Vermont Long Trail Section Hike – Camping at Stark’s Nest

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Section Hiking on the Vermont Long Trail – Appalachian Gap to Lincoln Gap.

For this backpacking trip, my dog Denali and I will be doing a 2 day, 1 night camping trip in Northern Vermont.  The specific area we’ll be camping near is called the Stark’s Nest, which lies on a section of the Long Trail between Appalachian Gap and Lincoln Gap, about 40 minutes west of Montpelier, VT.

As seen in the video, use this link to get your free camping pillow from Outdoor Vitals for a limited time.

The Vermont Long Trail is a 273 mile, long distance hiking trail that runs the entire length of Vermont, from the sothern border with Massachusetts all the way up to the Canadian border to the north.  The first hundred miles or so in the south coincide with the Appalachian Trail as well.  I’ll be backpacking and camping just a short taste of the Long Trail – a roughly 8 mile section in the North Country of Vermont on a combination of private land and Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest.

Starks Nest Hike – Route Overview – Sintax77

GPS Data for this trip and many others can be found on my Trip Data Page.  Includes full track data for each day, and way-points for campsites used, water sources, etc.

Trailhead Used: Appalachian Gap Trailhead Parking Area  – 44°12’39.7″N 72°55’53.5″W
This is a large, paved parking area just off of Vermont SR17.  The Vermont Long Trail South (which I took in the video) can be found on the opposite side of the road.  The Long Trail North (which I didn’t take) is located right in the corner of the lot, by the guard rail.

Trails Used & Itinerary, Day 1

  • Park at the Appalachian Gap Trailhead Parking Area
  • Take the Vermont Long Trail South (located on the other side of the road. Look for the white blaze
  • Arrive at Stark’s Nest warming hut and grab some water from the rain barrel.
    Note: Stark’s Nest is a ski warming hut. During the winter, this is a hut used to take a break and warm up in between ski runs at Mad River Glen Ski Resort. While this is private property, it is kept open and available to hikers year round as a place to take a break, or camp for the night while hiking the Vermont Long Trail. There is a rain barrel out front that makes for an excellent water source. It’s essentially a fully enclosed cabin that makes it a great option for riding out storms and bad weather. There is a composting outhouse nearby, across from the cabin in the woods opposite the cabin.
  • Set up camp a little ways down the ski slope near Stark’s Nest

Starks Nest Hike Day 1 – Elevation Profile

Day 1 Mileage: 3 miles
Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,501′
Day 1 Gross Elevation Descent: 283′

Trails Used, Itinerary Day 2

  • Leave camp and head back uphill to the Stark’s Nest.
  • Continue south on the Vermont Long Trail.
  • End at the ski lift area on Mt Ellen for a break and some views.
  • Backtrack out the way you came, via the Long Trail North.
  • Arrive back at the Stark’s Nest.
  • Breakdown camp, pack up and replenish water supplies.
  • Backtrack out on the Vermont Long Trail North.
  • Arrive back at the Appalachian Gap Trailhead Parking area.

Starks Nest Hike Day 2 – Elevation Profile

Day 2 Mileage: 8 miles (5 round-trip for Mt Ellen, 3 for the hike out from Stark’s Nest)
Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,566′
Day 2 Gross Elevation Descent: 2,919′

Trip Totals
Grand Total Mileage: 11 Miles
Grand Total Elevation Gain: 3,067′

Notable Backpacking Gear Seen & Used

Notable Dog Backpacking Gear Seen & Used

Olight S1R Baton II Review – Mini EDC & Backpacking Flashlight

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A Review of the Olight S1R Baton II for EDC (Every Day Carry)

The Olight S1R Baton II is a USB rechargeable battery LED flashlight with a 0.5 lumen low mode and a 1,000 lumen high mode. I’ve found this lumen range, combined with it’s size and weight of 1.8 oz (including battery), to make the S1R Baton II a very useful light for my backpacking and camping trips where the expected lighting needs are a bit more critical.  The 2.48 inch length, and deep pocket tail clip make it a great light for my EDC needs as well. Particularly for front pocket carry.

