NEWS BRIEFS THE LONG TRAIL LIKE IT WAS 1917
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n June 23, clad in a red wool shirt and knickers, Mike DeBonis, executive director of the Green Mountain
Club, paddled a canoe across the Winooski River. To get from the Camel’s Hump section to the Bolton section of the Long Trail, DeBonis could have walked across the footbridge that was finished in 2015—but doing so would have violated the spirit of his mission. For 14 days in June, DeBonis hiked north on the original length of Vermont’s Long Trail as if it were 100
Wool shirt, a handmade basket and a canoe are how Mike DeBonis rolled on his "like it was 1917" Long Trail hike Photo by Emma Cotton
fish), he hiked more than 200 miles. “One thing I’ve learned is that modern gear is amazing. It makes the trail so much more accessible,” he said. “I think the biggest challenge has been carrying the weight on my shoulders and then camping at night. I have just a tarp that I made–I water-proofed a cotton sheet and used that– and a wool blanket as a ground cloth. So it’s been tough to get a good night’s sleep.” DeBonis carried both 1917 and 2017 editions of the guidebook. The 2017 edition is available at the Green
years ago to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Long
Mountain Club’s visitor center in Waterbury, and for order
Trail guide book. He ended his journey in Johnson, where
on greenmountainclub.org. The book, which DeBonis calls
the Long Trail stopped a century ago. Wearing only woolen
“a modern, top-notch guidebook,” features updated maps
clothes and carrying a hand-woven pack basket made from
and information, along with historical photos that give
ash splints, along with the trail food recommended by the
hikers a glimpse into the past 100 years on Vermont’s oldest
1917 guide book (mostly cheese, bread, bacon and canned
trail. —Emma Cotton
BREWER POURS RESOURCES INTO NORTHERN FOREST CANOE TRAIL A new hut for paddlers goes up on the Nulhegan (left) and paddling a rapid on the Missisquoi (right). Photos courtesy NFCT and Chris Gill
T
he nation’s largest inland water trail has joined up with an unlikely partner to support its work on the waterways: a brewery This summer, Labatt Blue is partnering with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail to help preserve and improve various waterways throughout New England as part of its Great State of Mine program. Completed in
2006, the massive waterway trail connects 22 rivers and streams, 58 lakes and ponds and 45 communities as it goes from Old Forge, New York, in the Adirondacks, across northern Vermont, through New Hampshire and ends in Maine. The company will invest up to $20,000 from the sale of specially-marked cases of
400 MORE ACRES PROTECTED
I
t’s official: On June 19, The Nature Conservancy announced that 400 acres of land–parcels in Pittsford and Westmore– have been protected. Both areas provide wildlife with crucial habitat for safer migration and protected areas for mating. For the first time in nearly a century, Vermont forests are declining. The Nature Conservancy is working with partners to maintain connected forest blocks for wildlife movement, water quality and working forest land. Modern development, in the form of new roads and scattered construction, is fragmenting forests and preventing wildlife from moving freely from habitat to habitat. The 273-acre Pittsford parcel is located strategically between Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks—an identified wildlife linkage area for bear, moose and bobcat. The land is adjacent to Pomainville Wildlife
10 VTSPORTS.COM | JULY 2017
18-packs to help support access upgrades, portage route improvements and improved waterway safety for kayakers and canoeists. Karrie Thomas, executive director of the NFCS is excited about the project. “The money won’t reach us until next year but knowing it’s coming is going to help us move forward with projects this year.” Among
Management Area, which conserves land on both sides of Route 7 as an important wildlife crossing. The Nature Conservancy purchased this land outright and will now protect it with conservation easements, allowing the land to be worked for sustainable forestry activities while preventing development. “These recent projects embody these goals and help protect all the things that we love about Vermont while keeping the land open for sustainable forestry and/or public access,” said Jon Binhammer, The Nature Conservancy’s director of land protection. The 100.8-acre Westmore parcel is located in the Worcester Range to Northeast Kingdom wildlife linkage area. The Nature Conservancy will turn over this land donation to the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife as an expansion of their Bald Hill Wildlife Management Area, keeping it open for recreational purposes such as hiking, hunting, and fishing.
those she’s most excited about: removing a dam at Highgate (on the Missisquoi River) and working with the Vermont River Conservancy to build a new hut (where paddlers will be able to stay) on the Nulhegan in the Northeast Kingdom, and creating signage and a trail in Swanton that will lead from the town to the river. —E.C.
VERMONT RESORTS JOIN MULTI MOUNTAIN BIKE PASS Just as Vail’s Epic Pass or the Mountain Collective give skiers access to multiple mountains, MTBparks mountain bike park pass does so for riders. The 2017 pass will include Killington Mountain Bike Park, Evolution Bike Park at Okemo, Mount Snow Bike Park, six other parks in the Northeast and a total of 30 across North America. The pass ($199.99) covers mountain bikers for one free day of riding, as well as 50 percent discounts on lift tickets during subsequent visits to the Vermont resorts, deals on retail, rentals, and food and beverage. More info at MTBparksPass.com.