Greetings from the top of Mt. Mansfield. The cotton sedge is in a furious full bloom, the wind is howling at 50 miles an hour, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

This is my third season working for the Green Mountain Club. After thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, I came in as the caretaker at Taft Lodge on Mt. Mansfield in Fall 2010. I spent the 2011 season at Stratton Pond on the southern Long Trail. This year I’ve returned to Mansfield as lead summit caretaker, working with other summit and Taft and Butler caretakers on the mountain.

In 2010, I commented to a coworker, “I am (like) the Lorax. I speak for the fragile alpine grasses.” Comparing myself to Seuss’ quintessential caretaker may seem melodramatic, but the importance of the GMC’s active caretaker presence on the Long Trail cannot be overstated. Of course we manage natural damage to the trail corridor – fallen trees, washouts, etc. – but more importantly, we manage the impact of thousands of hikers on the Long Trail’s most popular, and most fragile, locations: the alpine summits of the northern trail and the ponds of the southern portion.

Please consider making a donation today to support the GMC’s Caretaker Program!

Today is our annual Caretaker Alpine Walk. The GMC’s 2012 caretakers have been up on Mt. Mansfield all day with partners from the State of Vermont and the University of Vermont, learning about the fragile alpine vegetation. Working with some of Vermont’s most educated alpine biologists, we learn about how this rare ecosystem came to be, alpine flora identification, and how to protect the zone through our own practices and educating the hikers we encounter up there.

This season, we caretakers will serve as a roving source of information for all the varied groups that use the trail. We’ll tell them how to do the rock walk and identify sensitive plants, and how to get there from here. And with an estimated 200,000 visitors every year, that’s a pretty big job. We can’t do it without your support – please donate to the Green Mountain Club today.

Thank you!

Kevin Hudnell
2012 Lead Caretaker, Mt. Mansfield

mountain cranberry

“Overall, things up on the summits are looking good – the Alpine vegetation is doing a lot better than it had been. The Green Mountain Club’s Caretakers in the Alpine Zone have made a big difference.” 

Bob Popp
State Botanist, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department

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“GMC caretakers strive to strike a balance between visitor education and hiker enjoyment of our favorite high peaks along the Long Trail. Our program, over 40 years young, focuses hikers onto durable surfaces to protect rare and endangered species on Vermont’s alpine summits. This important work has increased plant cover and
soil retention on our mountaintops, and increased visitors’ awareness of their impacts along the trail.”