I know you touched on the sketchy parts, but just how sketchy are they? I have watched your videos, and it makes it seem like you could easily plummet to your death on a few sections (particularly Mansfield, like that one portion you guys took off your packs for). Now, my parents have both finished the AT (took a few years but they did finish in 2021, even with my mom having a new knee the last 320 miles), and I have hiked about 1,600 of it with them. We were thinking of hiking the Long Trail with a friend (so it would be me-37-and three people who are 70, 71, and 72). Is it pretty easy to die on this trail? Haha. I mean, somehow we made it through the AT without catastrophe, but I don't want to put them in a situation that is even scarier than the AT (such as Goose Eye, a few sections on the Wildcats, the Mahoosuc range in general, Katahdin, etc.). We want to have an adventure, but I don't want this to be our last one! And I know there are bypasses for some portions, but I have read they can be worse than the original trail!
We met others of similar age with less experience than you and your parents along the trail. There are definitely challenging sections, but as long as you’re prepared, slow and smart, you’ll be fine! Let us know what you think afterwards!
Best to plan meal time based on your proximity to your nightly camp and do your cooking and eating just down the trail from camp and leave no trace. Hang your food bag when you get to camp.
Great information, thanks. "The Freedom Step" this is a good name for the moment when you're finally soaked...It usually takes several miles of me avoiding the puddles before it happens!
Great content, I'm hoping to hike the Long Trail in a couple of years time and I've learnt a lot from your videos. One request is for you to increase your recorded volume, I'm having to turn some of your videos up really loud compared to other creators videos and ads.
New subscriber. I found your channel looking for Long Trail videos. Planning a SOBO starting in mid-August. Binge watching your Long Trail series. Very nice job on the trail vlogs and great Q&A session. Will be watching more of your content. I hoping to see you guys do an AT thru someday.
Thanks! We are hoping to get some more LT planning videos out soon. Just subscribed back- looking forward to watching some of your NH vids. We'd really like to do more New Hampshire hiking.
This series is is INCREDIBLY helpful and confidence-building - thank you both! I'm headed NOBO in September and am still grappling with the best approach trail from the MA/VT line. Pine Cobble or North Adams (AT approach)?. I'm in no particular hurry but do want to get to Congdon Shelter on Day 1. Which approach trail did you take?
We've done both approach trails. When we finished the LT in 2018 as Southbounders, we went the AT approach route. In 2019, as Northbounders, we went Pine Cobble. I think I enjoyed both, and frankly didn't find either to be incredibly different in terms of their difficulty. There is a rocky section if one takes the AT approach from North Adams that is slightly notable. You will most definitely make it to Congdon Shelter on day one of your hike. No problem. My only advice would be to try to finish in the month of September. The closer to Columbus Day one hikes, the more uncertainty one will encounter with weather and temperatures. Good luck! I hope to see and read about your experience on here or elsewhere. - North Star
Hikers do occasionally get trench foot. While it's OK for your feet to get wet, you should make sure they have a chance to get warm and dry at night, reserving a pair of clean, dry socks for camp, and air your feet as often as possible. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_foot
Thanks for another awesome q&a. I'm planning on thru hiking in the beginning of summer this year and was thinking of doing 2 resupplies (1 in Rutland and another in Waterbury). Thoughts? I can't remember how many y'all did and I know y'all paused near Mansfield due to bugs before returning to finish. Thanks!
Hi Anna! We are planning on doing a video just on resupplies. We were hoping to get up to VT to tape some of the resupply spots, but, due to recent events, we may make the video using old footage. It really depends on how many miles you're doing and how much you're willing to carry. For us and our mileage, only two stops would require us to carry far more than we are comfortable doing. For our hike, 18 days, we resupplied four times- Manchester, Rutland, Waterbury, and Johnson. We did the same the previous year going SOBO as well. Waterbury is a bit more tricky, but Rutland, Manchester, and Johnson are all very easy resupply points, Manchester being our favorite!
If Covid quiets down by summer, I think the LT will be pretty crowded in the fall. I dropped out of an AT THRU hike to be safe and hope to do the LT in sept.
