Hiking for miles on a trail, alone, is not for every-one, but it is a favorite activity of Perry Krakora. Last August she again walked the Long Trail in Vermont, this time the 108-mile section from North Adams, MA, to Killington, VT. (Earlier, over a period of three years, she had hiked the entire 272 miles of the Long Trail, in sections.) The Trail runs along the main ridge of the Green Mountains. This southern section coincides with the Appalachian Trail.

First came preparation. Perry worked out regularly and lost 15 pounds. This meant less weight to carry, as her backpack alone weighed around 19 pounds, without food or water. Perry dehydrated her own food and carried one little pot to prepare it in. She took along a SteriPEN, which sterilized stream water through ultraviolet light. She packed her sleeping bag, her waterproof poncho, and her first aid kit. She had her walking sticks. She had a cell phone, even though it only worked on the east side of the mountains.

Since “resupply is important, I had to plan ahead,” says Perry. She determined which shelters she would stop at and when she would go off the trail to a bed-and-breakfast, where she could receive more packages of food or batteries and even send home unneeded gear.

Then Perry set off. Hiking by herself brings her great joy. “I like to hear the forest,” she says. “I can go at my own pace, stopping whenever I want to enjoy the view, take a picture, or rest.”

She was hardly alone on the trail, however. As usual in August, there were many other hikers, and some of the shelters were filled to overflowing. In fact, after slogging through a downpour the first day, with water rising over her boot tops, she arrived at the shelter to find it full. Resourceful as ever, Perry dumped the water out of her Gore-Tex boots, laid her sleeping bag on her ground cover and crawled in, wet clothes and all.  She had erected her poncho over her head as a tent and was soon asleep.   In all, she was alone in a shelter only one night out of the 12. Perry enjoyed the conversations with other hikers. “There’s a certain anonymity,” she says. “You can talk about anything.”

Perry’s hike took her over rocky, “rooty,” muddy footpaths, past great beaver ponds and rushing streams, through lovely forests, and over mountains, some with wonderful views. A special treat was hearing loons call in the night from a nearby pond. After her final night at an inn in Killington, she made her way by bus to her sister in Massachusetts. Then finally Perry returned to Medford Leas, all in one piece and mission accomplished.