enjoyed meeting and hiking with the Long Trail hikers that I bumped into while in the southern section of trail in Vermont.
Vermont is one of the first places since the Great Smokey Mountains where you begin to feel yourself leave the constant presence of civilization, and truly begin to head into the wilderness of the North. Moose, beaver, bear, porcupine, and deer become your new forest companions, and if you keep your eyes peeled and your footsteps light, you just may catch a glimpse.
For the first 105 miles after you cross from MA into VT the Vermont Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail are the same. This affords you the chance to meet many other thru-hikers on their way to completing the 273 mile Long Trail. With the remaining AT thru-hikers having long since diminished in numbers from far away Georgia, it's nice to see some other backpackers that are out on a mission of trail completion. The shelters get a bit more crowded, but overall I enjoyed meeting and hiking with the Long Trail hikers that I bumped into while in the southern section of trail in Vermont.
Vermont is one of the first places since the Great Smokey Mountains where you begin to feel yourself leave the constant presence of civilization, and truly begin to head into the wilderness of the North. Moose, beaver, bear, porcupine, and deer become your new forest companions, and if you keep your eyes peeled and your footsteps light, you just may catch a glimpse.