Links for full Manufacturer’s Specs, Features, etc

Specs and Features, as per Manufacturer

  • General Data
    • Beam Distance (ft): 476
    • Beam Distance (m): 145
    • Max. Performance (lumens): 1000
    • Charge type: Magnetic USB charge base
    • Compatible Batteries: Customised RCR123A IMR
    • Light Intensity (candela): 5250
    • Light Form:  Wide/broad hotspot. Perfect for up close illumination.
    • Mode Operation: Side Switch
    • Form / Size Factor: Small size (Car key / Zippo Lighter)
    • Lens / Reflector Type: TIR reflector (big, defined wide hotspot)
    • Series: Series S (EDC, General Use)
  • Notable Characteristics
    • 1,000-lumen output: With the help of the all new customized 10C discharge current lithium-manganese battery, the S1R II delivers a huge output of 1,000 lumens in a small pocket light powered only by a single IMR16340.
    • Premium beam: Perfectly balanced hot spot for optimal clarity and a soft transition to maintain comfortable vision during use.
    • Three-color power level indication: Once the light is turned on, the power indicator located in the center of the side switch shows the power level in three colors (Green: Power>60%, Yellow: Power is between 10% and 60%; Red: Power<10%).
    • Highly efficient MCC II charger: This round-edged magnetic USB charger is not only 13% thinner than the previous MCC but is also compatible with all existing rechargeable flashlights and headlamps using this charging method. The new MCC II provides another fast charging solution to future Olight products with high capacity batteries.
  • Lighting Levels & Run Times
    • Moon – 0.5 lumens, 8 days
    • Low – 12 lumens, 20 hours
    • Medium – 60 lumens, 3 hours 40 mins
    • High – 600 lumens for 1.5 mins, then drops to 300 lumens for 45 mins
    • Turbo – 1,000 lumens for 1.5 mins, then drops to 300 lumens for 37 mins
  • Technical Characteristics
    • Waterproof IPX8
    • Weight: 51 grams / 1.8 oz
    • Length (mm / in): 63 / 2.48
    • Head Diameter (mm / in): 21 / 0.82
    • Body Diameter (mm / in): 21 / 0.82
    • LED:  Cree XM-L2 CW
  • Package Contents
    • Olight S1R II flashlight x 1
    • MCCII Magnetic Charging Cable x 1
    • 550mAh IMR RCR123A Battery x 1
    • Lanyard x 1
    • Battery box x 1
    • Pouch x 1
    • User Manual x 1

Hiking Zion National Park – Camping & Backpacking in Southern Utah

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Come along for 5 days of Hiking, Camping & Backpacking in Southern Utah’s Zion National Park.

For this adventure, I’ll be spending 5 days exploring Zion National Park with my friends Derrick, Dave, and Tayson from Outdoor Vitals and Randy from Outdoor.Detour on Instagram.  We’ll be doing 3 different backpacking / camping trips: A backcountry West Rim Backpacking Trip, Exploring & hiking the Frontcountry Zion National Park area while car camping in Springdale, Utah, and a backcountry camping trip on a top-down Narrows hike, ending at the Zion visitor’s center back in Springdale.

Note: All backcountry camping in Zion requires a permit. For details, visit the Zion NPS website.

Limited time offer from Outdoor Vitals – Get the camping pillow I’m using in this video for FREE by clicking here.

Objective #1: Backcountry camp on Zion Canyon’s West Rim

Trailhead Used: West Rim Trailhead, Near Lava Point Overlook.
GPS coordinates N37° 22.899′ W113° 01.370′

West Rim Itinerary, Day 1

  • Park at the West Rim Trailhead parking area on the dirt service road near Lava Point.
    This is a gravel lot with parking for at least a half dozen cars or so.  It’s about a 40 minute drive from Springdale, Utah. The latter part of the drive is on a dirt road, but non 4wd vehicles should be fine with a bit of care.
  • Head south on the West Rim Trail
  • Setup Camp at West Rim campsite #4 GPS N37° 17.144′ W112° 59.030′

West Rim Hike Elevation Profile- Sintax77

West Rim Hike-In Mileage: 8 miles
West Rim Hike-In Gross Elevation Gain: 1,073

West Rim Itinerary, Day 2

  • Backtrack north on the West Rim Trail
  • Return to the trailhead parking lot near Lava Point.
  • Ghost town pit-stop in Grafton, Utah
  • Continue on to Springdale, Utah.
  • Check into the Quality Inn campground in Springdale, within walking distance of the Zion visitor center and park entrance.
  • Have some tacos at the Whiptail Grill, right next door to the campground. I got the “Fire Asada” tacos and they were great. If you like spicy food that’s actually spicy, I would highly recommend the Whiptail Grill. Heck, even if you don’t like spicy stuff – they have milder options, plus a fun & unique casual atmosphere as well. Oh, and the view is amazing too 🙂

Objective #2: Explore Zion National Park’s Frontcountry & Springdale, Utah.

