| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Glastenbury Mountain, Maple Hill, Little Pond Mountain, VT |
|
 | Trails: |
Long Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 8, 2021 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lots of parking at Rt. 9 LT crossing. Pure ice sheet right now. Good plowed parking at Kelly Stand (Arlington-West Wardsboro) Road. Note winter access is from the East - plowing ends at LT crossing. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged and/or easy jumps |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Usual blowdown for this time of year. Blazes could use a touch up. ;p |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Route 9 to Kelly Stand Road on the Long Trail.
Didn’t want to spend the night out so opted to bite off this entire 23-mile section in a day with a 3 am start in the Glastenbury Triangle. Spiked it steeply up to the Melville Nauheim Shelter spur. Snowshoes from that point on for the rest of the day. The snowshoeing was great, sinkage only 3-4†usually. (When soloing, it pays to be patient and wait for the deep snow to consolidate.)
Beyond Maple Hill there was one set of tracks from the same guy I met 2 days before south of here. He wandered off trail a lot; I tried to stay on the trail and utilized my GPS (w/ map and compass backup) A LOT. Trail is very difficult to follow as it is through mostly open hardwoods, and the white blazes are inconsistent. Some are newer; most are old and faded. Not to complain but to warn. “The LT is not designed for winter travel†says the guidebook. I can confirm. Trail is especially hard to discern from Little Pond Mtn., over Glastenbury, to Kid Gore Shelter, but oh, what beautiful hardwoods! It’s like the Engine Hill bushwhack for miles!
I took off my snowshoes in order to climb Glastenbury’s fire tower. Unbeknownst to me, there is a snowmobile trail that goes right to the summit, and I crossed 3 or 4 more snowmobile trails over the course of the section. Was a bit more foot traffic in the last 3.5 miles, from Story Spring Shelter to Kelly Stand Road, but I kept snowshoes on.
This was my final section to complete the Long Trail end-to-end in winter, per GMC contact the 11th known person to do so. It took 25 separate day hikes (no overnights), 90% solo, over the past 3 winters and is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. |
|
 | Name: |
Snowflea |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-09 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
|
