Category: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 29, 2024 Media Contacts: Chloe Miller, Green Mountain Club Communication Manager, , (907) 632-7405 Jon Reidel, Middlebury College Director of Media Relations, , 802-443-4208  

Middlebury College Grants Trail Right-of-Way to Green Mountain Club

1.5 miles of Long Trail permanently protected

WATERBURY, VT – Middlebury College has donated a trail right-of-way to the Green Mountain Club that permanently protects 1.5 miles of Long Trail treadway. This trail right-of-way protects the longest remaining section of privately owned Long Trail treadway. Its donation brings the total miles of unprotected Long Trail down to just 4.5 miles, or 2% of the Long Trail. Since 1986 the Green Mountain Club has been seeking permanent protection for the Long Trail and its surrounding lands, and the donation by Middlebury is a significant step forward toward achieving that goal. “The Green Mountain Club is tremendously grateful to Middlebury College for their donation of a trail right-of-way to protect the Long Trail. Generous and supportive landowners like Middlebury College are what have made the Long Trail possible for 114 years. We couldn’t have Vermont’s hiking trails without them and GMC is excited to be deepening our partnership with the College through this trail right-of-way,” said Mike DeBonis, GMC Executive Director. The 272-mile Long Trail is a long-distance hiking trail that runs the length of Vermont from Massachusetts to Canada, along the spine of the Green Mountains. It was conceived in 1910, served as the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail and, along with its side trails, provides 500 miles of hiking trails in Vermont. The Long Trail draws thousands of locals and visitors each year and provides economic and wellness benefits for local communities. Permanent protection of the Long Trail will ensure that hikers and communities continue to have access to and benefit from this incredible recreation asset. “Middlebury College’s century-long partnership with the Green Mountain Club is a shared commitment to preserving land for the public good,” said President Laurie L. Patton. “We’re pleased to help ensure that access to the storied Long Trail—and its enjoyment by our entire community—will continue into the future.” Since it was first constructed in the 1910s, the Long Trail has crossed the property that is now Middlebury Snowbowl. The route of the LT by Pleiad Lake and up Worth Mountain is first depicted in the Green Mountain Club’s 1920 Long Trail Guide. Middlebury College was granted the land from Joseph Battell in 1916 and the first downhill ski trails were cut in 1934, making the Snowbowl one of Vermont’s earliest ski areas. ### About Green Mountain Club Established in 1910 to build the Long Trail, the Green Mountain Club is a private non-profit organization with over 9,800 members. GMC is dedicated to maintaining and protecting Vermont’s historic Long Trail, Appalachian Trail in Vermont, and the Kingdom Heritage Lands trails in the Northeast Kingdom. Every year more than 1,000 volunteers work so that current and future generations will enjoy the 500-mile Long Trail System. Contact the Green Mountain Club to learn more about the GMC or to become a member. About Middlebury College Middlebury is an undergraduate college; a graduate school for international studies; a home for immersive language study; a graduate school for the study of literature, literacy, and pedagogy; a leader of schools abroad sites that span the globe; and a home for the oldest and most prestigious writers’ conference in the world, which has spawned conferences in environmental writing and translation as well.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Chloe Miller, Communications Manager at Green Mountain Club, , 907-632-7405 Kathryn Wrigley, Outdoor Recreation Specialist IV, Vermont FPR, , 802-871-0535

GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB COMPLETES OVERHAUL OF HISTORIC CAMEL’S HUMP HIKING TRAIL

$700,000, three-year investment improves trail durability and longevity, hiker experience, and climate resiliency.

Huntington, Vermont – After 70 weeks of work over the past three years, the Green Mountain Club and Vermont Department of Forests Parks and Recreation (FPR) have completed a top-to-bottom rehabilitation project of the popular Burrows hiking trail on Camel’s Hump, the largest trail work project of its kind in Vermont’s modern history. The Burrows Trail was built more than 100 years ago, before modern sustainable trail design standards existed. It’s one of the most-traveled hiking trails in the state, due to its proximity to Burlington and its relatively short distance to the summit of Camel’s Hump, one of Vermont’s highest peaks. Combined impacts of increased use, especially during the outdoor recreation boom of 2020, and erosion caused by more intense and frequent rainstorms exacerbated wear and tear on the trail to a point where GMC and FPR pursued a unique comprehensive approach to repairing the entire trail at once. “Historically, due to limited funding and crew capacity, FPR and GMC have taken an ad-hoc, patch-it-up approach to trail work. But as the impacts of climate change become more apparent in Vermont, the Burrows Trail presented the opportunity to invest unprecedented funding and capacity and rebuild the whole trail at once,” said Keegan Tierney, GMC’s Director of Field Programs. “Even as repairs were in progress, we saw the improvements in action and how the trail was able to hold up to all three historic flooding events that Vermont was hit with in 2023 and 2024, with water draining off as intended and causing minimal erosion.” Project planning started in 2018 and crews broke ground on the first of more than 300 identified sites on the 2.1-mile trail in June 2022. The project cost nearly $700,000, with funding sourced from FPR through a one-time allocation of State general funds designated specifically for outdoor recreation enhancements; FPR’s Enhancement of Recreation Stewardship and Access (ERSA) Grant fund, and private donors to The Green Mountain Club. GMC and FPR coordinated work between partners including the Vermont State Trail Crew, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Northwoods Stewardship Center, National Civilian Conservation Corps, and numerous volunteer groups. “The Burrows Trail is visited and enjoyed by thousands of hikers each year, and is one of Vermont’s most popular recreational resources in every season. Thanks to our strong partnership with the Green Mountain Club, we were able to undertake such a comprehensive approach to repairing the trail, which will pay off for decades to come,” said Kathryn Wrigley, Outdoor Recreation Specialist, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, who led scouting and planning efforts for the project. Professionally skilled crews used mostly hand tools to repair and install hundreds of stone structures, like staircases, check steps and waterbars, to improve drainage and keep hikers on the intended path. The large-scale investment is designed to help the trail withstand increasingly frequent and severe precipitation and intensified year-round use. The trail has remained open to the public throughout the project, and hikers will find an improved hiking experience from the trailhead to the trail’s intersection with the Long Trail. Crews used extensive revegetation practices to start the process of restoring the trail to its original natural state and maintain the natural feel of Vermont’s only undeveloped 4,000-foot summit. The project improves access to and the experience of hiking the Burrows Trail and solidifies its existence for decades to come. Hiker Advisory: Burrows Trailhead to Long Trail Summit, 4.8 mi. round trip, 2,200 ft. elevation gain, difficult. Note that another popular trail to Camel’s Hump Summit, the Monroe Trailhead accessed from North Duxbury, is closed due to road damage and closure. We anticipate the Burrows Trail and trailhead will be quite crowded for the remainder of foliage season. If you plan to hike Burrows, consider visiting outside of peak hours. Always drive and park with respect for neighbors and do not block driveways or emergency access. If the parking lot is full when you arrive, consider a hike on this list of alternatives. ### About the Green Mountain Club: The Green Mountain Club was founded in 1910 with one goal: to build a long-distance hiking trail that spans the length of Vermont’s mountains. The Long Trail was completed in 1930. Today, Green Mountain Club staff and volunteers care for roughly 500 miles of trail in Vermont, and take a sustainable approach to trail building and maintenance in the face of climate change impacts and increased year-round use of the trails. We support the hiking community with education and access to enjoy Vermont’s beloved trails.