The Green Mountain TrACS Team is off to a great start surveying over 30 miles of trail in the Finger Lakes and the Green Mountains over the course of their first two hitches. Some of the most common features encountered on the trail include many: drain dips, water bars, puncheons, culverts, retaining walls, bridges, and signs.
One of the many highlights was surveying the 4.91 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail which is a section of The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT). The NCT stretches over 4,600 miles (7,400 km) from Crown Point in eastern New York to Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota and is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails. National Scenic Trails (and National Historic Trails) may only be designated by an act of Congress.
The TrACS Team is currently back in the Green Mountains of Vermont preparing for their next hitch which includes yet another National Scenic Trail, the Appalachian Trail / Long Trail (The AT-LT)! The Long Trail was built by the Green Mountain Club between 1910 and 1930 and is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States. The Long Trail runs from the Massachusetts-Vermont line to the Canadian border, spanning over 273 miles, crossing Vermont's highest peaks. The Long Trail also provided the inspiration for the construction of the 2,181 mile long Appalachian Trail, which coincides with it for over a hundred miles in the southern third of Vermont.
Stay tuned to our updates to see if we can reach our goal of completing the 102 miles of survey along the AT-LT!
Here is a list of trails we have surveyed so far:
Burnt Hill: 2.34 mi.
Horse Trail: 0.38 mi.
Potomac Ponds Access: 0.12 mi.
Potomac – Foster Pond: 0.12 mi.
Potomac Interpretive: 0.17 mi.
Potomac Connector: 0.16 mi.
Potomac Campground Cutoff: 0.08 mi.
Potomac Campground Access: 0.03 mi.
Potomac: 0.93 mi.
Potomac Ponds: 2.05 mi.
Back Bone: 7.19 mi.
Ballard Pond: 0.08 mi.
Finger Lakes: 4.91 mi.
Gorge: 1.08 mi.
No-Tan-Takto: 4.92 mi.
Ravine Loop: 0.19 mi.
Ravine: 1.08 mi.
South Slope: 0.76 mi.
Catamount: 0.39 mi.
Green Mtn. Connector: 0.70 mi.
Mad Tom: 3.03 mi.
TOTAL: 30.72 mi.
