Vermont – August 2002
Green Mountains National Forest
By Mike Farrell
15 Miles – the Long Trail
The day started out early. Around 7 A.M, we were dropped off at a parking lot at the beginning of the trail. We would be hiking for two days with full gear in our packs. It would be important to follow the trail and fill up with water at every available water source. We hiked all day. We saw lots of evergreens/Christmas trees. We reached a cabin at the end of the first day where we would sleep. We filled up with water at a pond near the cabin. A special pump and a sock were used to filter the water for drinking. We ate freeze dried meals which were o.k. Never eat Chili Mac meals, they make you throw up. The weather was very HOT! The second day brought a long, rocky, steep ridge trail along the mountain. We saw frogs, salamanders, and moose poop. We hiked to a stream where they was supposed to be water, but there was a drought that summer and the streams were dry. We had trouble getting water and had to hike an extra hour in the heat to get water. It was a fun hike because we did a lot of crazy stuff like when Kyle Posey fell asleep and took a nap and when he woke up at 6 pm we told him it was the next day. It was funny.
