I like to celebrate with food. If a milestone has been reached, an accomplishment well done, or…well, really, I look for any excuse to gather with food and friends! And if there ever was a time to gather, now would be it: There are two dinners this spring and summer to celebrate the 100th Birthday of the Green Mountain Club.
On Friday, May 7th at 5:00 pm, GMC fans can enjoy a meal at the Trapp Family Lodge. Howard Dean, himself a Long Trail End-to-Ender, will be the special guest. A ticket for the evening is $75/individual or $125/couple. To reserve a space, call 802-244-7037 (ext. 33).
On Saturday, June 5th, a slightly less pricey dinner option to celebrate the GMC 100th, will be held at the Inn at Long Trail. Tickets are $25 for a great buffet dinner. To reserve a space contact Wayne or Kathleen at 802-779-1485. All proceeds from both of these dinners will benefit the GMC and their work on trail maintenance, education, outreach, and stewardship.
The History of the Long Trail page on the GMC website doesn’t do this dynamic organization justice. Among a few glossy details, it’s mentioned that James P. Taylor conceived of the LT in 1910, promptly gathered a crew to found the GMC, and the last link to Canada was cut in 1930. Sounds easy, right? Not so!
In the history of the Long Trail, there are countless men and women who devoted evenings, weekends, and every darn vacation to cutting this trail in those 20 years. And you would be right to imagine that these were interesting characters. Who else could conceive of something so large and so strenuous, but also so inspiring, that the Appalachian Trail was modeled after the Long Trail? The names include James P. Taylor, Will Monroe, Theron Dean, Roy Buchanan, and Minerva Hinchey, among many, many others.
If you have a chance, get yourself a copy of Green Mountain Adventure, Vermont Long Trail or the new A Century in the Mountains. These books will give you the story behind the Long Trail. A Century will also give you insight into the people and efforts currently being put into the stewardship of the Long Trail.
It’s an amazing story. It’s an amazing trail.
Photo credit: Jocelyn Hebert/Green Mountain Club
