Congratulations to Tara Dower for achieving the overall Long Trail Fastest Known Time of 3 days 18 hours 29 minutes! In the process Tara raised $11,547.00 for the Green Mountain Club

Last year Tara completed the overall FKT (supported) of the Appalachian Trail.

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Was flipping through old photos on this snowy day. I always loved this shot as it really shows how hardcore the trail can be on the LT. This was taken somewhere between WhiteFace Shelter to Taft Lodge.

Just got home from a section hike from App Gap to Waterbury. I am fortunate enough to be able to do these hikes during the week -- apart from the six day hikers I saw on the top of Camels Hump, I saw exactly 10 people over three days. A glorious, quiet and very difficult hike.

The section from Cowles Cove to Montclair Glen is no joke! The warning in the Cowles Cove shelter was spot on, and I'm lucky to have hit Burnt Rock on a dry day. Believe that sign, it's the truth.

Went up and over Camels Hump the next day and between the wind gusts did manage a few views from the top. The descent down over Bamforth Ridge is absolutely diabolical. My legs were absolutely cooked by the time I got to the Bamforth campsite.

Shout out to the caretaker at Montclair Glen Lodge, nice to meet you. Really well kept place, and comfortable. To my new friend from Houston, hope you enjoyed your hike!

10/10 would hike again. But I need some rest first!

I recently completed the Long Trail NOBO on June 6th. It took me 18 days and I’ll share some of the information from my hike in hopes that it may answer some questions other LT thru-hikers may have.

Some general notes – Since I started so early, I knew there would be mud, but it was more than that, it was walking in stream constantly up to Killington/Rutland area. Trail got marginally better after this point. What I didn’t consider was the incredible amount of blowdowns throughout the trail especially going up Killington and the northern section. It was truly crazy.

A tons of respect for the trail maintainers, they really make a huge difference and make sure the trail is passable. I can’t tell you the number of trees I climbed over, went around, and even crawled on my belly under to continue along the trail.

Every shelter I stayed at had passable cell service. At the very least I could send out a text when the signal drifted in and out. Other times it was really strong and I could check things online. All the shelters also had water sources nearby unless noted otherwise.

Day 0 – Train from Montreal to Plattsburg to pick-up a rental car and stayed at the Clarion Lake George.

Day 1 – Drove to Bennington where I mailed two general delivery mail drops to Waitsfield Post Office and Johnson Hardware. Got a shuttle to the Pine Cobble Trailhead. Stayed at Congdon Shelter in my tent.

Day 2 – Hiked to Story Spring Shelter. The weather was calling for snow the next day so I called ahead and arranged a stay at the Wicked Waystation.

Day 3 – Nero Day – Picked up by shuttle driver from the Wicked Waystation at Kelley Stand Road. Great place to stay and I ended up resupplying at the general store to skip the trip into Manchester Center. They have pretty much anything you could need to get to Rutland except fuel but I believe the Wicked Waystation will be supplying fuel now.

Day 4 – Dropped off by shuttle driver and hiked up and over Stratton where there was snow. A very wet day but my end goal was the Bromley Ski Patrol Warming Hut. It is the second building and has electricity, heaters, and a dryer. No water here but I filled up at Bromley Shelter.

Day 5 – Hiked to Minerva Hinchey – there’s a new privy, very nice

Day 6 – Hiked to US Route 4 – took the free bus into Rutland, resupplied at Walmart, they have the 220 g / 7.75 oz butane/propane canisters when I went. Stayed at the Comfort Inn to dry out my boots, socks, and feet since the weather was rotten all previous days.

Day 7 – The bus took me back and dropped me off at the trailhead instead of at Pico, very kind driver. Stayed at Sunrise Shelter, a super nice shelter, really enjoyed it.

Day 8 – Stayed at Emily Proctor Shelter.

Day 9 – Stayed at Stark’s Nest, a real treat and great view! Rain barrel was full.

Day 10 – Nero Day – Hiked down to Appalachian Gap and road walked to the Hyde Away Inn. Highly recommended. They did my laundry and have loaner bikes to ride into town. I picked up the first of my mail drops. Also the hardware store has MSR isopro fuel canisters. I think the small and medium ones. Had supper at the Inn which was very convenient.

Day 11 – Stayed at Bamforth Ridge Shelter and organized another hotel stay for the next night as they were calling for constant rain all day Saturday.

Day 12 – Nero day – Hiked down to Duxbury Road Trailhead and was picked up by the owner of the Old Stagecoach Inn. Another great place to stay and their breakfast was incredible. Waterbury Sports also has isopro fuel canisters and hiking supplies. Picked up a water filter bladder after I got a leak in mine earlier.

Day 13 – Stayed at Twin Brooks Tent Site. The field walk before the Winooski Bridge was my least favorite part of the trail. I just dried my boots and within minutes, they we soaked again. All this just to walk in tall grass and risk getting ticks on me, didn’t feel worth it to me.

Day 14 – Stayed at Whiteface Shelter, used the Faculty Rest Room 😊.

Day 15 – Resupplied at Johnson Hardware, not far off trail. Picked up my other mail drop. They were incredibly accommodating. I was able to recharge my electronic and pick up a small fuel canister. They have anything you could ever need on trail here (tents, repair kits, water filters, trekking poles, dehydrated meals of all kinds). Stayed at Corliss Camp – another really nice shelter.

Day 16 – Stayed at Tillotson Camp – the view was great.

Day 17 – Stayed at Shooting Star Shelter – the hand pump was installed and is working. Felt like an original style shelter, nice way to spend my last night on trail.

Day 18 – Completed the trail, hiked out to Journey’s End Road and got a shuttle to the border where my ride was waiting for me.

It was a truly challenging and difficult trail to complete but a very fulfilling experience. I learnt so much on trail. Two things I would change is to bring less food and use the small fuel canisters. At one point I was carrying two medium ones since I was scared to run out of fuel. The rest of my gear worked out great. I can add a short gear list in the comments if anyone is interested.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them the best I can. Like I said earlier, hopefully some of this info is useful. Good luck to all the LT hikers this year!

Dear hiking friends, I reached the northern terminus on Monday September 29, just at sunset.

Zero blisters, one fall, three presents of trail magic food, I met half a dozen shelter and trail maintainers (with much gratitude for their work), nineteen days of walking on terrain ranging from smooth forest paths to slippery boulders up and down steep gullies, I met almost a hundred other hikers (of which maybe 30 had hiked the full Appalachian Trail! and possibly a dozen had hiked the AT, PCT, and CDT!!!), and enjoyed a wealth of experiences of nature. I feel so fortunate that I had the privilege of hiking this trail.

Thank you Mother Nature, family and friends, and the Green Mountain Club for allowing me to experience the life gifts of wonders, pleasures, and challenges of hiking this trail NOBO September 11-29, 2025. My 70 year old inner light is energized by this adventure.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, -Bob

PS. If I took a picture with you, and you’re interested, please search YouTube for Oofta and Colorado Trail where eventually I’ll post a video of all of us on the trail.

I just finished a NOBO trip on Saturday. An awesome experience that I encourage everyone to try. The drought is real and it made things a bit tricky, but not a huge deal if you are paying attention.

I documented some suggestions based on my experience as a 57 year old first-time thru-hiker that may be of use to others.

Good Luck!

My oldest one, the 1960 edition.