LT: Bus connections?

[werdigo49]

I just discovered that bus transportation from Newport to Williamstown is a 7:30 AM to 8:50 PM trip, involving 4 bus lines and a 3.5 hour stop in White River Junction!

Is this correct? Man, there go my hopes of making Seth Warner as my first night's stop. It'll be almost dark by the time I get to the W-town bus station!

Any other helpful info, guys? I've hiked in the Adirondacks but this'll be my first time on the LT and I'm planning an E2E with a resupply at the Jonesville PO.

--Werdigo49

 

[Frosty]

I just discovered that bus transportation from Newport to Williamstown is a 7:30 AM to 8:50 PM trip, involving 4 bus lines and a 3.5 hour stop in White River Junction!

Is this correct? Man, there go my hopes of making Seth Warner as my first night's stop. It'll be almost dark by the time I get to the W-town bus station!

Any other helpful info, guys? I've hiked in the Adirondacks but this'll be my first time on the LT and I'm planning an E2E with a resupply at the Jonesville PO.

--Werdigo49

Wow, you did better than I did. I gave up, figuring that the WAS no way to get from Newport to Williamstown via bus.

When are you doing your E2E? How much time are you planning for it?

Frosty

 

[werdigo49]

Hi Frosty,

I'm heading for North Troy tomorrow, and will catch the bus from Newport Friday morning. I google'd "vermont transit" and found a map that showed connecting services as well as VT's own routes. Their telephone person was very helpful (800-552-8737).

I'm starting with 15 days of food, picking up another 12 days from my mailed resupply at the Jonesville PO. My armchair plan is 23 days, with 15 to Jonesville and only 8 for the northern portion. I'd like to stretch that out to 26 days, perhaps, but have to work around the Jonesville PO's closing for the 4th of July (closed on Mon Jul 5).

Of course this is all a little tentative. The LT isn't quite like anything I've done before.

--Werdigo49

 

[Frosty]

Thanks for th phone # and good luck on your hike. I'm planning three weeks myself, but will be carrying a lot less food. (resupply in Manchester Center, Killington, Jonesville, Johnson).

Frosty

 

[werdigo49]

Frosty,

It's RCT from Newport to Wells River, Stagecoach to WRJ, Vt Transit to Springfield MA, and Bonanza/Peter Pan to Williamstown.

Yeah, I'm concerned about my food. I ate less on a long hike a couple of years ago but lost a lot of weight. I don't have it to lose now so I'm taking more, but it's still only about 2K cal/da. Well, if it's not enough I can buy things along the way. Vegetarian calories are pretty bulky except for nuts, it seems.

For greater flexibility I've redistributed the food, carrying 18 days and shipping 9 days to Jonesville. That will take some of the pressure off to get to Jonesville in exactly my planned time.

Stay in touch..

--Werdigo49

 

[pedxing]

Try Newport to Boston via Bonanza, then Boston to Pittsfield (Peter Pan), then Pittsfield to Williamstown (Bonanza). You might need the first bus o/o Newport to make connections.

Going to WRJ seems out of the way.

 

[Jasonst]

Taxi??

 

[pedxing]

Ooops... wrong Newport!

 

[Tramper Al]

Bus the LT

Het werdigo,
WRJ isn't out of your way, but it does seem to take longer.
Why not this:

Newport (7:30a) via WRJ to Boston (MA) (1:00p) Bonanza, VT Transit
Boston (1:30p) to Pittsfield (5:10p) Peter Pan
Pittsfield (5:50p) to North Adams (6:53p) BRTA Route 1
North Adams (Main St) to AT trailhead by taxi (2.4 miles).

I was going to get you right to the trailhead by BRTA Route 3, but their last service leaving Main St is at 6:05p. This still should get you on the trail a full 2 hours earlier than your current plan. Even if you walked the 2.4 miles to the trailhead, that would put you on the trail before 8p, yes?

You still have 6.6 miles to get to Seth Warner, so I might suggest the Sherman Brook Campsite, which is only 1.5 miles from your North Adams trailhead on Rt. 2.

Now, this is assuming that you can physically walk with 18 days of food on your back. I am not sure that I could!

Peter Pan
BRTA

Hope that helps. And have a great trip.

 

[werdigo49]

Al,

I bailed at Jonesville on Friday July 9, one day before I'd actually planned to FINISH the trail; my inexperienced planning was simply too optimistic, or that food was too much, or something. I just wasn't making the time I'd hoped and planned for, and ran up against my time limit.

As for the buses, I got to Springfield at 2:00 PM, took the 4:00 Peter Pan to Pittsfield, and was facing a 5:10 to 8:20 wait there. A fellow passenger, who had someone picking her up at the Pittsfield station, took pity on me and drove me right to the PCT trailhead, which I reached (thanks to them) at 6:30 PM.

A couple of hours up the trail (I was only a few minutes from the AT intersection, but didn't know that) I tented for that night, and actually reached the LT southern terminus about 7:30 the following (Saturday, June 19) morning.

I'll report more later.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Tramper Al]

Nice!

Hi werdigo,
Sounds great, that's about 185 miles in the Green Mountains you walked!
I myself am section hiking the LT northbound, and my most recent hike along the Monroe Skyline finished in Jonesville, coincidentally.
I look forward to hearing some of the details of your hike.

 

[amstony]

Werdigo49,

That was a great job! Its 185 miles closer to the finish, I'll be doiing the LT in sections next year. If you can provide info on your hike we'd all look forward to reading it.

Tony