Beautiful day, fairly low humidity. Began our hike @ 0845 from Lincoln Gap. Trail up Abe was very dry. Numerous day hikers and their dogs on the way up and on top. Did not see GMC summer caretaker, although Battell Shelter and surrounding terrain looked pristine. Many dogs running around on top. A bit hazy in the distance, with good visibility along the ridge, from Killington up to Mansfield. North of Mt. Abe, the trail became much quieter, with several end to enders in both directions doing their thing. A nice breeze seemed to follow us to keep everyone relatively cool. It was warm, but beneath the tree cover , it was very pleasant. Lunch @ the ski lift on Mt. Ellen. Jocelyn headed North ahead of the group because of a side to side planned hike on Saturday! The opportunity for vista stops along the way are many, and we leisurely made our way North. A rest stop @ Stark’s Nest was welcomed by all.
The ski hut looked clean and well cared for. A bit of lounging on the deck and a snack, and we were off down into App Gap. Theron Dean and its’ beautiful view North was a nice stop. Thanks Geordie Hall for endowing the future maintenance of the shelter!! After negotiating the ladders and re-bar steps slowly, we enjoyed some lemonade and Long Trail beer at the gap.
Special thanks to Jocelyn Hebert and Kristen McLane from the Club for joining the hike and providing many tidbits of knowledge regarding the GMC, the Long Trail, trail etiquette and photos. This hike always generates a really interesting group of hikers, bw this year was no exception! I lead this hike every year and look forward to treating folks to one of the most beautiful sections on the entire Long Trail. There were a number of H20 bars North of Stark’s Nest, which had just been cleaned ……nice trail work….thanks to whoever did these!!
Participants : Eric Dupont, Roxanne Royce, Pat Travers, Jocelyn Hebert, Kristen Mc Lane, Pete Saile (leader).
Photos from Kristin.
