It existed before the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and all the other legendary routes in North America: the Long Trail. America's oldest long-distance hiking trail has existed since 1910, when two dozen outdoor enthusiasts in Vermont founded the Green Mountain Club. What began as a 48 km trail between Mt. Mansfield and Camel's Hump - Vermont's two most popular peaks - already ran its entire length from Massachusetts to Quebec by 1930. On the Long Trail, known for its idyllic beauty, you literally melt into the wilderness. From north to south, the trail undulates over the ridges of the Green Mountains, through dense maple, beech and birch forests, down into fern-covered gorges and rocky creek beds, and up to the state's highest peaks. The classic is a marathon from Vermont's southern border at Williamstown (Massachusetts) to the village of North Troy just outside French Canada. Depending on your physical condition, you can complete the trail in two to four weeks, staying overnight in one of more than 70 accommodations. They range from simple campsites and shelters to more comfortable options like the restored Bolten Lodge from 1928, which is reminiscent of an Irish cottage. There is a place to stay about every 8 km, always on a first-come, first-served basis. Most are free, a flat rate of $5 is charged if there is a lodge host on site in summer.

Like so many New England residents, I completed the Long Trail in chunks. It regularly crosses highways and passes villages, so there are plenty of opportunities throughout Vermont to start a day trip or a weekend adventure. It's a way to get a taste for the trail without having to commit to a multi-week expedition (for some, that's cheating, but the Green Mountain Club awards a "Finish-to-Finish" patch to anyone who has hiked the trail in its entirety, whether in one piece or over the course of a lifetime). Over the years, I regularly ticked off sections. On nice weekends, I explored the mountains near both my hometowns of Brattleboro and Middlebury, and as a native East Coaster, I felt the rolling green mountains appeal to something inside me. So much of Vermont's beauty lies in its forests, and some days there's nothing like immersing yourself in them and hiking down from the unpaved Mt. Tabor Road near Danby into the Big Branch Wilderness. Anyone who has experienced the white-striped birch trees and enchanting red and gold maple leaves under a cloudless blue sky on a balmy August day understands what the radiant beauty of these forests is all about. However, I have also spent 20 years of my life in the endless expanses of the West - and I still long for the endless horizons that the Long Trail holds above the tree line.

Among my most memorable moments was climbing Camel's Hump - the only major peak in the Green Mountains not yet groomed for skiers, and arguably the most defining in the state with its rough, exposed rocky ridge - with a group. We started at Montclair Glen Lodge at the foot of the mountain. In places we trudged through knee-high snow and scrambled over icy rocks until we finally reached the summit at dusk - an incredibly inspiring experience in the grey winter light. In the dark, we followed our tracks down the mountain, a glowing chain of headlamps against the ghostly silhouette of the white mountain flanks. Full of pure magic is also the summit of Mt Mansfield. Hiking Vermont's highest mountain is the ultimate long-trail experience, with breathtaking views west to Lake Champlain and east to New Hampshire, south beyond Camel's Hump and north to Montreal.

Along the way you march through alpine tundra, with plants normally found 2400 km north in subarctic Canada. To explore this section on a day hike, there is nothing better than the 5 km ascent of the Sunset Ridge Trail. It starts at Underhill State Park and is one of the most beautiful hiking routes in the US. Other high mountain experiences along the Long Trail are less challenging. Few are more satisfying than the 1.3 km climb from Brandon Gap to the Great Cliff of Mt Horrid. The views far across the land of beaver and moose and the mountains beyond leave you in awe. Perhaps my fondest trail memory, however, is of my daughter Chloe on her first big trek at the age of one. We climbed from Lincoln Gap up to Mt Abraham, one of the state's rare 4000-metre peaks - 4000 feet, or about 1330 metres. She was grinning ear to ear as she clung to the back of a very child-friendly dog on the summit, the green expanses of Vermont's Champlain Valley in the background. Thirteen years later, we regularly hike the trail, and by now I hope to one day hike it in one piece with her. Because that's exactly how it's meant to be.