Checking for Ticks

Reminder: diligently check for ticks after hiking and other outdoor activities! And if venturing outdoors with a four-legged friend, perform a thorough tick check on them too.

With milder winters, tick populations and their range in the eastern U.S. have steadily increased, becoming a regular although unfavorable part of recreating outdoors. But it’s no reason to avoid getting outside. Brush up on your tick ID, learn about tick prevention from resources like TickEncounter and Tickcheck.com, and know what to do if you pick up these unwanted hitchhikers and need to remove them or test for Lyme disease.

Dealing with Black Flies

With the start of hiking season, we’re also dealing with black flies. Black flies are most active from mid-May through late June or early July. They can cause discomfort or annoyance for hikers with their swarming and bites. Here are a few tips for avoiding or minimizing black fly bites:

  • Cover or minimize exposed skin, or wear a bug net over the face and neck
  • Flies are attracted to dark colors, so wear light-colored clothing
  • Avoid consuming or wearing anything with a sweet scent
  • Use insect repellent with DEET
  • Or use natural repellants like vanilla extract, lavender, and the extract from pine branches

Just like lush green vegetation and mud are characteristics of hiking in Vermont, so are the flies this time of year. Despite any irritation they may cause, we sure are excited to be out on the trails.

Food Storage

While planning any backpacking and overnight trail adventures this summer, don’t forget to think about food storage!

We share our outdoor spaces with many different types of wildlife, including black bears here in Vermont. Hikers can limit bear interactions by properly storing all food and scented items in the backcountry and packing out food scraps and trash. Following food storage regulations helps prevent attracting bears to camping and shelter sites and keeps bears from associating human presence with food sources.

In the Green Mountain National Forest, hikers are required to use bear-proof food storage methods like a bear box, bear canister, or food hang. GMC partners with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and BearVault to offer a free bear canister rental program on a first-come, first-served basis.


Find our list of shelters with bear boxes, info on GMC’s bear canister program, and extra tips on bear safety as a hiker on the Green Mountain Club website: www.greenmountainclub.org/education/bear-safety-hiking-camping/


Protecting Alpine Plant Life

If you’ve hiked through any alpine zone areas, like the ridgeline of Mount Mansfield or the summit of Camel’s Hump, you’ve probably noticed the white string marking a corridor where hikers should keep their footsteps.

In these mountaintop alpine environments, the plant life is resilient to harsh winds and cooler temperatures but extremely vulnerable to human recreation impacts and climate change impacts. Several alpine plant species are listed as endangered or threatened in Vermont, but are important because they hold down soil with their roots and help prevent erosion at higher elevations. Hiker and canine footsteps pose the greatest and most immediate threat to these plants, but the greatest protectors are hikers themselves.

Last week, GMC staff restrung the Mount Mansfield ridgeline for the beginning of hiking season. Throughout the season, GMC’s caretakers work to protect the alpine zone by maintaining the stringing and educating hikers about the environment’s importance, fragility and vulnerability, and what they can do to help protect alpine zones. Do your part to help protect the rare and fragile alpine ecosystem found on these special mountain high points and remember to stay within the string!

Learn more about Vermont’s alpine zones and how you can help protect them: www.greenmountainclub.org/conservation/vermonts-alpine-zones/