Green Mountain Club

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Green Mountain Club

Founders and maintainers of the Long Trail. 10,000 Member, 1,000 Volunteer Non-Profit Founded in 1910

The Green Mountain Club exists thanks to folks who take the extra step to support the club through membership dues, donations, and volunteer time. The club relies on 1,000 dedicated volunteers every year, in additional to great seasonal trail crews and caretakers, to keep Vermont's hiking trails healthy and free to all.

08/28/2026

Whether you join us to hike and fundraise or make a donation to Long Trail Day, your participation and support directly supports GMC’s work on the Long Trail, like the work these trail crew members have been doing this summer to reroute a stretch of trail on Belvidere Mountain.

When not working as on-camera stars, GMC crews have been cutting new tread, building drainage structures and stairs, and hardening the footpath before opening the relocation later this season. It’s thanks to support from hikers like you that we’re able to make this work possible!

Register or donate to Long Trail Day today and support the maintenance and protection of the hiking trails you love! Visit www.greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday/ or the link in our bio.

08/27/2026

Three shelters, two side trails, and one wilderness area all in one of the few loop hikes on the Long Trail System? That’s the 12.4-mile Cooley Glen and Emily Proctor Loop near Lincoln. GMC’s communications coordinator Lily LaRegina hiked it recently, turning it into an overnight backpacking trip with a stay at Skyline Lodge.

“I set out to hike the Cooley Glen-Emily Proctor Loop in the Bread Loaf Wilderness going clockwise with a few friends, and we loved it! We went up the Cooley Glen Trail, followed the Long Trail across the ridge, enjoyed views south toward Killington on Mt. Roosevelt, stayed the evening at Skyline Lodge, and hiked out the next morning on the Emily Proctor Trail. This loop is often recommended as a day hike, but it was nice to break it up into a two-day hike for some extra time to enjoy this section of trail for the first time.

Two things that were particularly memorable were 1) The sheer amount of moose p**p spotted along the trail 2) Each member of my group selecting nature poems from a collection of Mary Oliver’s work to share with each other while sitting on the porch of Skyline Lodge.”

Trip stats: 2 days, 16.9 miles, 3,983 ft of elevation gain, about 10 rounds of “20 questions," at least a dozen piles of moose p**p

08/25/2026

We’re about a third of the way to our ambitious Long Trail Day goal of $80,000, which we hope to reach by our celebration day on Saturday, September 19! Can you help us reach the halfway mark by September 1?

Join Long Trail Day today by setting your personal hiking and fundraising goals and reaching out to your network to sponsor and encourage you! See how two Long Trail Day participants and members of the Killington Section are making the Long Trail Day journey their own:

🥾 Allison Henry is doing a “24-24 Challenge” for Long Trail Day! This means hiking all 24 miles of the Long Trail System maintained by the Killington Section in 24 hours.

🥾 Herbert Ogden is taking on a different personal hiking challenge, and will be hiking 6.3 miles from Wallingford Gulf to Rte. 103 on Long Trail Day. He is seeking pledges of $10/mile, or $63, in support of his hike.

To support Allison or Herbert, or to start your own Long Trail Day hike-a-thon journey, visit our Long Trail Day website at the link in bio or https://secure.qgiv.com/event/longtrailday2026/

Can't hike this year? You can still make a big impact for the trails by making a gift of any size to Long Trail Day.

08/22/2026

Kinda chic to be a responsible hiker and to support the trails you use and love! Did we miss any? Leave a comment sharing what else is kind chic.

You can join and celebrate Long Trail Day, this September 19, and support GMC’s work putting trail crews in the field, caretakers on the mountains, and conserving more of the Long Trail. Register to join our fundraising efforts, or donate today. Get started at Greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday/ or visit the link in our bio

08/21/2026

Another Friday from the Field! The job of a backcountry caretaker has many parts. See some of the ways the caretakers on Mount Mansfield are stewarding, maintaining, and educating while working on the Long Trail this season!

1. Caretakers spend time on the alpine ridgeline and summit sharing the wonders of the fragile and endangered plant life found there with hikers and visitors. Through one-on-one conversations, caretakers are able to teach visitors about the impact humans have on the fragile alpine zone ecosystem and how doing the "rock walk" and following other responsible hiking practices can help protect the landscape and wildlife.

