September 10 - [11.5 Miles/90.0 Total] Puffer Shelter to Jonesville, US 2. I actually ended the day at Mama Bower's B&B in Richmond but I got off the trail in Jonesville. I stayed at the B&B with Pete, Turtle and his sister Dell who met him in town. I also saw Jack (Greylock) in town. This was the last time I would see him. From my journal: "Today was another great day. I hit the trail around 7:20, the earliest time yet. Around four miles in, Pete caught me. For the rest of the day we took turns setting the pace and boy did we fly! We made town by 1:30 where we made a beeline for the store. I had the turkey club sandwich I had been dreaming about for days washed down with a YooHoo." Sunrise From Puffer Shelter To take this picture all I had to do was roll over in my sleeping bag. What a wonderful way to wake up! September 11 - [10.4 Miles/100.4 Total] Jonesville, US 2 to Gorham Lodge. I did not actually get out of town until noon. I started the day with a wonderful Mama Bower breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausage, fruit salad, and juice. Mama Bower refused to let anyone leave her place hungry so every time my plate was empty she filled it up again. After breakfast I visited several stores and the post office to resupply. Pete gave me some of his extra food to help me out since resupply was not very good it that area. I ran into Sue (Lost & Found) at the post office. I had not seen her since my first day on the trail. She had already hiked 7 miles into town at that point and I didn't even have a mile under my belt. Later that evening at Gorham lodge I pondered whether I would be able to complete the trail. From my journal: "I still don't know what my final destination will be. Part of me wants to finish and part of me wants to hang back with my friends. In any case I now have my rhythm and even with a heavy pack (7 days worth of food), a 3000ft climb, and rain, I am still in good spirits." Mama & Papa Bower This was taken on the front step of the B&B. Mama and Papa Bower were some of the nicest people I met on the trail. I highly recommend their B&B, it's like taking a trip to Grandma's house! Pictured are Turtle, Pete, and me (Snail-No-More) on the top row; Mama Bower and Turtle's sister Dell in the middles; and the Bower dog (I forget his name) and Papa Bower on the bottom row. Gorham Lodge This picture was taken inside Gorham Lodge. From left to right are Pete, Sue (Lost & Found), Dell, and Turtle. Back in Jonesville Sue had the idea of packing out some brews. Naturally I thought this a great idea. Besides, what's another pound of two when you are carrying 7 days worth of food? So here we are enjoying those brews only to have to carry the cans for the next 6 days. I still believe it was worth it! September 12 - [10.6 Miles/111.0 Total] Gorham Lodge to Birch Glen Camp. This was the day we went over Camel's Hump. On the summit it was foggy & windy, a great climb but no view at all. After that perfect day on Mansfield it really didn't bother me though, you win some and you lose some. It rained lightly on and off most of the day so I have no pictures. Later that evening at the shelter the heavy rain along with thunder and lightning finally began and it lasted most of the night. At the shelter that evening Sue made chocolate chip cookies, quite a treat. I also made the decision that night to part with my friends. From my journal: "Well it looks like this is the end. I am definitely going to do a 12 miler tomorrow while everyone else is going to do a 6 miler. Its been fun but I have to get serious about my hike. Too bad, I enjoyed this group while it lasted." September 13 - [12.5 Miles/123.5 Total] Birch Glen Camp to Battell Shelter. This was a great and busy day. I will simply copy my journal entry in it entirety for the day since I don't think I could summarize the day any better than this entry. I split this entry into sections to make it easier to read. "This has been some day! I am at Battell, everybody else stayed one shelter back stopping after only 6 miles. This morning did not seem too promising. It had rained all night and this morning we were socked in with water still dripping off the trees. As I started to walk everything was bright and green - beautiful but wet. Before I had completed the first few miles though the fog began to burn off. By the time I was part way up the far side of Appalachian Gap the sun and blue sky has begun to appear. The day just got better from there. The second half of today was a ridge walk over summit after summit leading to Mt Abraham. Each summit was more spectacular than the last