Zion Frontcountry / Springdale Itinerary. Day 1

  • Wake up at the car campground in Springdale,
  • Take the free Zion shuttle, or a short walk north to the Zion National Park visitor center / entrance.
  • Take the Zion NP bus from the visitor center to Big Bend.
  • From the Big Bend bus stop, take the trail south along the Virgin River to Weeping Rock.
  • Road hike a bit along the Mount Carmel Highway to soak in the sights.
  • Hop another free Zion bus back towards the Springdale Visitor Center.
  • Explore Springdale, eat some ice cream at the Zion Candy Company on Zion Park Blvd.

Objective #3: Hike and Backcountry Camp the Narrows, from the Top Down.

Trailhead Used: Chamberlain’s Ranch Trailhead (aka Zion Narrows Upper Trailhead), Duck Creek Village, UT
GPS Coordinates N37° 23.121′ W112° 50.339′
Note: This was an end-to-end hike that required us to park a second vehicle at the Zion visitor center in Springdale to use as a shuttle back to the starting point.  The drive from the visitor center back to the Chamberlain’s Ranch Trailhead is around 80 minutes.

Zion NP – The Narrows, Top-down Hike Itinerary, Day 1

  • Park at the Narrows Upper Trailhead in Duck Creek, UT.
  • Head southwest on the trail, which is actually dirt road, closed off to vehicles, for the first 3 miles.
  • Continue to follow the trail along the Virgin River, through the Narrows.
  • This trail is very easy to follow, as it is literally the river. A majority of the time will be spent walking in the river bed in ankle deep to knee deep water depending on conditions, depending on current water-flow conditions.
  • Note for reference: The ccf reading during our trip was roughly 40 CCF.  Anything under 50 ccf is considered to be relatively ideal. Above 100 cfs, conditions can be difficult and hazardous. At 130 ccf, top-down narrows hikes will be closed. At 150 ccf, bottom up Narrows hikes will be closed.  During a flash flood, flows can exceed 1000 cfs.
  • Setup camp at the Narrows campsite #12.  N37° 19.982′ W112° 57.373′

Zion NP – The Narrows, Top-down Hike Itinerary, Day 2

  • Break camp and continue south along the Virgin River.
  • Exit the trail and catch the free Zion bus at the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop.
  • Return to the Zion NP Springdale Visitor Center
  • Drive back to retrieve starting vehicle (~80 minute drive)

Notable Gear Seen:

GCI Slim Fold Cook Station – Make your Vehicle Adventure Ready

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A Review of the GCI Outdoor Slim Fold Cook Station.

In this video camping fear review, I give a run down of the various features of the GCI Slim Fold Camp Cook Station, as well as my own personal experiences with the GCI cook station for car camping and various camp cooking applications.

Disclosure: This post or video contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links. Cross reference, do your own research and make your own decisions, duh 😉

Specs and Features as per the manufacturer

  • Folds flat for storage
  • Easy to open, set up and close
  • Four multi-use fold-out side tables – beverage, wine glass, garbage bag, paper towel and utensil holder (weight limit per table: 30 lb / 13.6 kg)
  • Aluminum counter top (weight limit: 48 lb / 21.8 kg)
  • Lower rack for storage/dry goods (weight limit: 35 lb / 15.9 kg)
  • Powder-coated steel frame
  • Open size: 20.9 x 52 x 32.3 in (53 x 132 x 82 cm)
  • Folded size: 20.9 x 3.7 x 34.6 in (53 x 9.5 x 88 cm)
  • Unit weight: 18.9 lb (8.6 kg)

Mail Call – Back from Zion NP, Alcohol Stove Mods, Backpacking Pillows

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Tips, tricks, and discussion on various Backpacking, Hiking & Camping topics.

Topics Discussed / Gear Seen

Flash Sale! Sintax77 T-Shirts (Ends 8/13/18)

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Flash Sale is open from Tuesday 8/7/18 to Monday, 8/13/18.

Some of you have let me know that you wanted a t-shirt during our original offering and missed it, so we’re doing a quick flash sale for those of you who would like a second chance 🙂

Official t-shirt of the Sintax77 channel on YouTube, your source for backpacking, hiking, camping, and travel adventure videos. It’s become a custom to end each of my backpacking videos with the parting quote “It’s Cheeseburger Time!”, before leaving the trail to replace some much needed calories.

Now you can wear your fancy new Cheeseburger Time shirt on the way to your own post-hike cheeseburger experience and become a part of the tradition!

Shirts are available in Charcoal, Royal Blue, and Maroon at http://www.bonfire.com/sintax77
Campaign will launch if we hit a threshold of 5 shirts ordered!

I hope you all enjoy the shirt, and thank you to our devoted uber-suscribers for watching and supporting this channel for all these years! 🙂

Flash sale ends on Monday, August 13th, 2018.

Supporters will receive their orders 7 – 14 business days after the campaign ends.