2. Human waste is a constant thing to be managed on the Long Trail System. Caretakers provide the manual labor essential to privy maintenance. Composting privies are used at the Long Trail's highest-use overnight sites, like at Butler and Taft Lodge, and require someone to regularly empty the privy catchers, move the waste to storage bins, mix waste and bark mulch together, and move compost to drying racks before it's eventually dispersed into the surrounding woods as pathogen-free compost.

3. Someone has to repaint blazes, touch up the trail signs, clear the drains, and brush back overgrown vegetation! Caretakers also work to keep the trails well maintained within their caretaking range.

4. Caretakers are valuable members of the hiking community who care a lot about helping other hikers have a good experience on the Long Trail. Whether it's answering questions about the trails, helping hikers find the next water source, or making a shelter feel more welcoming (like this welcome station set up at Taft Lodge), their knowledge and commitment to the trail and hikers make the hiking community a better place!

This work among the hiking public and on the trails by GMC caretakers is an example of the kind of work your support goes toward. Register or donate to Long Trail Day, our annual community fundraiser, to help us do more!
Visit www.greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday

📷 Photos shared by caretaker Izzi

08/20/2026

Long Trail Day, our annual hike-a-thon, fundraiser, and unofficial hiking holiday, is one month away! We set our fundraising goal high at $80,000, and we need your help to climb this steep and long trail to reach it between now and September 19. We're already a quarter of the way there, but can you give us a boost to 50% by the end of the month? Choose one of two paths to help us ascend toward our goal:

Path 1: REGISTER to hike and fundraise! Join as an individual or as part of a team, then set your own hiking and fundraising goals. Grab a group of friends to hike a favorite trail with you or join a GMC-led hike, or set a personal goal for a number of miles or hikes between now and September 19. Your network can donate to support your goal!

Swipe to see the gear that fundraisers can earn as they hit their fundraising milestones!

Path 2: DONATE to Long Trail Day. If a hike is not in your plans, make a gift directly to Long Trail Day. No gift is too small, and every dollar goes toward the care and protection of the trails you love.

Support the trails you love and make your Long Trail hikes even more meaningful by joining us on the Long Trail Day journey. Whether you plan to hike and fundraise, donate to the event, or join us to celebrate the trail on Long Trail Day, your support makes a difference in the work GMC does on the Long Trail System and in the hiking community, now and for future hikers.

Get started at the link in our bio or visit greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday/

08/18/2026

Join an upcoming workshop with the Green Mountain Club! Expand your hiking skills, connect nature with art, and explore your connection to Vermont’s hiking. Swipe to see what’s happening next!

Register to join these upcoming programs at the link in bio, or view our Calendar of Events at greenmountainclub.org/get-involved/learn-and-engage/calendar-of-events/

08/16/2026

Have any beautiful, inspiring, funny, or memorable photos from your hikes this year? Don't forget you can submit them to year's photo contest, open for entries until Monday, August 31!

Enter now and share your favorite views, hiking partners, trail features, and trailside flora and fauna. In addition to winning cool new prizes, entered photos may be chosen for use in the 2027 GMC calendar, future Long Trail News publications, and digital communications. Sharing your photos is an impactful and easy way to donate your time and skills to GMC, helping us spread the word about the trail, its needs, and our work!

📷 Get inspired as we remember last year's winning photo entries

Enter now at www.greenmountainclub.org/2026-photo-contest/

08/14/2026

Update from the field: flood recovery work is in progress on the Long Trail this season!

One of our Long Trail Patrol crews wrapped up 2 weeks of flood recovery work rebuilding a section of rooty, washed-out trail on the Long Trail on Bloodroot Mountain, south of Brandon Gap in Central Vermont. Swipe to see what a difference this time and work makes!

This is just one example of the kind work your support goes toward. Register or donate to Long Trail Day, our annual community fundraiser, to help us do more!
Visit www.greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday/

08/11/2026

What is Long Trail Day for? Not only is it GMC’s unofficial holiday to celebrate Vermont’s hiking trails, your participation in this community fundraiser directly supports our work on the Long Trail and within the hiking community.

Join us today by registering to fundraise or by making a gift to help us reach our ambitious goal of $80,000!

www.greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday or visit the link in our bio.

Address

4711 Waterbury-Stowe Rd
Waterbury Center, VT
05677

Telephone

+18022447037

Website

http://www.greenmountainclub.org/, http://www.greenmountainclub.org/longtrailday/

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