Welcome to my Blog

This is the first time I have ever blogged so mistakes will likely be the order of the day! This past winter I committed myself to hiking the Vermont Long Trail (LT) in a series of day and overnight hikes over the course of hopefully no more than two summers. I have decided to create a blog to document my adventures and to provide a chance for any photos I take to be viewed by anyone interested in hiking in general or the LT specifically. I am a novice hiker whose prior experience basically consists of earning the hiking merit badge as a 12 year old. My father and I took five 10-mile hikes and one 20-mile hike as a part of earning the badge in 1974. Since that time I have hiked occasionally but never seriously. I was a long distance runner for many years and am in better than typical shape though in recent years my focus has been on weight lifting more than on endurance activity. I expect the trek to be challenging but manageable.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Clark Brook Trail Day Hike



On Sunday, October 5, 2008 I hiked the Clark Brook Trail outside of Granville, Vt. This trail is only about a 45 minute drive from where I live and is one of the prettiest trails I have hiked.


On Friday,October 10, 2008 I returned to the trail with my sister and her husband, Lydia and John McKay, and we hiked the first mile of the trail, getting to the second bridge before we turned around and came back.

The trail starts at 1,331 ft above sea level and climbs very gradually for the first mile. The trail runs on the south side of Clark Brook and there are several nice views of the stream. after about 15 minutes of hiking I come to the first bridge crossing of the stream. another 10 minutes of hiking and I arrive at a second, even prettier bridge crossing.

At this point the trail steepens significantly and I must work my way up Breadloaf Mountain. along the way I pass a nice cascade of water crossing the trail.

I also climb an interesting ramp - not quite a ladder but not quite steps either.

Just as I'm beginning to think that this hike is getting tough, I arrive at the Long Trail Intersection (3,390 ft). I've climbed 2,000 feet.

On the way back down the trail I pass a couple hiking up and they look fatigued. I give them encouragement and tell them they only have about 20 minutes to go before reaching thew top. I can tell that this is not good news in their mind. I'm betting they never made it to the top. I've hiked 6.0 miles round trip.

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