The Long Trail :: Essays Papers

The ache Trail GRAPH The Long Trail, Vermonts footpath in the natural state, is the oldest long distance hiking trail in the U.S.. The Long Trail was conceived on the peak of Stratton Mountain in southern Vermont by James P. Taylor (1872-1949) as he waited for a thick fog to lift. On March 11, 1910 twenty-three people met in Burlington and founded the Green Mountain Club, and the Long Trail was on its carriage to becoming real. Work began on the trail in the Mt. Mansfield (highest peak in Vermont at 4383) and Camels Hump areas, and connected the two by the end of 1912. indoors only the first decade of the Green Mountain Clubs existence members had cleared over 200 miles of trail and provided 44 overnight quiescence accommodations. Of these, 14 were huts and shelters raised by the GMC. The final link of trail was cut to the Canadian border in 1930. The GMC celebrated its 21st birthday and the completion of the Long Trail with a chorus of flares erupting from mountaintops all along the spine of the Green Mountains. In 1931 the GMC trustees approved the hiring of a paid Long Trail Patrol beneath the leadership of Roy O. Buchanan. This group worked on trail maintenance and the construction and repair of shelters and huts along the trail. During this time the GMC also brought strong opposition to the proposed Green Mountain Parkway, a scenic highway cutting across the length of the Green Mountain range. Shelter construction increased during the period between 1950 and 1960, responding to growth in trading on the trail. In 1958 the club was also instrumental in stopping an army plan to erect a missile communications tower on the Chin of Mt. Mansfield. Between 1966 and 1975 the GMC responded to new pressures ca usaged by traffic by removing dumps from campsites, initiating carry in- carry out policies, education on responsible trail use and stationing of caretakers at the most high use areas an d summits.