Born and raised in Burlington, Howard graduated from UVM in 1973 and Albany Law School in 1982. He began hiking and backpacking on the Long Trail with his parents and with the Boy Scouts in the early 1960s, developing a lifelong love of the Long Trail.
Howard was GMC caretaker at the former Gorham Lodge near the summit of Camel’s Hump in 1972. In 1973 and 1974 he was a summit ranger-naturalist on Mount Mansfield. He has 81 miles left to finish section hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Howard is chair of the GMC Trail Management Committee, a member of the Northern Frontier Section, and carves trail signs for the club. He is also a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
A veteran of the U.S. Army and the Vermont Army National Guard, Howard retired in 2011 as a lieutenant colonel, after serving combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a Vermont Superior Court Judge, and lives with his wife Doreen in Hyde Park.
