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

Join Green Mountain Club’s Social Media Challenges this Mud Season

April 7, 2021 by GMC Staff Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — April 7, 2021

CONTACT:  Alicia DiCocco, (609) 410-0841, [email protected]  

 Protect the Trails and Stay Busy this Mud Season with Green Mountain Club’s Social Media Challenges

Waterbury Center, VT — As the spring thaw begins early in the Green Mountains, the Green Mountain Club invites hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to have fun on trails and roads on lower elevations. The club has also created weekly challenges and giveaways inspired to help folks get outdoors while staying off high-elevation trails this mud season.  

“This was a really difficult winter for everyone, so we know that folks are eager to spend time in the mountains,” says Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development and Communications. “The wet and muddy mountain trails just need time to dry out before they are ready for us, so we are excited to help everyone have low elevation fun and explore parts of Vermont in a potentially new, less muddy way.”  

There are many ways for individuals to enjoy mud season this year:  

  • Join GMC’s Instagram challenge #GMCMudMadness (@greenmountainclub) for ideas and prizes  
  • Visit greenmountainclub.org for mud season hiking recommendations. 
  • Plan and train for hiking season: instead of hiking the higher elevation mountains during mud season, plan your trip for hiking season and train on the lower elevation trails and roads.  
  • Try a new outdoor activity like gravel biking or paddling  
  • GMC’s full guide to making the most of mud season is available at www.greenmountainclub.org/mudseason 

“With more people looking to get out on the trail and the early warm weather, it is more important than ever to take care of mountain trails during mud season. We are asking for everyone’s help to stay on dry, lower elevation trails until the end of May,” says Green Mountain Club executive director Mike DeBonis.  

Why is it important to stay off muddy trails and find other places to hike? Using muddy trails during this season causes damage including:   

  • Erosion: extremely wet trails are vulnerable to damage from every footstep because footsteps compact the trail, reducing its ability to absorb water, causing more flooding that carries the soil away.  
  • Trampled Vegetation: Hikers tend to walk around mud puddles, which makes sense. The only problem is that by doing so it tramples the vegetation and causes damage to the trail. 
  • Widened Trails: By walking around mud puddles, especially by multiple hikers, the width of the trail increases. This may not seem like a problem, but once it begins, it tends to accelerate as folks continue to use a trail, which means we are all having a larger impact on the landscape than needed for a sustainable hiking trail. It also leads to further erosion and trampled vegetation.  

Participating giveaway sponsors include The Mountain Goat (Manchester); Johnson Hardware (Johnson); Outdoor Gear Exchange (Burlington); REI (Williston); Skida (Burlington); King Arthur Baking (Norwich); Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel (locations throughout VT); Happy Vermont, Athletic Brewing Company, Darn Tough Vermont (Northfield), and others. 

 About the Green Mountain Club : Established in 1910 to build the Long Trail, the Green Mountain Club is a member-supported private non-profit organization. The GMC is dedicated to maintaining and protecting Vermont’s historic Long Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom. Every year more than 1,000 volunteers work so that future generations will enjoy the 500-mile Long Trail System. Contact the Green Mountain Club to learn more or to become a member. 

 ### 

Filed Under: News, Press Release

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!