I was dead set against hiking the Long Trail in one go, but a guy at the outfitter in Waitsfield talked me into section hiking it over 3 summers instead

Jennifer Smith · 2026-10-02T01:05:04.819817+00:00

I had my whole 273 mile thru-hike planned for June and figured knocking it out in 4 weeks was the only real way to do it, mostly because that's what every forum post and YouTube video seemed to push. What I didn't expect was how much a single 18 mile day in the mud near Camel's Hump would wreck my knees at 41, and after bailing at Route 4 I talked to a shop guy in Waitsfield who pointed out that section hiking means I actually get to enjoy Vermont instead of just surviving it. Anyone else here switch from thru-hiking to sectioning a long trail, and did you regret losing that one big continuous push?

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I was dead set against hiking the Long Trail in one go, but a guy at the outfitter in Waitsfield talked me into section hiking it over 3 summers instead | Backpacking Routes - Guest Forum