Hancock, VT (USA)

Having experimented last weekend with my trail distance and elevation limits (8 miles), I thought I'd try to push even harder this weekend by hiking some Long Trail miles in the style of my many AT sections.  Last Fall, I hiked parked of the LT near Middlebury Gap that provided me with some data on access trails from USFS-59 and that seemed to be the place for a further shakedown to test my (almost) healed heel bursitis.  The weather looked good again when I departed Hanover (0805) and drove west (via I-89) into Vermont.  Exiting the Interstate at VT-107, I drove through Bethel and then used my normal route (VT-12, Camp Brook Road, Bethel Mountain Road, VT-100 and VT-125) to reach Middlebury.  After passing the Rikert Outdoor Center, I took the gravel Forest Service route (AKA Steam Mill Road) and drove, passing cross country ski trails I used over the Winter, until I reached the (hidden) parking lot for the Burnt Hill Trail (0920).  After getting geared up (10 minutes), I headed into the woods on the muddy, overgrown trail.  There were plenty of cobwebs to deal with (typical for early morning hikes) and I had to be careful not to slip on many wet rocks and roots.  Having hiked this access trail in 2024, my climb to the ridge (Kirby Peak, 3.1K feet) seemed to go rather quickly and I was at the Long Trail intersection by about 1030.  From there, I followed the sparse white blazes to the north.  Typical of the AT and LT, this section included many, many PUDs.  For some reason, though, I wasn't fazed - it seemed like a million years since I'd tried something like this.  Gradually, though, the feelings that accompany the AT slog returned and I was soon making good time along the well-worn trail.  Passing my first shelter of the day (Boyce), I briefly considered stopping.  However, I felt good and had lots of energy - this kept me going towards the next target: Mount Boyce (3.3K feet).  During this part of the hike, I suddenly realized that it had become eerily quiet.  Prior to this, I'd heard happy birds and, even, some jet engine sounds from the Champlain Valley side of the ridge.  For almost two hours, though, I didn't hear anything else except the occasional buzz of a bug.  Speaking of those friendly folks - the only real nasty suckers were the ubiquitous mosquitos... Continuing through another series of ups and downs, I made my way to Battell Mountain (nearly 3.5K feet).  By the time I'd reached the junction for the Skyline Lodge and Skylight Pond Trail, I had accomplished my goals and had nearly guaranteed the longest hike I've attempted in nearly two years.  Still, though, I thought about the opportunity to ensure future success by connecting to a section that was farther to the north - I hate "marooning" miles of the trail by quitting "early".  With this in mind, I continued towards the summit of Bread Loaf Mountain (3.8K+ feet).  Almost immediately, I had to weather the toughest trail conditions of the day - there were many, many downed trees and several slippery marble and granite boulders that constituted the trail.  Somehow, I kept up a good pace and eventually reached the junction for an overlook trail (blue blazed) at the highest point of my day.  In this area, I encountered a lot of tell-tale scat but I never saw any moose.  Deciding that I still had enough juice to reach the next shelter (Emily Proctor), I headed downhill towards the next checkpoint (3.4K feet).  The difficulties with downed trees and wet rocks caused me to fall a few times - fortunately, nothing was bruised but my ego.  My knee started hurting and I became aware of some sensitivity in my heel but that was to be expected with this "Varsity" day on the trail.  Turning around (again without stopping) at the shelter, I started my backtrack towards Bread Loaf Mountain.  I drank a lot of water during this time and carefully navigated some of the worst slip/slide zones with some energy reserves I'd not expected to have (must be the biking and swimming!).  To the north, I saw some ominous dark clouds but they never affected me at all.  I wasn't really impressed by the Bread Loaf "viewpoint" so didn't tarry there.  Instead, I booked it back towards the junction of the Skylight Pond Trail.  Once there, I checked the math on distance and time and figured out I'd already done about 9 miles in about 4.5 hours - not bad!  There were still about 5 miles left for me to reach the car but it was almost all downhill - I decided to put on the afterburners...  During this phase of the day, I had to contend with "old man body" protests but didn't slow down.  This was true even when I finally encountered the first people (and a dog) I'd seen all day as I descended.  Reaching USFS-59 again (to the north of my starting point), I walked on the gravel road as quickly as I could to reach the car and was finished with my 14 mile hike by 1615.  Overall, I felt very good about the pace, energy levels and pain thresholds.  Of course, I still had more than an hour to drive - that's the real test of how much my body recovers.  Departing the trailhead by 1620, I used an almost exact backtrack route to reach Hanover and was in my condo by 1735.  Still waiting to see what the verdict is on all of this - I should know in the morning - but I am already jazzed about trying a hike I used to do every weekend when I was younger.  Hopefully, this bodes well for some peak bagging hikes and LT miles before the end of the Summer.  Long Trail Today = 4.4 miles / LT Grand Total = 139.0 miles (51% done)