Caretakers Protect Vermont’s Summits

The Long Trail: Vermont's Footpath Through History

VPR Photo/M.Bodette

The Long Trail reaches its 100^th birthday this summer. So VPR is taking a look at how the path through the mountains has helped to shape the culture and history of the state.

Every summer, hundreds of people hike the trail from end to end. And thousands more spend a day or two exploring the side trails and ridgelines.

And nowhere do more of them flock than to here, the 4,393-foot-tall summit of Mount Mansfield.

It's the tallest mountain in the state and the most heavily developed, with a ski resort, broadcast towers and even a toll road, which we drove up one recent morning.

But it also contains some of the most fragile terrain in Vermont.

That's why you find people like Annie Bellerose up here. She and others like her spend their summers advising hikers, and answering questions from VPR's Mitch Wertlieb.

Click listen to hear the interview.

The Long Trail: Vermont's Footpath Through History