Sandi Pierson

author of four books; her most recent book, Green Mountain Girls (Skyland Publishing), is an extraordinary wilderness journey of Vermont, hiking the 272-mile Long Trail with her spirited rescue dog

Introduction: The Long Trail

The 272-mile Long Trail goes over the vertebrae of the Green Mountains of Vermont from Massachusetts to Canada. It is one of the most challenging trails I have ever hiked. This book chronicles my fifth hike of the Long Trail, done after I crossed the age 60 threshold. During my years of backpacking, I have completed the LT with my four sisters, twice with my son, and two solo hikes. On this fifth hike, at various times, my sister Debbie hiked with me, totaling about 50 of the 272 miles.

Unlike a couple of my previous hikes, I did not abandon the homestead for a month in order to throw a pack on and suddenly disappear. This LT completion was a section hike that blended with homestead schedules, my part-time clerical job with the town I live in, and other components of off-trail life.

Except for the section from Killington to Middlebury, which we hiked first, we did the trail successively from the Massachusetts state line to Canada. This fifth hike was completely unanticipated – though I generally point the finger at the dog. The winter snow had at last melted, we were knee-deep in road mud, fruit trees were budding, and spring planting had begun. Life was full of activity and projects galore were in the forecast. I only meant to take the three-day hike on the LT between Killington and Middlebury to get the winter cobwebs out of my head. But of course we all remember that line from a John Lennon song: Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

from Green Mountain Girls:  A Pack of Two Hike the Vermont Long Trail by Sandi Pierson (Skyland Publishing)