17 Tips for Hiking The Long Trail 

Wonderful video. Thanks for the advice. For those of us, for whatever reason, can't do 5 months on the AT, the Long Trail can be our Holy Grail.

Planning out my year and this may just be my fall trek. Thanks for your advice.

One of the most thorough walk-throughs of a trail. Thanks for taking time to document each important step!!! Happy trails, Cricket

Great video! We have been looking for some more moderate length thru hikes and this is forsure high on our list!! Thanks so much!

Oh, what a lovely video! Excellent advise. Thank you, Saoirse.

What a great video... thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I've hiked a lot in the mid areas of the LT, from just south of Killington to about 50 miles from where the AT heads east. Maybe it's time to do the whole dern thing. I'm a whole lot older now but your vid has inspired me!

Great advice! I was a pleasantly surprised by the breakfast at the Old Stagecoach Inn! Mad Taco is pretty bomb for sure, so I definitely agree with Badger -- and I did my LT journeys in September and October, so also agree with him on the time of year. No bugs, but maybe a few nights below freezing temps (and possible snow). I too saw tons of moose poop and moose tracks, yet not one moose. The shelters are amazing on the LT. The lodges are great places to hang out even if only for a few hours while it's raining. Lastly, I crossed Jay's Peak in a hail storm -- not my brightest idea.

Saoirse, thank you for sharing this amazing outdoor adventure. I really enjoyed it. The very best to you Dear for your good health and safety. 🤗

I live in VT and have been thinking about doing the Long trail in 2 parts due to work. This was a very informative video. I'm thinking about starting sometime in July.

You go girl....I have hiked the A.T......awesome experience

Saoirise, Great video. Really appreciate your advice. Have completed the first 65 miles of the LT and will be getting back on in another week. I'll be looking to stop at the locations you mentioned and grab a few nights in the shelters.

Great tips. Thanks.

Story, Thank you for such an informative presentation of my beloved Long Trail. Vermont is my long time "other home". I section hike the LT every summer, it's good for the soul. I found myself nodding in agreement to every point you made. Love your smile too. George Sarasota, FL

Thanks for putting this together. It was very informative. It got me thinking that maybe the LT will be in my future some day. In the meantime, my current goal is to thru hike the AT beginning in late March. I'll be vlogging my journey along the way. John from MI

Wow awesome! Thank you.

You, Feathers, Tinkerbell, and Penguin are my favorite hikers. Thanks so much for sharing your LT tips with us. Stay safe and awesome ❤️

beautiful video..well done

Such a great info and really loved info ok June vs September...

Great advice, useful vid!

Great advice, i did the LT SOBO last August and had an amazing trip. The hardest parts of the LT are still easier than the whites of NH

Thank you from this VTr longing to hike the trail solo. Probably begin section-hiking this coming year.

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the LT. The information about the month you hiked, condition of the trail, and bugs was extremely helpful since I plan to do a yo-yo on the LT starting on June 1st starting SOBO.

wanted to do the LT after I did the NPT many moons ago (before RU-vid). So you're re-cap of the top things to know was great. I still have not done the LT but one can always wish. I will do the NPT again and it'll be in Sept...God I had bugs too!!! thanks for the vid

thanks so much for this! I'm hoping to do at least the first half of the LT in mid Sept.

Went to college in VT. I gotta say, the Mad Taco is beyond amazing!! Was a favorite of my college group

Planning to hike the long trail this year .

Great video. Definitely avoid Rutland and the Yellow Deli. Best bet passing through the Killington area is always the Inn at Long Trail.

Great tips if all goes to plan I’ll be doing the Long trail during my AT flip flop thru once I get to Vermont this year

Hiked 1/3 of the long trail this summer. I hope i can do it in its entirety some time.

I'm doing the pct sobo this year and it's a journey just to get to the trail head so I know about trails starting in the middle of nowhere. At least when I finish it will be a bit easier to get back to civilization

I’m a Vermonter and would recommend that people that travel to hike the LT . Take your time. There is so much in vermont to do. Water park AND Climbing center in Jay. Lots of swimming holes, lakes and ponds to swim in. Rivers to tube in and other th stuff that lots of fun. Vermont is having hunting season so they are destroying the moose population.

Loved the video! Native Vermonter so I found your reflections of Rutland; we call it Rut-Vegas. Sorry you had a bad time there, hopefully the other cute towns made up for it.

Very good advice and recap of your adventure. Did you vlog back then and can we watch any of it? Over the past 5 years I section hiked the northern half of the AT and would love to complete the rest of the LT soon. I'm from CT and would target mid-Sept for that, which is the best time of year to hike in New England IMO. In Sept, temps can range from downright tropical during the day to below freezing at night so be prepared!

