Preparing for the the Long Trail

I've been spending some quality time with these guys, planning for a Long Trail thru-hike this summer. The Long Trail is a 272-mile* trail that runs the length of Vermont, coterminous with the Appalachian Trail at the southern end.

This will be my longest backpacking trip so far. I'm patching a few empty spots in my gear chest (for example, a water filter), but mostly I have the equipment. It's planning resupply points and figuring out how long it will take that's the challenge.

This won't be my only hiking adventure of the summer, but it'll be my biggest.

* Mind you, you can't just hike 272 miles, even assuming you never deviate to a side trail or wander into town for food. The southern terminus starts at the state border with Massachusetts in the middle of the woods, so it's a minimum 3.3 miles in; it's the same at the northern end, except the border is with Quebec and the mileage is 1.1. So really, 276.4.