Long Trail
Where: Vermont, Long Trail from Bennington to Stratton Mt.
When: Summer 1971
With: Boy Scouts
I'd been in Scouting for several years and had participated in numerous camping trips in all seasons, but all of those outings involving driving to the camping area and carrying our gear from the car to the campsite. This hike was (I believe) my first backpacking trip.
The initiating event was a stay at the Boy Scouts' Stratton Mountain summer camp (at least a week, maybe two). A number of us from our Troop were going and one of the leaders suggested backpacking to the camp from Bennington, VT. I must have thought it sounded like a good idea because I wound up as part of the group.
I really don't recall a huge amount of detail of the hike, but I do have a few distinct memories:
* My gear was antiquated, to say the least. I probably wore yellow leather workboots and carried a heavy rectangular official Boy Scout sleeping bag. Mostly I remember my backpack. It was an Army surplus packboard made of plywood and canvas, to which was attached a canvas rucksack. No waist strap, just shoulder straps (unpadded). The whole thing was olive drab in color (of course) and weighed a ton. It was a lot to carry for a 13-year old kid on his first hike. (Actually, the packboard only weighed 4 pounds, but still...!)
* I don't remember for sure, but the hike was probably a two-day, one night affair. A check of area maps shows a direct route along the Long/Appalachian Trail from Bennington to Stratton Mt., and only about 10 miles long.
* It was on this trip that I learned one of my most enduring bits of hiking wisdom, taught to me by one of the leaders. He told us to always step over obstacles, not on them, for several reasons. The most obvious is to avoid falls. Whatever you're stepping on might be slippery, or wobbly, or have a loose surface. The ground on either side is flat and stable. The other reason involves energy conservation. Stepping up requires you to use your leg muscles to raise your entire body and backpack the same height, a significant amount of weight and effort. Stepping over means only having to lift your legs the height of the rock, log, or whatever. I've always remembered this advice and have passed it along to anyone I've ever hiked with.
* Along the way - I seem to recall it was the morning of the second day - we encountered a woman on the trail hiking in the opposite direction, barefoot! It made quite an impression on a bunch of barely teen boys out struggling along on their first hike.
The Boy Scout camp itself was an experience unto itself. Again, it was long ago and I don't remember much of it, but I think we slept in platform tents. I know we participated in a traditional Snipe hunt. And part of the stay involved an overnight canoe trip on a nearby lake. A storm blew in and we wound up sleeping under overturned canoes after a long, hard day of paddling against the wind.
Update: The Stratton Mountain Scout Camp closed in 1979. The area is now the USFS Grout Pond Recreation Area.
When: Summer 1971
With: Boy Scouts
I'd been in Scouting for several years and had participated in numerous camping trips in all seasons, but all of those outings involving driving to the camping area and carrying our gear from the car to the campsite. This hike was (I believe) my first backpacking trip.
The initiating event was a stay at the Boy Scouts' Stratton Mountain summer camp (at least a week, maybe two). A number of us from our Troop were going and one of the leaders suggested backpacking to the camp from Bennington, VT. I must have thought it sounded like a good idea because I wound up as part of the group.
I really don't recall a huge amount of detail of the hike, but I do have a few distinct memories:
* My gear was antiquated, to say the least. I probably wore yellow leather workboots and carried a heavy rectangular official Boy Scout sleeping bag. Mostly I remember my backpack. It was an Army surplus packboard made of plywood and canvas, to which was attached a canvas rucksack. No waist strap, just shoulder straps (unpadded). The whole thing was olive drab in color (of course) and weighed a ton. It was a lot to carry for a 13-year old kid on his first hike. (Actually, the packboard only weighed 4 pounds, but still...!)
* I don't remember for sure, but the hike was probably a two-day, one night affair. A check of area maps shows a direct route along the Long/Appalachian Trail from Bennington to Stratton Mt., and only about 10 miles long.
* It was on this trip that I learned one of my most enduring bits of hiking wisdom, taught to me by one of the leaders. He told us to always step over obstacles, not on them, for several reasons. The most obvious is to avoid falls. Whatever you're stepping on might be slippery, or wobbly, or have a loose surface. The ground on either side is flat and stable. The other reason involves energy conservation. Stepping up requires you to use your leg muscles to raise your entire body and backpack the same height, a significant amount of weight and effort. Stepping over means only having to lift your legs the height of the rock, log, or whatever. I've always remembered this advice and have passed it along to anyone I've ever hiked with.
* Along the way - I seem to recall it was the morning of the second day - we encountered a woman on the trail hiking in the opposite direction, barefoot! It made quite an impression on a bunch of barely teen boys out struggling along on their first hike.
The Boy Scout camp itself was an experience unto itself. Again, it was long ago and I don't remember much of it, but I think we slept in platform tents. I know we participated in a traditional Snipe hunt. And part of the stay involved an overnight canoe trip on a nearby lake. A storm blew in and we wound up sleeping under overturned canoes after a long, hard day of paddling against the wind.
Update: The Stratton Mountain Scout Camp closed in 1979. The area is now the USFS Grout Pond Recreation Area.
