Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

  • About
    • The Green Mountain Club
      • Bylaws
      • Annual Reports
      • Strategic Plan
    • Visitor Center
    • Barnes Camp Visitor Center
    • GMC Rental Cabins
    • Board of Directors
    • GMC Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Our Business Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Hiking
    • Trail Updates
    • Mud Season
    • Hiking 101
    • Trail Systems
      • The Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail in Vermont
      • Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom
    • Thru-Hike the Long Trail
    • HikeVT
    • Accessible Trails around Vermont
    • Hiking in Groups
    • Trip Planning
    • Fall Hiking
    • Winter Hiking
    • Guidebooks, Maps & Gear
  • Conservation
    • Protecting the Long Trail
    • Land Conservation
    • Field Programs
    • Burrows Trail Project
    • Regional Partnerships
  • Education & Events
    • Events & Workshops
    • Service Learning & Group Outings
    • Calendar of Events & Outings
    • Leave No Trace
    • Wildlife along the Trails
  • News
    • Trail Updates
    • Blog
    • Long Trail News
    • Press Releases
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Reports
    • Application
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Long Trail Legacy Campaign
    • Donate Now
  • Members
    • Become a Member
    • Your Membership Benefits
    • Join a Section
    • Business Membership
    • Annual Meeting
  • Shop

A Dispatch from the OGE Long Trail Relay

June 24, 2022 by Guest Author Leave a Comment

OGE LEadership team approaches the Winooski Footbridge
The OGE Leadership team (co-founders Mike Donohue and Marc Sherman), along with GMC Executive Director Mike Debonis, approach the Winooski Footbridge on Tuesday, June 21 as part of the OGE Long Trail Relay.

This post was written by Adam Habel, a Warehouse Associate at Outdoor Gear Exchange and participant in the OGE Long Trail Relay. From June 6-28, small groups of OGE employees and community members passed a flag among them as they complete the entirety of the Long Trail. The relay is a fundraiser for GMC, and OGE has the ambitious goal to raise $25,000, the equivalent of a month’s worth of trail maintenance by the GMC Long Trail Patrol crew. Learn more and donate to OGE’s Relay here.

About the Relay

Outdoor Gear Exchange’s Long Trail Relay is a great opportunity for people throughout the Vermont outdoors community to explore the wilderness in their backyard. It’s also a chance to learn about and develop appreciation for the work that the Green Mountain Club puts in to keep the trails in good shape and accessible to as many people as possible.

The relay involved complex logistical planning to come up with 20 legs, each two to three days in length and spanning anywhere from 5 to 20 miles, with a few day hikes thrown in as well. Each group had to hike up and down various side trails to hand off the Long Trail Relay flag, so as not to miss an inch of the 272-mile trail. This setup made it very accessible for people who don’t have very much backpacking experience or don’t have the time or inclination to go on an extended trip. However, if you had an itch to keep hiking, like I certainly did, you could string sections together to get a longer trail experience.

My First Time on the Long Trail

I ended up hiking four sections, three of which were consecutive, totaling about 60 miles over 5 days. I hiked from VT Route 11 to Route 4 in southern Vermont, and then from Brandon Gap to Middlebury Gap in central Vermont. This was my first time on the Long Trail, and it was an amazing experience! I am from the west, so I am used to focusing away from the trail, on the far away views. However, in Vermont’s “Green Tunnel” you are often focused on the flora and fauna right in front of you, which leads to a uniquely beautiful adventure.

A red eft Adam spotted on trail, a Long Trail classic fauna sighting.

During my time on trail, I saw toads, salamanders, snakes, and some signs that moose had recently been in the area. That is not including the many different birds we could hear singing up in the canopy that I wish I could identify. Since I strung together several different sections, I got to hike with multiple different groups of people, changing daily. This was my favorite part of the experience, as not only did I get to experience new sections of trail every day, but I was also able to get to know a new group of people for each new section. I work in the warehouse at OGE, receiving incoming orders and helping with inventory control, and my co-hikers were people from the sales floor, communications department, and even some folks who work from home, all people I would barely interact with in my day-to-day role. It was really fun to get know what they do on a daily basis and strengthen our workplace community.

Hiking different sections of the relay gave Adam the chance to meet coworkers in other departments.

Seeing Trail Work Up Close

I also saw firsthand all of the work that GMC has put into the trail over the years, whether it be sections taken out of downed trees allowing us to pass by them, the miles of puncheon walkways, or the many waterbars mitigating erosion on the trail. The Long Trail is rough and rocky, which I found surprisingly difficult while hiking my portion. Every step you have to look out for rocks and roots sticking up, which brings a new challenge that makes sure I’m always paying attention! The rugged terrain of the trail made me all the more grateful for GMC’s careful attention to maintenance, and the skill that goes into it.

I am certainly excited to continue to explore the Long Trail and the many side trails connected to it, especially Mount Mansfield and the Smugglers’ Notch area, and hopefully be a part of more Long Trail Relays in the future! In fact, as I was writing this blog post I decided to get out for one more leg of the OGE relay, hitting up a 7-mile stretch near Johnson as the crew barrels toward the finish line.

Thanks to OGE for pledging their support of GMC with this fun, community-building fundraiser. “[Trail maintenance] is a monumental effort that the Green Mountain Club undertakes each year, and our goal of raising $25,000 will fund one month’s of trail crew time,” said Marc Sherman, OGE Co-founder, in this interview with NBC5. At time of publication, they’ve raised nearly $17,000, which includes commitments from outdoor brands like Darn Tough socks, Nemo equipment, Osprey backpacks, and others.

 

 

 

Filed Under: News

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

two side by side images showing a small container of soil and water

Ask a Science Teacher: Why is the Long Trail so Muddy?

March 27, 2023

Vermont — and especially the Long Trail — is known for being sort of muddy. We even have an official fifth season, "mud season." Why is Vermont (sometimes known as "Vermud") and the Long Trail so muddy? Why is the Long Trail so muddy? To answer, we asked Joe Bahr, newly minted author of the … Read more

About Mud Season HikeVT Trail Recommendations Become a Member Trip Planning Trail Maps Volunteer Opportunities

Mission

The Green Mountain Club is the founder and maintainer of the Long Trail - the oldest long distance hiking trail in America. Established in 1910 to build this trail stretching the length of Vermont, the club now also maintains the Appalachian Trail in Vermont and trails in the Northeast Kingdom in its mission to "make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people." Read more...

Featured Sponsors

jfghr-lohgo-topo OG
jfghr-lohgo-topo OG
Lenny's Shoe & Apparel logo
Lennys-Logo
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Sunsoil logo
SUNSOIL_black_Large
Sunset Lake CBD logo
sunset lake cbd web logo
bbco
concept2

Connect

4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road
Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677
802.244.7037 | Email GMC

Click here for current hours.
Email us for hiking advice. 

Copyright © 2023 Green Mountain Club · All Rights Reserved. · Site by Earthlogic.

2023 Trail Sign Auction Starts Monday, April 3!