Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Leon Werdinger | Alamy
a tent platform in the Green Mountain forest
Another spot of pure magic is the summit of Mt Mansfield, whose long exposed
ridgeline has been anthropomorphised to bear names like ‘The Nose’, ‘the Chin’
and ‘the Forehead’. Hiking this ridge atop Vermont’s tallest mountain is the
ultimate Long Trail experience, with stunning sustained views west to Lake
Champlain, east to New Hampshire, south past Camel’s Hump and north to
Montreal. Along the way you enter a rare universe of alpine tundra, dominated by
plants that normally occur 1500 miles (2414km) north in sub-Arctic Canada. To hook
up with this section of Long Trail on a day hike, nothing beats the strenuous 3-mile
(5km) ascent of the Sunset Ridge Trail from Underhill State Park, one of the
prettiest walking routes in the state.
Other high-altitude experiences along the Long Trail are less demanding. Few
offer more satisfaction than the 0.8-mile (1.3km) climb from Brandon Gap to the
Great Cliff of Mt Horrid, where awe-inspiring vistas unfold over beaver and moose
country at the base of the cliffs and vast waves of mountains beyond.
But perhaps my favourite Long Trail memory is accompanying my one-year-old
daughter, Chloe, on her first big climb from Lincoln Gap to Mt Abraham, one of
the state’s rare 4000-footers, and watching her break out into an ear-to-ear grin as
she supported herself against the back of a tolerant dog on the summit, with the
great green expanse of Vermont’s Champlain Valley spread out behind her.
Thirteen years later we regularly hike sections of the trail together, and I’ve begun
to envision walking the whole thing end-to-end with her one day, as it was meant to
be done. GC
ORIENTATION
Start // Williamstown, Massachusetts
End // North Troy, Vermont
Distance // 272 miles (439km)
Getting there // Albany International Airport (ALB) is a one-hour drive from the
southern trailhead near Williamstown, MA. Burlington International Airport (BTV) is
90 minutes by car from the northern trailhead.