Author: Green Mountain Club
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Ready for Rescue: Essential Tips for Outdoor Safety
This article appears in the Summer 2023 Long Trail News and was adapted from a presentation by Vermont Search and Rescue Coordinator Drew Clymer. Most of us know and follow routine hiking safety procedures. We understand the importance of hiking in groups rather than alone, and leaving our plans with someone at home, so they…
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Sounds and Stories on the Long Trail
This is a guest post by Tess “Storyteller” Rowan, LT Class of 2025, who has produced an audio documentary of her experience on the trail called “Field Notes: A Long Trail Odyssey.” “I wish the world were more like the trail.” These words from a hiker on the Long Trail have stuck with me since…
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Hiking Over 60: The Trail Awaits
This article first appeared in the Winter 2025 Long Trail News and was written by Chloe Miller and Philip Werner. Age might change how we hike, but it doesn’t have to stop us from doing it. Many people start in their 60s, 70s, or even later. Hiking connects you to the world around you —…
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Be Well: How Hiking Can Improve Our Mental Health
A version of this article appeared in the Winter 2025 Long Trail News. This extended version also includes footnotes and sources. As a child on the family farm in Minnesota, I loved spending time in nature. But like many folks I know, I lost my connection to the outdoors as I grew up and took…
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Field Notes – Winter 2025
The 2025 field season was one of the more stable in my time, despite constant uncertainty concerning federal funding and operations during the government shutdown. Special Projects Senior Trail Technicians Andrew Muller, Matt Vezina, and Garrett Hogan started their season with emergency repairs at Clarendon Gorge Bridge. They then returned to their original schedule, building a fully accessible trail to Jean Haigh Cabin at Wheeler Pond. The woodshed and ramp to the rear deck are fully accessible,…
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Field Season on Film
This article was written by assistant trail crew lead Jivana Esposito and appeared first in the Fall 2025 Long Trail News. As I dive deeper into the trail world, I find myself extremely inspired by archival pictures of trail crews in the early 20th century, when film photography was just evolving. Photos of crews cutting…
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Thru-Hiking with a Dog: Blue Blazin’ Bug
Boston terriers probably aren’t the breed that leaps to mind when you think “long-distance hike.” With their cockeyed gaze, snubby snouts, stubby tails, and tendency to snort when they breathe, they bear a stronger resemblance to potbellied pigs than wolves. But appearances to the contrary, Boston terriers are dogs, and dogs love walks. So when…
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2025 GMC Photo Contest Winning Photos and Other Entries
Thank you to everyone who entered the 2025 GMC photo contest! In this year’s contest, members of the Long Trail hiking community shared over 200 images that capture the beauty of Vermont’s mountains, trails, and hiking community as seen through your eyes and camera lenses. Scroll through the winning photographs and a selection of other…
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Vote for the 2025 Hikers’ Choice Photo Winner
With over 200 entries submitted to this year’s photo contest, it was difficult to narrow down our selections but we managed to choose 14 photos to include in the Hikers’ Choice vote. These photos embody unique or memorable elements of the hiking experience or struck our eye in a unique way. Please vote only once…
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Battell Shelter: A Look Back and Plans for the Future
At 3,300 feet on the south side of Mount Abraham, just under a mile from the summit, the Long Trail hiker comes upon Battell Shelter. The three-sided Adirondack-style lean-to, built in 1967 by work parties from Farm and Wilderness Camp in Plymouth, sleeps eight. Battell Shelter is one of the highest three-sided shelters on the…