Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

  • About
    • 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
    • Hiking 101
    • Trail Systems
      • The Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail in Vermont
      • Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom
    • Hiking Recommendations
    • Explore Camel’s Hump
    • Accessible Trails around Vermont
    • Thru-Hike the Long Trail
    • Trip Planning
      • Hiking in Groups
      • Guidebooks, Maps & Gear
      • Food Storage Regulations
      • Bear Boxes
    • Wildlife on the Trails
      • Food Storage Regulations
      • Bear Boxes
    • Fall Hiking
    • Winter Hiking
    • Mud Season
    • Long Trail End-to-Ender Certification
  • Conservation
    • Protecting the Long Trail
    • Land Conservation
    • Strategic Conservation Plan
    • Field Programs
    • Burrows Trail Project
    • Regional Partnerships
    • Vermont’s Alpine Zones
  • Education & Events
    • Events & Workshops
    • Service Learning & Group Outings
    • Calendar of Events & Outings
    • Leave No Trace
    • 2025 Long Trail Day Hike-a-Thon
  • News
    • Trail Updates
    • Blog
    • Long Trail News
    • Press Releases
    • Monthly Newsletter
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Long Trail Patrol
    • Volunteer Reports
    • Application
    • Volunteer Code of Conduct
  • Members
    • GMC Membership – Join or Renew Today
    • Your Membership Benefits
    • Business Membership
    • Green Mountain Club Annual Meeting
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Donate Now
  • SHOP

The Satisfaction of a Thru-Hike with Family

March 3, 2022 by Guest Author Leave a Comment

The Chartrand family thru-hikes the LT.
Rita, Camille, Phil, and Michele at Atlas Shelter, headed south. Photos courtesy: Rita Chartrand

This post was written by Rita Chartrand. It appeared in the Winter 2021 edition of the Long Trail News under the headline “Trail’s End.”

My husband, Phil, and teenage daughters, Michele and Camille, and I hiked out that last day, and suddenly it was all over. The Long Trail was behind us.

At first, we felt jaunty and elated. Then we started feeling a sense of loss — we were purposeless now, and hot showers and clean underwear, welcome as they were, didn’t quite make up for that. “How was it?” friends asked. “Oh, it was great,” we’d say. “Fun, huh?” “Well, no, not fun exactly. Well, it’s hard to explain.”

It is hard to explain. There was the simple, uncomplicated feeling of having an adventure, a family odyssey. There was the revitalization that came from living outdoors for a month. As Thoreau put it, “We need the tonic of the wilderness.”

There were golden moments too: our first view of Indian Pipe pushing up through the leaf-blanketed forest floor, morning mist over Little Rock Pond, the memory of rose-gold sunsets, of round bursts of wild Sarsaparilla and of fern-filled dells, the joyous babble of Big Branch, the peace that comes from hearing only one’s own footfall. Golden moments are a notable part of what backpacking is all about.

Rita and Camille Chartrand.
Rita and Camille Chartrand.

The remainder is, first of all, satisfaction from physical accomplishment. We had achieved each day’s only requirement—to hike to that night’s destination through whatever the trail held. After the first few days, hiking north to south, we also managed to get to our objective without dragging through the woods by flashlight, wondering if we would make it. It was a pass/fail test and we passed.

Closely related is the acuteness of the body’s response to the fulfilling of elementary physical needs — the fact that water never tasted so good; or the sweetness of resting when you’ve reached your physical limits, then feeling genuinely refreshed; food, let alone hot food, when you are famished at the end of the day. And so on—warmth when you’re cold, sleep when you are exhausted, dry socks most anytime. Feelings of ultimate well-being as well as feelings having to do with total exhaustion give the body the exhilarating feeling of having been used to the utmost.

Finally, there is the sense of serenity that comes from reducing life to its simplest elements—from gearing down to become attuned to the infinite beauty of the woods and the mountains. Again, Thoreau said it best: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to confront only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

Hear, hear!


Rita Chartrand was born in Vermont. Her family hiked the Long Trail in 1977. Her current interests include writing, piano, swimming, wildflower photography, and Vermont’s 251 Club.


Want to learn more about thru-hiking the Long Trail with family? Check out our Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series with Matt Krebs and his three children, who completed an End-to-End hike in 2021.

Filed Under: From the Field, Hiking, Trail

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Camel’s Hump: Hiker Reflections on Their Backyard Mountain

June 26, 2025

Rising from the spine of the Green Mountains, Camel's Hump is home to scenic views, a wilderness feel with its undeveloped summit, and choose-you-own-adventure hiking options. The mountain's proximity to more populated areas like Burlington and Waterbury make it a popular and well-hiked destination, … 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

Athletic Brewing Logo
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Outdoor Gear Exchange logo
oge
Darn Tough logo
darn tough
Burlington Beer Company logo
Burlington Beer Company logo
802 Cars logo
802 cars
Lawson's Finest Liquids logo
lawsons-finest-liquids-black
Eastern Mountain Sports logo
EMS
Mountain Goat logo
Mountain Goat logo
Lenny's Shoe & Apparel logo
Lennys-Logo
Concept 2 logo
concept2
Sugarbush Resort logo
sugarbush-logo
The Alchemist Brewery logo
alchemist
Johnson Farm & Garden, Hardware and Rental logo
Johnson Farm & Garden, Hardware and Rental

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 © 2025 Green Mountain Club · All Rights Reserved. · Site by Earthlogic.

Join a guided hike on the Short Trail this summer!

Join the Green Mountain Club’s Visitor Services Manager, Emily Mosher, for a hike on the Short Trail! Learn more about hiking in Vermont, the Long Trail and the Green Mountain Club, and tips to have a successful hike as we explore the 0.5 mile loop at GMC’s headquarters building in Waterbury Center. These hikes are open to hikers of all ages, from beginner day hiker to seasoned backpacker. Hikes take place on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am, and on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 2pm. Allow about an hour with plenty of stops to explore.

Wednesday, July 16
Tuesday, July 22

Wednesday, Aug 6
Tuesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 20
Tuesday, August 26
Wednesday, Sept 3

No RSVP necessary; for questions, email [email protected] or call 802-244-7037.