End-to-Enders Class of 2023: Slideshow

Every year, hundreds of Long Trail thru-hikers submit their applications to earn their End-to-End certificates. Hikers can hike the Long Trail all at once (a thru-hike) or in sections, and can submit an application at any time. For the Class of 2023, 263 of the submitted hikes were completed in 2023, but hikers also certified hikes from as early as 1980.

From 301 participants…

Ages ranged from 5-year-old Ocean “Turbo Slug” King to 83-year-old Tony Hall; 29 was the most common age of hikers.
206 people thru-hiked, 95 section-hiked
93 people started in the month of July, followed by 71 in September and 55 in August.
280 were from the United States (with 77 from Vermont), 15 were from Canada and 6 traveled from other countries to do their hike
17 had hiked the Long Trail before!
The average length of a thru-hike was 22 days (with some outliers removed)

Applying for end-to-end certification is optional and does not reflect the entirety of trail users and thru-hikers. Many people take to the trail for just a day or weekend, as part of an ongoing section hike, or on other long distance hiking journeys like the Appalachian Trail. And every year, many hikers do not complete their end-to-end for various reasons. This was especially true due to the severe flooding and ongoing rain of summer 2023.

End-to-Enders’ names are listed in the summer Long Trail News each year; there was not enough room for all the wonderful photos they submitted, so we’ve curated a selection here to relive the trail.