The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-09-12
LONG TRAIL, 225
MILES, YIELDS To
YOUTH AND vIG0R
Entire Length Traversed in One
Continuous Hike
THE FIRST TIME ON RECORD
Three Bennington County Girls
and One Boy Are the
Trail Conquerors

For the first time in history the
whole length Of the long trail from
Bennington to Johnson has been hik-
ed by party from end to end in one
straightaway effort.
The who.e length Of the trail has
been gone over before by several
persons but by taking one section at
time and with weeks, and some.
times months, Intervening between
the various trips. Never before, as
far as the Banner knows, has the trail
been conquered in one straightaway
double Marthon.
The winners Of the gonfalon arc
three Bennington County girls and
one Bennington County boy-Miss
Lesley Frost, Miss Marjorie Frost and
Carroll Frost Of South SALISBURY
land Miss Lillian l.aball Sunderland
1t took them seventeen days of act
ual walking, starting August Is from
South SALISBURY and going over
Bald Mountain to the Trail Head at
He'll Hollow and reaching Johnson
Sept 2, the distance is practically 225
Imiles. A member OF the party fur
nishes the Banner the following ac.
count Of the trip
A party Of four Miss Lesley Frost,
Miss Marjorie Frost and Carroll Frost
OF South SALISBURY, and Miss Lillian
LaBatt Of Sunderland, lately return
ed from a walking trip over the Long
Trail to Johnson, Vt We started
from the Frosts house in South
Shaftshury ton Tuesday August
.15th), and made our own way, which
was rough way. over East Noun
tain TO the top Of Bald. where We
took the indistinct and poorly blazed
trail down to He'll Hollow Camp and
the Trail Itself This We considered
paramount to making our start from
the Massachusetts state line.
The following day We continued up
the Trail through Hagar Clearing,
past Little Pond, and Camp II
(where we met Mr. Hamln, the
Congregational minister Of North
Bennington, who, with several others,
was taking a days walk from Somer-
set Dam to Hagar Clearing and the
Wilmington-Bennington road, to Som
erset Bridge, where We spent the
night on the board floor OF a shed
filled with lumber sledges.
Thursday by way of Somerset Dam
and the Grout Job, we reached the top
of Stratton and slept under the stars,
aud a hedgehog, evidently quite intel
ligent enough 10 know the vital spot
OF a walking expedition, neatly cut
both shoulder straps OF one OF the
knapsacks. He didn't count on mat
ters being mended with the aid Of
twne. a hairpin for needle, and a
fork for hole-punchng And, on the
fourth n ght. we made Peru, arriving
in the midst OF the worst possible
thunderstorm after eighteen miles OF
the worst possible travel We were
taken in at the Russell Inn and allow
ed to drip off in the kitchen before
eating and gong to bed.
We had left South SALISBURY as
six including, beside those mentioned,
Robert Frost, and friend Edward
Richards. Amherst % But al Peru
Mr. Frost, after waiting a day to find
whether a bistered foot would not
improve, found it wouldn't, and he
and Mr.. Richards withdrew from the
ranks. The Big Four went on. We
spent the succeeding night at Three
Shanties Camp, a mile or so south OF
T-ggFttl, u.ha affar nj
hours spent in hOusecleaning in the
wake Of hunters, and after a supper
(which had for novelty some wonderful
applesance made of little wild green
apples, we played poker on the wood
box turned bottomside up, crossed
our feet on chair5acks above our
heads, and chewed spruce gum, as a
contribution to the days of real sport
at Buffum Camp where the stove and
the chimney had parted company and
there was more smoke than heat; at
Herbert Haey's farm at the Southern
foot of Mt Killington, at the Noyes
! Pond Camp, where, though we'd done
lseyenteen miles over Killington (the
second highest mountain in the stated
we weren't allowed much sleep Tor
the bowling of hedgehogs at the
threshold of the open front hut; at
Goshen Lodge, where it ra'ned all
night and the roof leaked enough tc
keep us dodging; at P,eiad Lodge in
Middlebury Gap, where Mr.. Frost re
Joined us, and from where We went
down to Breadloaf Inn, five miles out
of our course, for reprovisioning al
, Emily Proctor Lodge which hangs or
the edge Of a mountain torrent that
roars too loud for human speech tC
enter into competition; at Henry
Davis farm, mile and a half below
the Lincon-Warren Pass; at Gler
Ellen Lodge where what Wen remen
ber will be the pancakes and maple
syrup and the sunset; at Montc2--'
Glen Lodge on the southern slope o
. Came"s Hump, where twenty of us
slept in hunks built for twelve, ant
where Mr.. Frost again left and strucl
east by road to Franconia, ~ H.; a
! Dunsmoor Lodge, after a day spent IL
going over Camel's Hump crossint
the Winoosk by ferry, eating II huge