Change of Plans | Vermont Long Trail Here we come!

On April 23, 2026, I completed my first solo hike: The Foothills Trail.

It wasn’t my first hike or the longest, but it was my first time alone and, at the time, I was about 900 miles from home. When I started the tour, I was nervous and part of me doubted my ability to finish on time, let alone before. As I approached the finish line, I felt a growing sense of confidence and pride.

The weeks following my return home were filled with a mix of emotions. After a 28 mile day, I was exhausted and dehydrated, but elated at my big win!

I’m always a basic level of fidgeting. Restlessness lives in my bones. The exception to this is when I’m hiking.

I’ve been home for a few weeks now. I’m back to my normal self. I was only away for a week in total and adjusting back to reality was easy once I got a good night’s sleep. I’ve even started a new hobby!

After the excitement of completing my hike faded, I considered my next trip.

I had planned to do the Laurel Highlands Trail with my husband, Liam, next. When I agreed to plan the tour, I didn’t know much about it, and to be honest, I still don’t. All I know is that it’s about 70 miles long, it’s in Pennsylvania, and it’s still on my bucket list. Other than just “being a trail”, there is nothing that particularly appeals to me.

I’m sure if I sat down and spent time planning the trip, I would fall in love with it.

But that is a problem for another year.

You know how it goes: schedules change, new ideas form.

When we started planning our summer hikes, we didn’t know that Liam would end up needing dental surgery. Our plans changed quite abruptly when we realized he was going to need 32 teeth extracted in two surgeries. In case you don’t know, that’s everyone.

The first surgery was the week I returned from Foothills Trail and he is recovering very well! By the time we begin the Long Trail, it will be 3 months post-operative for the upper arch extractions.

Unfortunately, his lower arch is not scheduled until mid-June, which means he will be hiking the Long Trail while his lower arch is still healing (with his upper and lower dentures).

So, with that in mind, if anyone has any recommendations for backpacking meal ideas that are easy to eat and require minimal chewing, we’re all ears!

He was VERY insistent that I share this photo with all of you for context.

So after checking our calendars, scheduling appointments, and giving Liam a month to heal, we realized that the only free time we both had was August.

And so the idea was born: What if we took all of our vacation time and resources and hiked the Vermont Long Trail?

Last year when we did the Northville Placid Trail, we did the 138 miles walking SOBO (with teeth). It was a big win, especially for me, and I learned a lot through the experience. If you’ve been keeping up with my current hiking season, you know that we were planning to redo the NPT this fall.

But after experiencing a new environment, like my hike in the Carolinas, I wanted to try something longer and more challenging. Additionally, we hike the Northville Placid Trail several times a year since we live so close.

I wanted to see something I had never seen before.

Conceptualized in 1909 and completed in 1930, the LT is a 272-mile route that runs from the Vermont/Massachusetts border to the Canadian border. The trail follows the spine of the Cordillera Verde. The Long Trail not only traverses Vermont’s largest mountain, Mount Mansfield, but also ventures over more than 50 additional mountains.

And word on the street is that the LT was the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail.

In fact, a good portion of the Long Trail is shared with the AT.

The Long Trail can be hiked both northbound (NOBO) and southbound (SOBO). Most people choose to walk through NOBO; However, both have advantages and disadvantages. With the LT, the closer the trail gets to Canada, the steeper and more challenging the terrain becomes. From what I’ve heard, the trail is also much less populated in those northern sections.

Liam and I will do the SOBO tour.

We’ll start at the northern end and follow the Long Trail until it connects with the Appalachian Trail, about 100 miles before its southern end. From there, we will finish the journey, God willing.

We have 23 days to do it at the end of the summer season.

With only half a day of PTO left, I’m praying that we can not only finish this tour on time, but also that I don’t get sick for the rest of the year.

So what’s the plan?

We will take a Greyhound bus to Burlington and from there we will travel to the northern terminal. From there, we will walk south through the state of Vermont. When we reach the southern tip, we will officially be «end to end,» Vermont’s official term for hikers.

We will walk an average of 15 miles per day; some days more, some days less, to accommodate resupplies in the city and slower “fight” days.

Compared to hikes we’ve done in the past? On the Northville Placid Trail, we were able to hike 20 miles a day, but the Long Trail is twice as long and has much more elevation gain.

Since this is a longer road than anything we’ve done before, I remind myself a little more that the plan is flexible.

We had never planned our miles before and had strictly adhered to them; This will be no different.

Obviously, we’ll need a better plan than just «walk about 15 miles a day,» but that will come in time.

What about the team?

Since riding the Foothills Trail, I’m even more confident in my gear than before.

Things that were 10/10:

• my package – Super comfortable, with good support; Honestly, just a piece of organizational heaven. This was my first framed package. I normally use ultralight and frameless ones, but with this one I thought I’d risk the extra weight in favor of the stand. It was worth every ounce.
• protein bars – Maybe it was a placebo, maybe it was the extra carbohydrates; Protein bars really helped me on this journey.
• my hiking clothes– For the first time, I really invested in good quality hiking clothing. While it’s totally unnecessary and I spent years walking around in regular workout clothes, I could really tell a difference. My hoodie kept me cooler, as did my hiking pants. They were lightweight and I swear they didn’t develop that weird «funk» that clothing tends to have on a hike. Maybe it’s in my head? Maybe it’s not.

That being said, if you see me running up to strangers in grocery stores asking them about my stench, I’m just trying to get an unbiased opinion.

• Camp Sandals– I often forget them. I’m so glad I brought them this last time. They were a lifesaver along the way when I accidentally soaked my shoe!

Things that were NOT 10/10:

• My trail runners – They are literally half a size smaller. I don’t know if you remember, but I spent a good amount of time walking in sandals on my last trip. I’ve battled blisters for years on the trail, but recently found the perfect method of layering shoes and socks to prevent blisters. A sock in the toe with a merino wool sock on top, in a trail runner boot hybrid for a little extra support? Chef’s kiss! The only problem is that the tips of your fingers rub against the top of the shoe. Tragic.
• Camera storage – I had to download all the apps on my phone except my Far Out app and my photos. If I’m going to vlog on Long Trail, I’m going to need a solution for that. Maybe a solution that offers higher video quality, but it’s expensive, so who knows?
• My hand sanitizer – What can I say? I picked it up at a gas station on the way to South Carolina. It was designed by Crayola. I thought it was cute. It smelled like syrup and made my hands sticky.
• Scooby-Doo Snacks – Oh. My. Goodness. I thought they would be very good, but no! They were dry and monotonous. I didn’t finish half of what I had packed because it was impossible to get them down. Take note, friends: a great hike requires good food.

And with that, I have something fun to plan for the next few months, but this time I get to do it with Liam!

I am super excited, very excited about this trail. I honestly didn’t think I could take so much time off at once. Overwhelmed with gratitude doesn’t even begin to describe it!

Long Road, 2026, here we come!

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