Hiking the Long Trail

Tom and I hiked a portion of the Long Trail with our friends Morgan and Andy this weekend. We started out at the Lincoln Gap, hiked a 2 mile ascent just shy of Mt. Abraham's summit and set up camp for the night. We lucked out with gorgeous, mild weather and pretty blue skies so our 10 mile hike through the Monroe Ridgeline Trail on Saturday was nothing less than perfect. We stopped occasionally for food, water pumping, photos and of course, the views, but we kept a pretty solid pace and hiked from 9am to 6pm leaving us completely exhausted when we reached our destination, the Appalachian Gap. The descent was tiring and all of our feet and joints were feeling the 12 miles we left behind us but we kept ourselves motivated knowing that we were planning for a nice, cold brew at The Alchemist in Waterbury to soothe our muscles.

Oh! And we were surprised by a moose and her two babies during our descent. We were all a little freaked out but when two other hikers plodded on by without disturbing them we figured we'd be okay. Crazy how such a massive creature pops out of nowhere!

After "showering" in a gas station bathroom and changing out of our wet, muddy clothes we downed gallons of water (since the water supply on the ridgeline was so scarce) and headed to the Alchemist. French fries, stouts and wings greeted us at the bar and we capped off a perfect overnight hike. Enjoy the photos below and click the link to see the full slideshow!

Long Trail - Monroe Skyline Hike

Beans n' weenies for dinner!

Mmmmm oatmeal.

Delicious.

perfect vermont weekend

I had a great weekend a couple weeks ago when one of my college roomates, Kat, came to visit from NYC. She really wanted to go hiking with Tom, Bear and I so we decided Camel's Hump would be a good trek. It may have been more than she bargained for but the view at the top makes the labor worth it. I'm glad the weather held out for us since the rain and thunderstorms rolled in as we snacked on creemees as we drove back home. The dark clouds made for some great pictures though. Thanks again for visiting us, Kat! We had the greatest weekend and miss you tons! And to all the rest of you girls in New York, this invitation is for you. :)

six years.

Tom and I have made it six whole years...wow. We decided to celebrate by taking a nice hike up the Sterling Pond portion of The Long Trail. We picked a perfect day, despite a bit of rain on the way down. Wait, a LOT of rain. We kept a good pace though and showed those Quebec tourists why Vermont is simply perfect.




View from the top of Smuggs. Can't believe I'll be skiing down this in two months!



Once we reached the top there is a great pond, Sterling Pond, for everyone to cool down in....or just Bear. I was jealous.






Pretty moss formations.



Bear mugging for the camera. I have him trained so well. :)



Beautiful foliage on our descent. Rain was just starting to come down and made everything so lush!



Taking a breather at the top at Sterling Pond.



Wish I brought my bathing suit!



Tom is feeling a bit weird about hiking ski trails with no skis...anyone for freestyle walking?



Bear fishing for trout.




Good watering spot, nothing like a sip of moss-filtered mountain run-off. Poland Springs? Nah.



These leaves done tuuuurned.



More foliage on the descent. I think this is seconds before Bear bailed over the edge of the trail. You think I'd be careful during my turn? Nah, fell at the same spot.



This is a pretty good representation of how we felt afterwards. If the dog is this tired....

Happy Six Years Tommy!