On Sunday, November 2, 2008 I went out for a day hike of just under 10.0 miles. I arrive at my first trailhead (1,640 ft above sea level), the Jerusalem Trail at 9:30 am on a cool day. 
The sky is blue, the wind is slight, and the temperature is about 29 degrees. I hiked this trail last year with Charlie Castelli. In fact, this was the trail where I decided I should try to do the entire Long Trail. I am hiking it again because I want to be able to say I did every trail within two hiking seasons. I start out with a t-shirt covered by a long sleeve t-shirt, and over that a fleece vest. Within a few hundred yards I pause to take off the vest. 
I climb steadily and the temperature drops as I ascend Stark Mountain. I see increasing amounts of snow and ice but the trail is not any more difficult than last time I hiked it. About 1.5 miles in, and 1,000 feet up the trail becomes icy and the snow at times is about six inches deep. 
At one point I have to throw my hiking poles up ahaead of me and climb a steep area that is covered in ice. The picture of this section is to the right. I hold on to small evergreen trees and pull myself up. On the descent I know I will have to sit down and slide.
I make good time and arrive at the LT, 2.4 miles away, by 11:00 am. By 11:30 I am at Glen Ellen Shelter (built 1933, sleeps 8, 3,430 ft.). 
The shelter is quite nice and has a commanding view to the east of the Green Mountains. The picture to the right captures me taking the shot and a reflection of the view east from the ridge. The J - Trail starts from the west so I have climbed to the top of the Green Mountain ridgeline and partly down the east side.
I put my vest back on as I begin the trek down and back to my car. It is not as slippery as I had feared going down on the icy trail would be, but I do sit down in several spots numbing my cheeks as I slide down two tricky sections. I arrive back at the car by 12:30 so I decide to hike another trail before calling it a day.
I arrive at the Hedgehog Brook Trail (1,160 ft.)to begin my second hike at 1:30 pm. the first thing I notice is that the east side of the mountains have less snow and ice than the west side. The temperature is a few degrees warmer and I start this hike without my vest. I quickly drop down into a very pretty valley and have to cross what I assume is Hedgehog Brook.
The stream is running fast due to melting snow from above and I cross the brook on a series of stones that are spaced far enough apart (as the picture to the left shows)I wonder if I will slip and get wet...I don't. I walk through the valley for about thirty minutes and cross the brook several times along the way.
At the 30 minute point I begin the steady ascent up towards the summit of Burnt Rock Mountain. The higher I go the more ice I come across and, near the LT, the going gets just as slick and icy as my earlier hike on the West side of the range. I manage without any falls but once again use the trees in spots to pull myself up the incline. 
I reach the LT ((2,800 ft) 2.0 miles away from the trailhead and begin my descent. Once again I must sit and slide down a few rougher sections but, on the whole, the going is smooth. I arrive back at my car at 3:35 pm and call home. Kim tells me I need to get home fast as one of the college's buildings is on fire and blazing out of control. I arrive back in Randolph to discover that our Business Enterprise Center/Business Incubator is a total loss. For the remainder of the hiking season I will need to bring my snowshoes with me in case I hit substatial snow or ice.
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