I head out for my first ever backpacking trip in VT. I chose a 30 mile section of the long trail that meanders through the Breadloaf wilderness, a large wilderness management area that remains lesser maintained.
Getting a late start on day 1 I hike 7 miles through beautiful forrest with lots of wet marshy areas (VT trails are known for their mud even in dry season) to the summit of Mt Breadloaf. I knew that there was some bad weather heading in from the west and was hoping to make it to the Emily Proctor shelter (a lean-to on the trail) before the storm arrived. As I stepped off the summit of Mt Breadloaf, the sky turned black. Winds instantly picked up and the rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. I picked up my pace towards the lean-to trying to move faster to beat the storm but not too fast so I didn't roll and ankle or worse.
I arrived at the shelter just in time for the first crack of thunder and the torrential downpour that followed. A group of hikers was already waiting out the storm and happily made some room for me and my gear.
1 SOBO (south bound) Longtrail thru hiker, a husband and wife celebrating their anniversary with a backpacking trip and some seriously old school gear (have any of my backpacking friends actually seen a can of Camp Gaz since 2009!!), and a family of 4 out on their first ever backpacking trip.
We chatted and told stories and waited out the storm. The SOBOer continued south and the rest of us cooked our dinners and conversed till it was time for bed.
***Side note*** it may currently be under construction but I have to say that the Outhouse at Emily Proctor shelter is the worst I have yet seen. I chose the woods over the gross seat behind a half wall.

Day 2 and after a PB&J and some coffee I am off and rolling. Today will take me 13 miles, past Lincoln gap, and to the base of Mt Abraham where I will be camping for the night.
With lots of mileage to cover I got an early start.
The misty morning fog burning off as the suns rays warm the trail.
After a short while I catch up to a group of 4 hikers who had camped a little ways away from the shelter the night before. I ended up hiking about half the day with these guys. I do love being a solo hiker and half the reason is because it is quiet and I can clear my mind, go at my pace, and make my own adventure... but the other half is that its very easy to meet new people and join a group for a bit. Always nice to meet other avid hikers and hear stories/ exchange ideas and places to go. They are currently prepping for a Mt Whitney climb.
After about 7 miles with this group of friends I decided that I wanted to pick up my pace a little bit. They were getting off at Lincoln Gap (10 miles from last nights shelter) and I still had about 3 more miles of hard climbing to do past that. I wanted to make sure to get my gear into the next lean-to (since I didn't bring a tent this weekend) and have time for a nice dinner and sunset on the summit of Mt Abraham.
I cruised along zigzagging up and down the contour intervals on the map, took a little snack and soul break at Sunset Ledge, and then popped out of the woods at Lincoln Gap. I was given 2 slices of pizza by the mother of a NOBO (northbound) longrtail thru hiker that I had run into a few times on the trail already. Her and her dog Roo were in a time crunch to finish the trail and she was resupplying her food at lincoln gap.
A bit of a quad burn up from Lincoln Gap to the next shelter but I made it in quicker time than I expected.
I set up my gear, filtered some water, and then took off to the summit of Mt Abraham for the first real nice view of the trip.
I hung out at the summit, took a nice long nap, and ate dinner as I waited for the light to become good for some photos.
Hiking off the summit at about 8:45 and feeling very accomplished for the day having covered 15 miles total. I got back to the lean-to, had a quick chat with the caretaker, and then was conked out quickly.

I woke up bright and early day 3 to get my last 10 mile section going. Today was a nice quiet day with a few fun rest spots. Hiking over the Sugarbush ski area I found that they left the last char from the ski lift in a good position for weary thru hikers to be able to have a comfy seat and take a break. I definitely sat in the cushioned lift chair for about 30 minutes before I willed my legs to get moving again.
On the whole day I only saw 5 people. a family of 4 out for a short day hike and 1 SOBO AT/Longtrail thru hiker named Walnut (trail name). This dude was hiking the Appalachian trail (AT) starting from Geaorgia and when he got to the VT section that links up with the Long Trail he hitched a ride north to the end of the Long Trail and decided to hike SOBO until he got back to the section of Longtrail that links up with the AT, then he was going to continue his NOBO AT hike. Only about a 3 week detour on the Longtrail haha.

Anyway after some seriously steep descending I finally arrived at the Appalachian Gap crossing where I was supposed to be getting picked up by an old friend. I guess I hike faster than I thought and I ended up at APP Gap at 12:30 (48 hours exactly from the time that I started the hike 2 days earlier). With a storm rolling in again I decided to test my luck hitching a ride into town (about 10 miles away). Its one thing to hike in the rain... its another o sit on the side of the road in the rain.
Luckily when people see a backpack full of gear and a trail worn hiker they are usually pretty easy to offer a ride.
I took a ride into the town of Waitsfield where I found a great burrito place. Luckily I had $20 with me. Enough for a burrito and 2 beers. Thats where I could be found waiting for my friend Robin to pick me up. The rest of the trip was spend hanging out and catching up on old times with a good friend from Junior High.

Vermont is definitely a nice area Ill be backpacking in again.

Cheers!