Long Trail

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Updates On Site and Off

Lots of things going on all of a sudden around here.  Seems like there isn’t as much time for posting because there really isn’t.  The snow is finally almost gone and I’ve actually managed to get the bicycle on the road a few times.  With the first time trial of the METTS season in just ten days it should be pretty amusing to see the faces as folks cross the finish line.  Time trials are always about pain, but without proper training they tend to make you wish you were dead.  Good fun!

Here on the site things are happening as well.  I have added a few more items to the Gear Review page.  It is all caught up now with my reviews over at the Trailspace site.  The latest additions include the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite pad and the GSI Tea Kettle.  That kettle takes up about half the space of my old pot and is perfect for solo trips.

I have also added a Long Trail section to the site.  Beyond a brief outline of my plans for the end to end trip this September there are also pages detailing my gear list and nutrition plan.  Both of those are works in progress and will probably continue to change.  Once I get back home the plan outline will be replaced with a report on the experience.

The big excitement this week has been the arrival of Mrs Stranger’s new backpack.  After a few trips to try on various makes and models she decided on the Osprey Ariel 65 in a pretty blue color.  Now we’re just waiting for mud season to progress so we can start putting it to use.

With the arrival of Spring there will probably be less time to spend writing here.  I’ll try to keep things active if I can, but really I’d much rather be out there than writing about being out there.  I do want to wrap up the Leave No Trace Principle articles though.  I think I may repackage them into their own section of the site so they don’t get lost in blog history.   I still have a long list of things to write about actually, but if I don’t get to them over the next few months they will still be there when the snow flies again.

Hopefully Spring has arrived where you live also.  Probably time for you folks to stop reading and get out there too.  If so smile and nod if we happen to pass on one of those paths less traveled by

madbearderIn memoriam of the Winter 2013-14 beard

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Spring?

It is always good to have something to look forward to, but I think we are all tired of looking forward to Spring this year.  I’m even looking forward to shaving off the winter whiskers if only Winter would actually go away.  Despite the extended forecast calling for more frigid, time is marching on.  Spring may not be here yet, but we don’t have any more time to wait on it.  If we don’t get started now we won’t have enough time to get up to speed for Summer.

Cycling season is definitely taking a hit this year.  The first time trial is only 3 weeks away and I’m betting I’m not the only one who hasn’t been out riding yet.  You can only train so much in the basement because hills and wind can’t be properly simulated.  It will be interesting to see how many folks even show up and just how out of shape we all are.

One thing I have been able to get outside to start practicing is carrying a heavy pack.  I have the Kelty external frame loaded up with 50 pounds of training weight and have been doing laps around the block a few times now.  Last year I relied too heavily on cycling to get into shape.  The first trip on trail I really noticed that there are some muscles in the legs that may not be used for cycling but really are needed to carry a pack.  This year, especially with the LT plan for the Fall, I’m cross training from the start.

Lots of other preparations under way as well.  The Baxter reservations have been made for a trip with the TX boys in July.  I have been doing this same loop for the last few years, but with different people each time.  It never gets old climbing Katahdin and then heading off into the back country away from the flocks of peak baggers and AT finishers.

I also ordered my LT guides and map from the Green Mountain Club this week.  Not sure I really needed the End To Enders Guide which details the towns and services available along the trail since my plan is to stay on trail the whole time, but they were still running their Spring special of the trail guide, the E2E guide and the map for $30.  I figured if nothing else it will give my wife a chance to read about all the places we might visit when we do this trail together in a few years.

Other plans are still coming together for the season.  Pretty sure there will be at least one trip on the Grafton Loop again this year and I’d really like to start exploring the Pemigewasset Wilderness in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  That area is well known for its high loops but there are some creeks on the eastern side that I’m betting will be less traveled and may even have some fish in them.

Still a little time left for planning and dreaming it would seem since they say we may have another big snow next week after the little one this weekend.  That doesn’t mean we can afford to be sitting around too much though.  Better to start moving more now to get ready to move more later is my plan.

My daughter does her part to help.  She led my wife and I out the door yesterday on what I thought was going to be a walk around the block.  I tossed on the 50 pound pack thinking it would be a nice chance to work on those pack muscles.  Then she proceeded to lead us down the road, into the woods and all the way down to the river through soft mushy snow.  I was definitely feeling those pack muscles, but that girl is smart.  She knows Daddy is going to need strong legs this Summer for family trips.  Best to get me whipped into shape so when she is ready I’ll be able to carry her loads on the path less traveled by

sp14

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Be Careful What You Ask For

You just might get it.  Those moments when things come together are interesting.   When we cross over a line and something we’ve dreamed of doing becomes something we actually are doing.  In crossing that line we’re moving towards getting what we wanted, but now we are faced with the task of actually doing.

The other day I accidentally got my wife’s blessing to do the Long Trail in Vermont this Fall.  I say accidentally because I wasn’t even really thinking about going until we are able to do it together years from now.  Then it came up in conversation and she told me to go before I even really asked.  If I didn’t know it was love I’d think she was trying to get me out of the house, but offering to solo parent for a month while I’m out living my dreams is definitely love.

The first time I heard of the Long Trail I began to dream of walking it some day.  I didn’t think I ever actually would as I’m not really a thru hiker, but it sounded like my sort of adventure so a nice dream.  Officially 273 miles stretching from the Massachusetts border on the south to the Canadian border on the north the trail goes the length of Vermont.  Following the Green Mountains it is a long series of peaks and valleys getting peakier as you head north.

The AT joins the LT for the first hundred miles in southern Vermont.  This section sees much more traffic and once the AT heads off to NH and ME on its way to Katahdin the Long Trail continues on more lightly traveled.  As the trail heads towards Canada it becomes progressively more challenging.  Some folks like to do it in the other direction to get the hardest part out of the way first while others work their way up to those peaks training their legs as they go.

Along with crossing all of those mountains and valleys the trail passes near many small Vermont towns as well as some wonderful B&Bs and inns.  Most people will go into town every few days for resupply and many folks plan a day of resting and feasting at one or more of the inns.  My plan is somewhat different as I’d like to save those treats for a future trip on this trail with Mrs Stranger.   Traveling together seems to be the time to enjoy those niceties while this solo trip is better suited to something more challenging.

My plan is to do the entire trail end to end without resupply and without leaving the trail.  Any zero/low mile days, if I decide to take them, will be on a mountain rather than at an inn.  In fact I’m planning on avoiding using the shelters as much as possible in favor of setting up camp alone off the trail.   Despite the fact that this trail passes close to civilization often and the shelters can be social centers my intent is to make this a true escape from all of that as much is possible.

Now that this plan is in motion there are many things to consider.  How to carry enough food and fuel for 20 days or more?  How many cookies to bring?  Will I be tempted by inviting inns close enough to the trail that I can hear the clink of pint glasses?  Will I give in to that temptation?  Finding out the answers to all of these questions as well as many more is what this trip is all about.

To me getting out there has always been about questions and answers I guess.  What am I capable of in terms of body and spirit?  What is the view like from the top of that mountain?  Will it ever stop raining?  We have to be careful about the questions we ask ourselves too I guess.  I am anticipating more than a few nights alone in my tent filled with answers I can only hope I’m prepared for.  I guess that pretty much sums up my life though, hoping I’m prepared for the answers I find on the path less traveled by

LTSign