Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

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Winter Trails Day 2017

March 10, 2017 by Kristin McLane Leave a Comment

March 4th dawned cloudy and frigid, in what seems to be a tradition, for the 21st Annual Winter Trails Day.  But that didn’t stop GMC members and non-members alike from coming out to Long Trail Brewing in Bridgewater Corners for a fun-filled day of hiking, learning, and socializing.  With the help of 20 volunteers, we were able to provide 10 hikes and 5 workshops for experienced and new winter hikers alike.

The new location of Winter Trails Day this year allowed us to offer some different hikes than in years past: Deer Leap Mountain, Mount Tom in Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, Pico Peak, the Canty Trail, and multiple hikes on the Appalachian Trail to Winturri Shelter, Kent Pond, Thundering Falls, and Willard Cemetery, plus a kids hike on nearby private land.  Eastern Mountain Sports was on hand to lend out snowshoes to the newer hikers without their own gear, and all hikers were able to grab some delicious snacks on their way to the trails, provided by Shaw’s, Cabot Cheese, and Vermont Smoke and Cure.

The Animal Tracking workshops were a hit thanks to instructor Jess Coulter of Vermont Fish and Wildlife.  GMC Staffer Caitlin Miller led the ever popular Winter Preparedness Workshop for the brand new winter hikers, and Cris and Karen Cote and Darrel Lasell provided great instruction on geocaching.  We also had DIY snow globes for the kids, s’mores making by the campfire, and an altered sugar on snow snack – with no fresh snow to be had, we had to use ice cream instead.  I don’t think anyone minded!

The après party was a hit with hot soups, chili, and drinks provided by Long Trail Brewing.  We topped off the day with a raffle of some fantastic prizes such as weekends at GMC cabins, lift tickets to Pico Mountain and Smuggler’s Notch, MSR trekking poles, a $50 gift card to Onion River Sports, jewelry made by Jennifer Helen, framed photography by Sheri Larsen, a basket of Seventh Generation products, and other merchandise provided by Sterling College, GMC, and Long Trail Brewing.

Thank you to everyone who braved the cold and wind to come out for what turned into a beautiful day!

DIY snowglobes for the kids
DIY snowglobes for the kids
Our team of geocaching instructors
Our team of geocaching instructors
The EMS team providing snowshoes
The EMS team providing snowshoes
Sugar on Snow, or Sugar on Ice Cream
Sugar on Snow, or Sugar on Ice Cream
S'mores at the campfire
S'mores at the campfire
The river behind the brewery
The river behind the brewery
A hike on Pico Peak via the Sherburne Pass Trail
A hike on Pico Peak via the Sherburne Pass Trail
An Appalachian Trail hike
An Appalachian Trail hike
Socializing at the après party!
Socializing at the après party!
A hike up Deer Leap Mountain
A hike up Deer Leap Mountain
The classroom portion of the Animal Tracking workshop
The classroom portion of the Animal Tracking workshop

And thanks again to Long Trail Brewing for hosting this great event!

Filed Under: Education, Events, Hiking, Volunteers

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Leave No Trace, Then and Now: a Timeline of Trail Etiquette Language

March 1, 2023

This article previously appeared in the Winter 2022 Long Trail News, under the headline “Leave No Trace: Then and Now.” It was written by Sasha Weilbaker. To celebrate 100 years of the Long Trail News, we read back issues to learn what they said about trail stewardship and etiquette. The seven … Read more

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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...

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