STOGUIDE pages 28-39:Layout 1 10/31/07 5:35 AM Page 28
R U R A L R O U T E
J
SNOWSHOERS HEAD OUT ONTO THE SHORT TRAIL AT THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB.
ust behind the Green Mountain Club
headquarters is a remarkable little trail.
The “Short Trail” is named for its much
bigger sister, the Long Trail, the
nation’s first long-distance hiking trail
cut along the spine of Vermont’s Green
Mountains in 1930. Though just half a
mile compared to the 270 miles of its
more impressive and famous sibling, it
packs a lot of experience into that
diminutive distance.
Like the Long Trail, the Short Trail takes
the hiker back in time and through a series of
rich natural surroundings. It has the same
white, rectangular blazes to keep hikers on
track, but as I soon learned—as I have on the
Long Trail—one must pay attention or risk
getting sidetracked and off-tracked!
The Long Trail’s moniker is “A Footpath in
the Wilderness,” which inspires a clever subti-
tle for the Short Trail: “A Footpath Through
the Backyard,” referring to
SHORT
the 50 acres of forest, field
and meadow behind GMC’s
A
N
headquarters, just north of A
H
TRACK
the Village of Waterbury
A
L
L
C
Center. This land is used var-
N
iously for timber harvest,
L
E
N
G
concerts and as a weekend gathering spot for
GMC’s brigade of summer caretakers and trail
crews who come off the trail for rest, recre-
ation and showers.
The club encourages visitors year-round; in
themagneto
winter the trail is a lovely snowshoe loop that
can be extended by following a few short side
trails.Along the way are eight stations that
imaginatively and ingeniously use features
along the trail—stone walls, glacial erratics, I
f you’re skiing at Trapp’s Nordic Center this
season you might meet up with a few
instructors who are field testing a new
approach to ski bindings. The “Magneto”
evidence of beavers at work—to comment on binding, now is in its third year of development, is
Vermont’s cultural, economic and natural histo- the creation of Rick Yoerg, a cross-country ski
ry. Willows growing along nearbyAlder Brook instructor at Trapps.
inspire stories about the indigenousAbenaki “Thewholeidea,”Rickexplains,“istohavea
Indians who used them for basketmaking and bindingthatwon’tclogwithsnow.I’vetaughtskiing
whistles. Trail users learn that from 1897 to foranumberofyearsandskiersoftenrunintotrouble
1932 an electric railroad ran from Waterbury to withsnowcloggingbeneaththetoeoftheboot.”
Stowe along Route 100, passing by GMC’s TheMagnetobindingworksonadifferentprinci-
headquarters, then the May Farm. ple:Asmall,speciallydesignedsteelpieceis
The interpretive nature of the Short Trail screwedintothefrontofthecross-countryskiboot,
encourages a slower pace and a sense of dis- andthemagneticbindinggrabsontothesteel;the
covery:A pile of wood chips alongside a tree, steeltipofone’sskipoledisengagesthebinding.
the remnant of woodpeckers; leaves fluttering “Itestedthemlastseasonandthemechanical
down and skittering across the path; a meadow aspectappearedtowork.Thequestionwe’ve
vista that opens up to the Worcester Range to alreadyansweredis‘Canitholduptoskiing,’and
the east, the Green Mountains to the west. thatpartwasfine.Nowwe’retryingtoclearup
If you’d like to hike the Short Trail, the someofthedetailsandimproveonitsappearance.
GMC staff asks that you first stop at its head- Theideaistohaveagoodfunctionalbindingfor
quarters. Pick up the $2 guide to the Short skitouring.Howitallgoesafterthis,whether
Trail; it’s a wonderful booklet even if you never ornotittakesoff,isreallyanunknown.”
get out on the trail—full of photos, and natural —Nancy Crowe
and historical information. —Nancy Crowe
28
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193