Long Trail

Infobox Hiking trail
Name=Long Trail
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Location=Vermont, United States
Designation=
Length= 272 mi / 438 km
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Use=Hiking, Snowshoeing
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HighPoint=Mount Mansfield
LowPoint=Winooski River at Jonesville
Difficulty= Moderate to Strenuous
Season= Late spring through late fall
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The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States [ [http://www.greenmountainclub.org/page.php?id=2 Long Trail - Green Mountain Club - Long Trail, Vermont, Hiking, Vermont Hiking ] ] , constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organization responsible for the trail, and is recognized by the state legislature as "the founder, sponsor, defender, and protector" of the Long Trail System.

Geography

The Long Trail currently runs for a length of 272 miles (438 km) across the state of Vermont. It starts at the Massachusetts border (near Williamstown, Massachusetts), and runs north to the Canadian border (near North Troy, Vermont). It runs along the main ridge of the Green Mountains, coinciding with the Appalachian Trail for 100 miles in southern Vermont. Additionally, over 70 miles of side trails complete the Long Trail System [ [http://www.longtrailhike.com Vermont's Hiking Trail - The Long Trail: A Footpath in the Wilderness ] ] .

The Long Trail traverses almost all of the Green Mountains' major summits, including (from south to north) Glastenbury Mountain, Stratton Mountain, Killington Peak, Mount Abraham, Mount Ellen, Camel's Hump, Mount Mansfield, and Jay Peak.

Maintenance

The Long Trail is maintained primarily by the Green Mountain Club. Fourteen club sections maintain assigned sections of the trail. Although volunteers perform most of the club's work, the club also employs a staff to handle day-to-day operations. The Green Mountain Club also receives assistance from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and private landowners.

Historical curiosities

The section of the Long Trail between Woodford (on Vermont State Route 9 just east of Bennington, Vt) and Glastenbury Mountain some 10 miles further north has gained an infamous notoriety due to the fact that at least four people (possibly as many as eight or nine) inexplicably vanished in that area between 1942 and 1950. Only one body was subsequently found in puzzling circumstances and the fate of the other missing persons remains a complete mystery to this day.The case which perhaps gained the most media attention at the time was the utterly baffling and distressing disappearance of the 18-year-old Bennington College sophomore Paula Jean Welden, of Stamford, Connecticut, (elder daughter of the famous industrial designer William Archibald Welden of the Revere Copper and Brass Company) who in the afternoon of December 1, 1946 set out on a day-hike on the Long Trail from Woodford Hollow and northwards in the direction of Glastenbury Mountain. Despite repeated and extensive searches of the area nothing whatsoever was ever found. Paula's vanishing has remained a complete riddle.

ee also

* Green Mountain Club
* Long Trail Brewing Company

References