USA · GREEN MOUNTAINS · 44.54°N 72.81°W · SHOULDER · SEP–OCT
Vermont Long Trail: The North
America's oldest long trail in its finest fortnight: the fall-colour crossing of Mount Mansfield and the northern Greens, shelter-to-shelter through hardwood forest burning red and gold, with cider donuts as trail infrastructure.
THE ROUTE, CHARTED
The elevation profile
GPS-logged. Camps and key points marked; the shape of the route is the honest version of the brochure.
THE SHAPE OF THE TRIP · 6 DAYS
The itinerary
Into the Greens
North from the Winooski river's suspension footbridge, climbing through sugar maple and birch already turning, to the first timber shelters — evenings of woodsmoke, bear-bag practice and the particular quiet of hardwood forest at dusk.
Mansfield
The high days: up Mount Mansfield's forehead-to-chin summit ridge, 1,339m, alpine tundra underfoot and the Adirondacks floating west across Champlain, then steeply down through Smugglers' Notch's mossy boulder caves to an inn night and a shower with fan club.
Sterling Pond to Johnson
Over Madonna Peak and along Sterling Pond's shore — the highest trout water in the state — then descending ridge-and-hollow country of beaver ponds and covered bridges to Johnson village, where the farewell dinner argues persuasively for maple everything.
WHY THIS ROUTE
The expedition
The Long Trail predates the Appalachian Trail it inspired, and its northern section is the connoisseur's cut: rougher, quieter, and over the state's highest ground at Mount Mansfield, 1,339m, whose summit ridge walks 'the Chin' above a hundred miles of hardwood canopy. We time it precisely for peak foliage — the trip exists for those two weeks when Vermont performs its annual combustion — sleeping in the trail's historic timber shelters and one classic clapboard inn, resupplying through villages where the general store's cider donuts have trail-name status. The walking is honest New England: rooty, rocky, occasionally hands-on over ladders and slabs, never high but rarely flat. Honest note: grade 2 with an asterisk — 'Vermont flat' is a local joke for a reason, and wet granite plus fallen leaves demands attention; October nights in the shelters drop near freezing and are utterly worth it.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Peak-foliage timing — the two-week window, held
- Mount Mansfield's Chin ridge, 1,339m
- Historic timber shelters and one covered bridge
- Moose prints, loon calls, bear bags done properly
- General-store resupply culture: donuts as strategy
- Smugglers' Notch's boulder caves
STRAIGHT ANSWER
Is this for you?
You should be able to say yes — honestly — to all of these:
- You walk regularly and are comfortable with days of up to five hours on good but sometimes rough ground.
- You are happy in a tent, in weather, with no shower and an early kettle.
- You would rather be told the truth about a hard day than sold an easy one.
Grade 2 means grade 2. If you're not sure, ring us — we'd rather lose a booking than carry a struggle.
THE LEDGER
What £1,290 covers
INCLUDED
- Wildtrace guide (Jonas Iversen) at a max ratio of 1:8
- All hut, refuge or lodge nights as described, with evening meals
- Tents, group camp kit and all meals on trek
- Group safety kit: inReach satellite comms and expedition first aid
- Pre-trip video call, training plan and the real kit list
NOT INCLUDED
- International travel to the start point
- Personal travel insurance covering trekking to 1,339m — required, checked before departure
- Visas and permits payable on entry, where applicable
- Tips for local crew (we publish a guideline per trip)
- Sleeping bag — bring your own or hire ours (£30/trip)
- Lunches and drinks on travel days
PACK THIS, NOT EVERYTHING
Kit, previewed
The items that matter most on this route. The full list — with honest notes on what not to buy — lives in the kit room and is sent on booking.
Broken-in boots matched to the terrain. Broken-in is the load-bearing phrase.
Waterproof jacket and trousers you actually trust.
A day pack that fits — 30–35L covers almost every trip.
Headtorch plus spare batteries. Early starts are a feature.
Sleeping bag and mat rated for the trip's coldest night (hire available, £30).
Sheet sleeping-bag liner and earplugs. Dormitory diplomacy in two items.
2L capacity plus purification where the trip notes say so.
A proper insulated jacket. Evenings are where trips are enjoyed or endured.
WHO'S TAKING YOU
Your guide
Jonas Iversen
IML · POLAR & NORDIC LEADTromsø-born, polar-certified, measures distances in coffee stops. Has crossed the Hardangervidda in every month of the year and still calls August 'the easy one'.
HOW WE RUN IT
Max 8 walkers. inReach satellite comms carried and checked daily. Escape routes planned before we sell a single place. And the weather rule that built this company: we turn back. That's the deal. Full detail on our safety page.
NO PAYMENT AT THIS STAGE
Ask about this trip
Send this and a guide rings you back — Tuesday or Thursday evening, usually. Fifteen minutes, honest questions both ways, no hard sell.
IF THIS, THEN ALSO