Sorry to hear you had to quit your AT thru hike! How far had you gotten? North Star was also planning to hike the AT this summer, and had just secured the time off from work. That plan has now been placed on the back burner. Hopefully everything will be settled down by September!
Adventures in Backpacking I was out for two weeks. Made it to Fontana dam. It was an easy decision to be home safe with my family. A lot of people back didn’t see it that way when I left.
You are correct. We did not do a great job, and it is an issue that we are still working on fixing for future videos. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. We appreciate it!
Most of the thru or sections hikers we met along the way had started alone. If the question is, would I feel safe, then yes. I would feel very safe hiking the trail alone. There are so many friendly faces you meet along the way, and we never encountered anyone we felt was dangerous. The only sketchy experience we had was off the trail.
Thanks, Cool Breeze! There are some sections of the trail where you could find yourself off the path. Usually, it doesn't take long to realize you're either on a blue-blaze trail or you have wandered into the woods. Usually, if this happens, you can just remain calm and retrace your steps back to the main trail. We would highly recommend using Guthook as a helpful tool to, among other things, locate your location, even when your phone is in airplane mode. There are other GPS devises that also contain topo maps and breadcrumb features that will help you to retrace your steps and find the trail, like the Garmins or other phone apps. We also often carry a paper map, and familiarizing ourselves with landmarks along the way. And of course, you can do the tried and true, use a topo map and compass, but of course, you need to know how to use these tools for them to be helpful for you.
Great video.
I know you touched on the sketchy parts, but just how sketchy are they? I have watched your videos, and it makes it seem like you could easily plummet to your death on a few sections (particularly Mansfield, like that one portion you guys took off your packs for). Now, my parents have both finished the AT (took a few years but they did finish in 2021, even with my mom having a new knee the last 320 miles), and I have hiked about 1,600 of it with them. We were thinking of hiking the Long Trail with a friend (so it would be me-37-and three people who are 70, 71, and 72). Is it pretty easy to die on this trail? Haha. I mean, somehow we made it through the AT without catastrophe, but I don't want to put them in a situation that is even scarier than the AT (such as Goose Eye, a few sections on the Wildcats, the Mahoosuc range in general, Katahdin, etc.). We want to have an adventure, but I don't want this to be our last one! And I know there are bypasses for some portions, but I have read they can be worse than the original trail!
We met others of similar age with less experience than you and your parents along the trail. There are definitely challenging sections, but as long as you’re prepared, slow and smart, you’ll be fine! Let us know what you think afterwards!
Best to plan meal time based on your proximity to your nightly camp and do your cooking and eating just down the trail from camp and leave no trace. Hang your food bag when you get to camp.
Great advice!
Great information, you guys! I learned a lot and it was very detailed.
Thanks, MO Mills!
Great information, thanks. "The Freedom Step" this is a good name for the moment when you're finally soaked...It usually takes several miles of me avoiding the puddles before it happens!
Thank you, Loon! Yes...the freedom step. You have to resign yourself to it eventually!
Great content, I'm hoping to hike the Long Trail in a couple of years time and I've learnt a lot from your videos.
One request is for you to increase your recorded volume, I'm having to turn some of your videos up really loud compared to other creators videos and ads.
Thanks for the feedback, Mike! Much appreciated!
New subscriber. I found your channel looking for Long Trail videos. Planning a SOBO starting in mid-August. Binge watching your Long Trail series. Very nice job on the trail vlogs and great Q&A session. Will be watching more of your content. I hoping to see you guys do an AT thru someday.
Thanks! We are hoping to get some more LT planning videos out soon. Just subscribed back- looking forward to watching some of your NH vids. We'd really like to do more New Hampshire hiking.
This series is is INCREDIBLY helpful and confidence-building - thank you both! I'm headed NOBO in September and am still grappling with the best approach trail from the MA/VT line. Pine Cobble or North Adams (AT approach)?. I'm in no particular hurry but do want to get to Congdon Shelter on Day 1. Which approach trail did you take?
