The Inexperienced Mountain Golf equipment’ Lengthy Path runs 272 miles from the Canadian Border to the Massachusetts Border, operating north to south. The Lengthy Path Aspect-to-Aspect path checklist consists of all the paths that result in the Lengthy Path from the east and the west. I hiked the Lengthy Path correct in 2008 and simply completed the Aspect-to-Aspect checklist final week (in 2025).
The Aspect-to-Aspect checklist is numerous enjoyable to hike and consists of 88 trails that span 166.1 miles. I’m not precisely certain what number of miles I needed to hike to complete this checklist, but it surely was much more than 166.1 miles, since many are out-and-back hikes and day hikes, with a half dozen backpacking journeys sprinkled in.
The paths themselves are distributed throughout the state and supply an effective way to go to the numerous cities, state parks, and nationwide forests that border the Lengthy Path, which runs up the central backbone of the state. Among the trails are in want of slightly TLC, however they’re in fairly fine condition for essentially the most half. Discovering their trailheads could be a little bit of a problem, since they’re typically in the course of nowhere and down a mud street. That type of journey appeals to me, although.
The one factor that stunned me was how many individuals hike these facet trails, notably native Vermonters. These trails function on-ramps to the Lengthy Path for individuals who aren’t thru-hikers, and their worth to the Inexperienced Mountain Membership cannot be overstated. I hope that the membership will put as a lot effort into defending them as they’ve with the Lengthy Path hall itself.
The checklist of Aspect-to-Aspect trails that have to be hiked is on the Inexperienced Mountain Membership web site, which additionally publishes a spreadsheet for monitoring progress. By way of maps, you’ll desire a copy of the Inexperienced Mountain Membership’s Lengthy Path Map and a Delorme New Hampshire/Vermont Gazetteer (street atlas), which could be very useful for locating the trailheads. The Trailfinder web site can also be fairly useful for instructions to trailheads. Concerning digital navigation, I used the AvenzaMaps app and bought the GMC’s Lengthy Path Map to be used with it. GaiaGPS’s protection of Vermont trails is worse than abysmal.
While you end the Aspect-to-Aspect checklist, your title will get printed within the Lengthy Path Information journal that the GMC sends out quarterly. Non-GMC members get a free 1-year membership, a certificates recognizing the achievement, and a sew-on patch.
For those who’ve already hiked the Lengthy Path, the Aspect-to-Aspect checklist is an effective way to reacquaint your self with the Lengthy Path System and preserve the reminiscence of it alive.
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