with [...] ski cuts to offer additional views. The peak before Abraham, Lincoln, had an observation deck on the summit offering 360 degree viewing. When I arrive finally at the summit of Abraham there were several other people there. The summit is above tree line so I again had 360 degrees of viewing. I could see where I came from including Camel's Hump and Mansfield and where I am heading, the Green Mountains and Killington peak. To one side was lake Champlain and the Anorondacks, in the opposite direction was the White mountains. While I was up there I talked with a family - general discussion with the standard questions. They took several photos for me and I for them. They also gave me several Reese miniatures. When the passed me [at the shelter] on their way down they gave me a half of a sub and an apple! Yogi, Yogi! After I ate dinner I was looking at tomorrows trail and a heard the strange [grunting] sound and a crashing noise. At first I thought bear! But it turned out to be bigger that that -- a bull moose walked right by the shelter about 20ft from me. I hid behind the corner of the shelter, watched and took a photo. (I didn't have to zoom; he filled the lens!) What a day! My calculations show I'll have to average 15+ miles a day to finish. Tough, real tough, but still doable, We will see." View from Mad River Glen Ski Lift I climbed to the top of the Mad River Glen ski lift on Glen Stark Mt (Part of the Lincoln Ridge) to take this photo. This is looking back toward Appalachian Gap, Camels Hump, and way in the distance Mt Mansfield. View From Lincoln Mt This photo was taken from the summit of Lincoln mountain looking east toward the White mountains of New Hampshire. View From Lincoln Mt This one was taken from an observation deck on Lincoln Mt looking south, the direction I was heading. Mt Abraham Me (Snail-No-More) on the summit of Mt Abraham. This photo was taken by a member of a nice family of a husband, wife, and their two girls. This was the family I speak of in the days journal entry above. View from Mt Abraham This was taken from the summit of Mt Abraham looking south down the trail. The rocks lining the path are there to remind hikers to stay on the trail and off the fragile alpine plants that grow up there. September 14 - [16.0 Miles/139.5 Total] Battell Shelter to Boyce Shelter. Although this was my biggest day yet it was uneventful. I did however pass a bunch of Long Trail north bounders. September 15 - [13.9 Miles/153.4 Total] Boyce Shelter to Sunrise Shelter. The day was drizzly, cold, wet, and socked in with a late afternoon thunderstorm that soaked me. My friends Pete and Sue actually caught up with me! After the 6-mile day they had done a 19 and a 18 to my 16 and 14 and here they were. To think that I had written them off as forever behind me! We all decided to get up early the next day and hike the 19.4 to Sherburn pass and the Inn At Long Trail. The Inn is a place I remember fondly from my AT hike and a place I had been talking up and looking forward to the whole LT hike. September 16 - [19.4 Miles/172.8 Total] Sunrise Shelter to Sherburne Pass. We (Pete, Sue, & myself) got a 7:00 AM start and had made the road at Sherburn Pass by 4:00 PM. The last 5 miles we hiked together chatting our way down the trail. We knew that this time this really was our last miles together. Pete was going to go home and Sue had decided to take the following day off. I had to move on the next morning to have any chance of finishing. I figured if I averaged 15 miles a day for the next week I could finish. I finally felt good about my chances of actually completing the trail! When we arrived at Sherburn pass it turned out the Inn At Long Trail was full so we had to hike down the road to another hotel. I was very disappointed as I had been looking forward to staying at the Inn for two weeks! We decided to go back to the Inn that evening to visit their bar, a wonderful Irish Pub. Chittenden Reservoir Because of the weather, I had very few views and very few pictures over the last few days. This was one of the few, a reservoir visible from the trail. Maine Junction This was a big moment for me! This is Maine Junction the point at which the Long Trail joins with the Appalachian Trail. The southern 105 miles of the Long Trail coincides with the Appalachian Trail. Since I had already hiked the AT, at this point I had completed the Long Trail! I did however want to do the last 100 miles again so I could claim I completed the trail as a thru hiker rather than as a section hiker. Send Comments To khoffman AT computer.org Last Updated on Nov 3, 2000