Vital Link - revisiting an old friend

After 2 months of Brand Library-to-Mt Thom conditioning scrambles we're headed back to the venerable Vital Link trail on Monday July 6 for a summer reunion. Summer is NOT the ideal time for this trek but it's all conditioning and introducing new 'Bramblers' to its unique joys (and something tells me Paul will love this one!)

For first timers finding the going too steep it is perfectly okay to turnaround midway and pack it in early. The trail gains 700 feet in the first 20 minutes (traveling at an average 3 mph) so frequent short breaks are the order of the day. The trick is to keep them short, 10-20 seconds, to keep the momentum. A mid-hike break of a few minutes also makes sense depending on the weather and condition of the party.

For those not able to make the summit (a lookout bench astride the rim at 2900 feet) there is a good turning point at 1.2 miles (2200 feet) or about 35-40 minutes into the hike. The total trek is ~3.6 miles and an elevation gain of ~1700+ feet.

Bring lots of water and/or Gatorade and trekking poles ready do work well in this setting.