6 PREFACE

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The Long Trail Lodge in Sherburne Pass, between Rutland and Woodstock, the hotel on the summit of Mount Mansfield, and Barnes' Camp in Smugglers' Notch.

PURPOSES AND MEMBERSHIP

THE Green Mountain Club exists to bring the people to the Green Mountains and to make the Green Mountains accessible to the people. It builds and maintains The Long Trail and its approaches; it conducts a campaign of publicity through the press and by means of lectures illustrated with lantern slides. The Club has grown from its original twenty-three members to over fifteen hundred. There are seven Section of the Club located in Vermont, one in Worcester, Mass., and one in New York City. Members not in the Sections are classed as members-at-large.

Each Section assumes the care of trail and lodges in its assigned territory. Where there are no Sections the building and care of trails is in charge of the Trails Committee of the central organization, which also extends aid to Sections where necessary. Only devoted volunteer labor and generous gifts of money in excess of dues on the part of many members have made this work possible.

DUES

The dues are now Three Dollars yearly for members-at-large and there is no initiation fee. Those desiring membership in a local section should communicate with the secretary of such section, while those wishing to become members at large should send application to the Secretary of The Green Mountain Club, Inc., Rutland, Vermont. There is an application blank in the back of this book.

PREFACE 7

PERSONAL HIKING EQUIPMENT

The following suggestions are offered to those going to The Long Trail for the first time, and are to be taken in the light of advice. They are based on the experiences of those who have used The Trail, but old-timers may have their own ideas. While much of The Long Trail is intended for camping, a study of this guide book will show that there are parts that may be done from hotels or boarding houses, and there are many one-day trips that may be made with the aid of an auto to take one to an intersection of The Trail with some highway. The weight of the hiker's pack may be reduced by a judicious use of the United States mails and the parcel post. Mail addresses are given in the following pages; note that in most cases these houses are far beyond the reach of express matter, but are reached by the parcel-post system. As the sending of mail to the care of these farmers is a privilege, it should be made the subject of previous correspondence and permission obtained before any mail is sent. In other words, use the same courtesies that you would expect to have used towards yourself.

Of all the personal equipment, the most important is good shoes. They should be well broken in, loose (the feet swell some under the weight of the pack), and well oiled. Munson last army shoes are advised, better yet in all weathers, if hobnailed. Tennis shoes are not good as they are slippery on wet trail and are too flexible for rough ground. Thick woolen socks should be worn and an extra pair or two put in the pack. Do not imagine that "you cannot wear woolen stockings" - you can. They are needed as cushions to the feet in carrying