We've done both approach trails. When we finished the LT in 2018 as Southbounders, we went the AT approach route. In 2019, as Northbounders, we went Pine Cobble. I think I enjoyed both, and frankly didn't find either to be incredibly different in terms of their difficulty. There is a rocky section if one takes the AT approach from North Adams that is slightly notable.
You will most definitely make it to Congdon Shelter on day one of your hike. No problem. My only advice would be to try to finish in the month of September. The closer to Columbus Day one hikes, the more uncertainty one will encounter with weather and temperatures.
Good luck! I hope to see and read about your experience on here or elsewhere.
- North Star
Hikers do occasionally get trench foot. While it's OK for your feet to get wet, you should make sure they have a chance to get warm and dry at night, reserving a pair of clean, dry socks for camp, and air your feet as often as possible.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_foot
Great point. There’s nothing better than putting on your dry pair of socks at the end of the night!
Thanks for another awesome q&a. I'm planning on thru hiking in the beginning of summer this year and was thinking of doing 2 resupplies (1 in Rutland and another in Waterbury). Thoughts? I can't remember how many y'all did and I know y'all paused near Mansfield due to bugs before returning to finish. Thanks!
Hi Anna! We are planning on doing a video just on resupplies. We were hoping to get up to VT to tape some of the resupply spots, but, due to recent events, we may make the video using old footage.
It really depends on how many miles you're doing and how much you're willing to carry. For us and our mileage, only two stops would require us to carry far more than we are comfortable doing. For our hike, 18 days, we resupplied four times- Manchester, Rutland, Waterbury, and Johnson. We did the same the previous year going SOBO as well. Waterbury is a bit more tricky, but Rutland, Manchester, and Johnson are all very easy resupply points, Manchester being our favorite!
If Covid quiets down by summer, I think the LT will be pretty crowded in the fall. I dropped out of an AT THRU hike to be safe and hope to do the LT in sept.
Sorry to hear you had to quit your AT thru hike! How far had you gotten? North Star was also planning to hike the AT this summer, and had just secured the time off from work. That plan has now been placed on the back burner. Hopefully everything will be settled down by September!
Adventures in Backpacking I was out for two weeks. Made it to Fontana dam. It was an easy decision to be home safe with my family. A lot of people back didn’t see it that way when I left.
@@pgreenx I’m sure your family was happy to have you home. The LT is supposed to be beautiful in the fall!
The volume of this video is really poor, especially pug dog.
You are correct. We did not do a great job, and it is an issue that we are still working on fixing for future videos.
Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. We appreciate it!
Would u go alone wo your husband /significant other
Most of the thru or sections hikers we met along the way had started alone. If the question is, would I feel safe, then yes. I would feel very safe hiking the trail alone. There are so many friendly faces you meet along the way, and we never encountered anyone we felt was dangerous. The only sketchy experience we had was off the trail.
Any video about resupply?
We plan to do one soon!
Hey Pug Dog and North Star, should there be any fear of losing the trail, especially if you don’t have Guthook? Thanks
Thanks, Cool Breeze! There are some sections of the trail where you could find yourself off the path. Usually, it doesn't take long to realize you're either on a blue-blaze trail or you have wandered into the woods. Usually, if this happens, you can just remain calm and retrace your steps back to the main trail.
We would highly recommend using Guthook as a helpful tool to, among other things, locate your location, even when your phone is in airplane mode. There are other GPS devises that also contain topo maps and breadcrumb features that will help you to retrace your steps and find the trail, like the Garmins or other phone apps. We also often carry a paper map, and familiarizing ourselves with landmarks along the way. And of course, you can do the tried and true, use a topo map and compass, but of course, you need to know how to use these tools for them to be helpful for you.
Adventures in Backpacking, thanks for the feedback! I’ll definitely use Guthook when I continue the Long Trail!
Surprised no one asked about snakes....
Me, too! Although we have only seen harmless little garter snakes along the trail in VT.
Talk into the mic
Thanks for the feedback. 🙂