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, August 11, 2009

Stage 11 - Bolton notch to Lake Mansfield Trail Day Hike



On Friday, August 7, 2009 I took a day of vacation to complete another section of the Long Trail. My youngest son, Beau, leaves for college on Sunday so I did not want to do an overnighter, but I knew I needed to get another section of the LT done so this will be a long day hike. I arrive at Bolton Notch Road (1,120 ft. above sea level) and set off at 9:34 am. The weather is cool (60s) and it is supposed to stay cool with a chance of occasional showers and thunderstorms. I set off in shorts and a short sleeve shirt and carrying both my water pack and a day pack holding 48 ounces of gatorade (no more dehydration for me).

The climb is steady to the top of Oxbow Ridge (@2,400 ft) and along the way I see several easterly lookouts. From the top of the ridge I descend steadily to the intersection with a spur leading south 0.3 miles and down to Buchanan Shelter (Built 1984, sleeps 16, 2,310 ft)

The total hike to the shelter from the notch is 2.6 miles, most of it a steady ascent and my legs are sore becuase I haven't hiked enough this summer to get them into shape. I also believe my dehydration problem last month has weakened my leg muscles because the hike is wearing them out much more quickly than I would usually expect. From the shelter I ascend steadily to the summitt of Bolton Mountain(3,725 ft) passing several nice views along the way. I have now covered 6.6 miles and have a short, but steep, 0.5 mile descent to Puffer Shelter.

Puffer Shelter (built 1975, sleeps six, 3,200 ft). is a small frame shelter built by over 100 volunteers who hiked all of the materials used in its construction up and over Bolton Mountain on the same path that I have traversed so far today. Any reasons I might think I have to complain about this hike pale in comparison to this feat. Of course, I forget to take a picture of the shelter.

I now take a 20 minute break to eat lunch, a roast beef sub sandwhich, and drink several cups of gatorade. While eating, another north-bound hiker arrives and it is clear he is serious about his trek and making great time. I leave him to enjoy his lunch and head down Bolton Mountain.

The trip down is not as steep as I had thought it would be, but I start to get the nagging feeling that I'm about to start cramping up - not from lack of fluid - but from weak leg muscles. I stop every time I feel a cramp start and, by resting for about 30 seconds each time, am able to ward off any full cramps. The descent is broken up by two short climbs, the first up Mount Mayo (3,160 ft) and the second up Mount Clark (2,800 ft). I follow a ridge around Mt. Clark and continue my descent.

On the trip down I come to the longest ladder I have had to use to date (picture at top of entry). About halfway down it I start to cramp so I pause for about 30 seconds while the cramp releases itself - no true risk of falling. I descend to the largest Beaver Pond I have seen to date and cross the pond on a very narrow system of planks. On the other side I climb gradually out of the pond area and soon come to the intersection of the LT with Taylor Lodge.

Taylor lodge (built 1978, sleeps 15, 1,850 ft)has been pictured in a previous hike I took on the Lake Mansfield Trail so I provide a shot looking out from the porch of the cabin. I have hiked 3.4 miles since leaving Puffer shelter so I stop long enough to drink some gatorade and then head 1.7 miles down the Lake Mansfield Trail to my car.

I arrive at my car (1,140 ft) at 5:45 pm after over 12.5 miles of hiking covering just over 1.5 miles an hour on this trip. My legs are sore but the cramping has not materialized and I have a comfortable drive home.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)