Evening star., 1961-09-12
ALONG yERMoNTs LONG TRAIL
Porkies Disturb Hikers' Sleep
By GEORGE HUBER
star staff Writer

A useful aid to sleeping while
on q hiking trip along the Long
Trail in Vermont is q stick of
suitable size, weight and heft
for whacking porcupines.
These troublesome e little
beasts have such a craving for
salt they'll gnaw anything man
has touched, including the
shelter huts and cabins built
along the trail. They come out
at night and chomp away, and
they are powerful chompers.
1t can be rather annoying to
q person not used to it.
The Long Trail, built and
maintained by the Green
Mountain Club. stretches
through the center Of YER
mont's mountain country for
25S miles from Massachusetts,
to the Canadian border. I'm
Just back from hiking 4 60-mile
section, and at least once every
night I had to crawl from my
sleeping bag, put on my shoes
and beat off the porkies that
seemed determined to destroy
my shelter and certainly my
sleep.
No Natural Enemies
Porkies are dumb and slow,
but so well protected by their
spikes they have no natural
enemies except me. 1t takes a
couple of good belts from q
strong stick to make them
move along, and likely as not
they'd come back for more as
soon as I'd gone back to sleep
again.
Aside from the porkie prob
lem had a wonderful hiking
trip. My jaunt Of five nights
and six days took me over three
Of the four highest mountains
in Vermont, and on q separate
overnight trip I made it over
that fourth peak also.
The trails were good, the
views magnificent, and for get
ting away from it all it couldn't
be beaten.
Vermont'S four highest
mountains are Mansfield, 4,393
feet; Killington, 4,241; Ellen,
Abs, and Camel's Hump, 4,0S3.
My backpacking trip from Lin
coin Gap to Smuggler's Notch
carried me over, in order, El-
len, Camel's Hump and Mans
field, plus many another only
slightly lesser peak.
Rode on Ferry
Also that span included the
lowest place along the whole
Long Trail, the Winooski River,
elevation 325 feet, across which
I had to be rowed for a 50-cent
ferry fee.
Killington's 4,241 feet as Ver-
mont's No. 2 peak were taken
care Of in one overnight trip
before the start Of my main
excursion. a sort of shakedown
cruise Of about Is miles to test
myself and equipment.
I had planned to sleep that
night just under the brow of
Killington at one of the Green
Mountain Clubs shelters, but
that camp already was taken
by about a dozen or so teen
age girls. They had come up
the mountain on q ski lift op-
Grated for benefit of summer
tourists. so I rushed on to the
next shelter.
Went Well Equipped
That was at Pico Peak g.
967 feet), where I had a beau
tifully located camp all to my
Self-except for porcupines.
My one-man backpacking
trip included such luxuries as
a down sleeping bag, a light air
mattress, a tot of after-dinner
brandy and even a one-burner
gasoline stove so I wouldn't be
troubled with building cooking
fires.
My food was 100 per cent
dehydrated, about 11a pounds
Of dry weight a day, and such
is the quality and variety avail
able now that I ate extremely
well.
MY pack totaled about 40
pounds at the start, and a gaso-
line stove and its fuel may seem
an unneeded luxury, but its
value was demonstrated by the
speed and ease with which I
prepared every meal.
On my last night. for ex-
ample, after q long and hard
climb over Mansfield moved
into q camp already occupied
by two boys trying to get a
fire going with a limited supply
of poor wood. I had my meal
cooked and eaten and my
utensils cleaned while they still
were smoking up the place.
They gratefully accepted the
loan of my stove.
"Green Mountain State"
Much OF Vermont is noun
famous country-it comes by
its name of Green Mountain
State honestly enough-and it
is surrounded by mountainous
country. The views from its
peaks are constant panoramas
of range after range of noun
tains in all directions, from
the White Mountains of New
Hampshire 30 miles TO the east
to the hills of the Lake Cham