Growing up on Long Island i have hiked many peaks in N.Y. in the Catskills and mainly the Adks- Some were small 3 day hikes, like 8-12 miles a day/ but at the end of the 3 days omg the tiredness and pain therefore i cant comprehend a loooong thru hike and how you made it. Must be combo of endurance, mental strength and will/ On diff note my sis did a stint in Disney years ago w the college program (best years of her life) in the old hollywood studios as a member also/ plays, parades, meet n greets im sure you know the deal.. She left because of the lack of pay not the promotions after she stayed in area and went F.T.// Big fan of the campgrounds i heard you mention in another vid which ill be at unwinding f the next few weeks with my cousin im meeting from Tallahassee and FSU area// Mbe ill have the honor of running into you down there!

i am loving this video. i do love the LT, the granddaddy of the long distance trails. my first backpacking ever was on the LT and it's not an accident i live near the winooski river footbridge. i am the steward in that forest. it has been a dream of mine to hike it end-to-end, but injuries and illness took it away from me but now i'm closing in on 60 and i will totally have to do it in slow section hikes, but this is my year. and did you know you can not only end-to-end the LT, but you can side-to-side? they have another patch for people who do ALL THE SIDE TRAILS. i have my maps and updated guide. i bought guthook. i am doing this. also, fun fact: if you hike camel's hump in winter, it's worth the extra weight to pull a sled, because you can ride about a third of the way down!

I'm a beginner attempting the at March 1st northbound.hopefully i make it lol.anyways keep up the good work.stay safe and have a great time 🤘

Just retired and plan on hiking the LT in September to early October. I want to hit some of the foliage. Most of my backpacking has been in the Whites so I am used to the cold and no switch backs. June would be terrible for bugs. August would be fine. Thanks

Your awesome!!!

I was thinking of hiking it this year in july or august...

Nice video! Getting ready to hike the LT this fall. As a native Vermonter I feel I can say, Rutland stinks!-)

You did us a solid.

I hiked the LT (SOBO) the same year but in August. Hardly any bugs, a little rain (but not bad), some mud, but overall, a joyous experience that I hope to do again (but NOBO to mix it up). Such a wonderful trail that gives you the thru-hiking experience in just a few weeks. Highly, highly recommend it. But not in June. ;)

I hiked with Story and Fable in 2018. They were awesome. That is all.

I live South of Rutland (actually on the road where the Homer Stone Trail head is) and I Concur. Its a tough city, I'm in and out on shopping days, no reason to hang around the place really, unfortunately. It hasn't always been this way. Maybe stop in Wallingford to re-supply?

Kool!

Rutland is not bad, nice restaurants, brew pubs, architecture, sorry if you didnt have a great experience there.

The rule of thumb for Vermont's black fly season is Mothers' Day to Fathers' Day.

Have you hiked the pinnhotti trail yet

Are there alternative routes around peaks on the trails that you trekked? I have a fear of high places and probably wouldn't be capable of negotiating any trail which is within 10 ft. of a drop-off, if that makes sense. Thanks for your video journals, they are helpful, informative, and pleasant. Cheers.

As a fellow LT hiker once said to me, “Rutland is the armpit of Vermont.”

yep!!! when it rains in VT..... Sky drops buckets on you hahahaha

I live in VT. Always wanted to hike LT. I'm a teacher. Why haven't I done this? I guess I fear how much alone it would be. I always hike with friends.

how can you find long hiking trail in my state?

You should do JMT, if you like the LT. Just don't do it when I'm doing it.

It's kinda crazy but with all of the videos I watch that talk about the bugs in New England.... I dunno. At first it's like "Oh no!" And then I remember I grew up there for 19 years in Western Mass and Southern Vermont.... I don't remember the bugs being that bad... My AT hike is next year. I'll find out either way. Central Pennsylvania and Western Mass are my home AT hikes so they'll be my favorite. It'll be nice to be going through 2 places where I know a lot of people. I even went to school in Dalton, Mass so that will be a trippy part of the trail.

I am an older man hoping to do a weeklong hike on the LT next summer. If I only get to do one section, which one would you recommend for best experience, best views, etc.?

Vermont Long trail is also the oldest trail in the United States it started in 1910 and finished in 1930 the Vermont Long trail was the idea of the Appalachian trail

also august September and even October are better times to hike the LT

Best advice. You’re gonna get wet bring extra socks. Trail shoes dry faster than boots. Enjoy the solitude!

Oh no, you've sold me on hiking The Long Trail. How much harder is it than the northern AT?

Wow how do you afford leaving home and hiking for so long?

Transportation question: I live in California. Where is the trailhead? and How do I get there if I have to fly? Where to fly to? and then do I have to take a bus?

I like the cat

Have nor hiked this trail, but I have heard it described as the longest continuous waterway in new England. Vermud is real, but deal with it.

0:01 "hey everyone, it's Sansa. Aka Stark

My goodness, you are adorable!

... Aside from the obvious , that you are a beautiful young woman with a great personality ,, You are a fantastic visual story teller .. ..almost makes me want to cross this country and see this trail and mountain for myself.....Thank You for sharing your trek...... ..and by the way ,, love that description of Vermont....."90 miles wide and 3 weeks long".... ..... Stay Safe and God Bless .....

Rutland is pretty infamous for being awful

Great video, but i just have to comment as a Vermonter that Rutland is the state's butthole and i laughed out loud that it was on this list

Hack your own hack.

It’s pronounced Appa LATCH an.

“I need an excuse to show my body on camera!”

Looks great in those leggings.