# Green mountain growler gravel grinder



## Justin Credible (May 10, 2011)

Has anyone done this? It will be my first bikepacking trip. 250 miles 22,000 feet of climbing. We are doing it over the course of five days, I’m wondering what food and water to bring, we will be stopping at many towns and breweries along the way. Sleeping arrangements as well, I’m guessing we are just stopping in the woods and setting up for the night. Thanks for any info you have.


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## Justin Credible (May 10, 2011)

Nothing?! Nobody rides in Vermont?


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

Sorry, I can't help you with specifics, but I'm interested in this ride as well, or part of the XVTMBR. I've done plenty of day rides in VT, but no overnighters. My guess is you won't need to carry much in the way of food and water, as you will be passing plenty of places to resupply along the way. As far as camping, it may be hit and miss. Some sections look to be pretty secluded and it should work fine, but there's lots of farmland and such around VT that might complicate things.

I would suggest really planning the ride and daily mileage to see where you'll end up each night. That should give you a better idea what the area is like and if it's possible to stealth camp there. I haven't looked too closely at the route, but there may also be some campgrounds along the way that you can target. Maybe setup a motel halfway through to treat yourself?

I'm sure you've been here, but it's worth reading multiple times, also read through all the comments, as some contain valuable camping info.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Justin Credible said:


> Nothing?! Nobody rides in Vermont?


 Regional forums might get some better response.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Did some of the XVT last year near there. The term " road" is kind of subjective in VT. Some washed out streams and such. Seems like a very ambitious distance per day. Ran into some really steep pitches last year, even on pave.


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## Justin Credible (May 10, 2011)

Ok, cool. I’ll check out the Vermont section. I did see there are campgrounds around, I’m just putting out feelers to see what’s up


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## VTFargo (Oct 12, 2009)

The Growler Loop goes kind of around where I live, so I'm familiar with most of it, though haven't ridden it all. You will always be close to food/drink/supplies, as the root isn't that far from paved roads/towns. Camping is tricky, if you are in the national forest, there are sites and likely some other places to camp  There are some nice places north of Little River state campground in the Cotton Brook drainage. The private campgrounds are expensive & geared to the RV crowd, I'd sooner pick a town with a brewery & cheap motel like Morrisville. They is also camping places (not official) along most rivers, just don't get there too early in the day.


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## Justin Credible (May 10, 2011)

Thanks! Good info there. I’ll def be trying to stealth camp as much as we can. Maybe ask some land owners for permission. Trying to stay out of hotels, but if we have to then it would be considered a luxury


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## RPG (Sep 16, 2005)

I assume you've already cruised over this write up? 
Green Mountain Gravel Growler, Vermont - BIKEPACKING.com

Looks like they did a fairly thorough job. Good luck and keep us posted!


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## apfrost (Feb 20, 2018)

yeah, you're never far away from anyone in VT, so you can get away carrying as much or little as you like really. stealth camping can be tricky because of that, but the state parks are great. Most of them have 2 night minimums, but if you show up on a bike they'll let you stay just one--Elmore is worth the detour, and little river is super nice.


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## jamesframes (May 2, 2008)

I will be doing this as well end of July. Shooting for a light setup and staying in AirBnB's near a brewery along the way rather than camp. Taking 3.5 days...so roughly three 75 mile days. Seems like water and resupply are abundant especially if you resupply on beer. The terrain can't be too bad-I have since cross setups taking this on...I'll be on a HT...mostly because I prefer it. Some big climbs for sure...


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## Justin Credible (May 10, 2011)

Awesome jamesframes... maybe we will see you about there!


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## jamesframes (May 2, 2008)

Got back the other day-it was rad. Wife and I did three 70 mile days with the fourth being a mellow 25 or so back to town. We cut out the section after Lincoln Gap to Otter Creek due to heat instead making a direct bomb into the town of Bristo where we we stayingl. It was this past weekend with brutal temps.

Route was easy to follow and stunning. Really good mix of dirt, ST, DT, and the occasional paved road. We road singletrack everyday. I saw some skinny tire tracks...I was happy to be on the mtb.

Plenty of places to refuel and swim along the way. We camped/left car in Shelburne and looped from there...Morrisville, Barre, then Bristol. The Air BnB's were perfect with A/C, showers, etc. They were like 60 bucks a night.

Have fun!


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## stblindtiger (Aug 25, 2014)

Myself and a group of 3 other friends are doing this route at the end of July as well! We are not going to camp though. We lined up a few airbnb’s and motel rooms. We changed up our stops somewhat to focus on ending our days close to cool breweries so we are planning on going from Burlington to Stowe, Stowe to Hardwick, Hardwick to warren, warren to middlebury, middlebury to Burlington. So excited! I was definitely happy to hear you were glad you brought your mountain bike because I plan to do the same, and that the route was easy to follow. I’m a little worried about all the climbing though. I rode the Gap and C&O trail from Pittsburgh to Dc last summer averaging about 70 miles a day but that was basically all railroad grade. Since you just finished it a few days ago, is there any advice about the route you can share? How was the climb from Prohibition Pig past the Trappe brewery and back down to the Alchemist? That seems to be the most single track and a rider we are going with isn’t that experienced with too much mountain biking. Any tips on where to park in Burlington over the 5 days(preferably close to Battery Park)? Is street parking possible? What were your favorite sections of the route? Thanks and sorry for all the questions....


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## jamesframes (May 2, 2008)

-We camped @ the shelburne camping area partially so that we could leave our car there for a few nights (they charged 2 bucks a day). There is free parking around Burlington ( I had contact the Old Spokes Home for Beta), but I really was too interested in seeking it out. This was an easier option for us. From there, we took some back roads to skirt Burlington in the morning and joined the route just on the other side of the city.

-The climb from the Prohibition Pig eventually leading to the Alchemist is the first climb challenge-a mix of road and eventually singletrack. The route follows a hiking trail straight up, but there is a new mtb specific trail that gets to the same place via switchbacks. There is a fee to get into this park and the folks at the gate can give some info-also water is available here. After the Alchemist, you head out of Stowe a bit to get on a great singletrack climb...a bunch of switchbacks of well made stuff-all rideable.

-There are two bigger climbs on the route...Lincoln Gap and the climb that eventually brings you to Waitsfield. We did 6K-7K a day climbing, it was hard but never demoralizing and we were not crushed at the end of the day. The three days of 100 degrees was a crusher however. We are both pretty fit mtb endurance riders/racers.

-The entire route was awesome as a complete "album" so to speak. Some "tracks" were more enjoyable than others, but joy came from putting these pieces together. Moving along and finding surprise singletrack, connectors, or just beautiful views were the highlights. I did not know really what parts of the route were paved, DT, and ST going into it-it made it interesting.


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## stblindtiger (Aug 25, 2014)

Good to know about the fee. I didn't realize any of the route required fees/permits. I couldn't imagine doing 6K feet of climbing in a day! We kept to the original plan of 5 days though, so our daily mileage/altitude climbs will be a lot lower than yours. We also tried splitting up the climbs to make it a bit more manageable as well. 

We really don't know what parts of the route are paved/DT/or ST either, so it should be a fun ride!

Are there any other parts of the route we will have to pay a fee or buy a permit?


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## jamesframes (May 2, 2008)

Just the one park...it was like 2 or 4 bucks a person.

It sounds like your plan will make the trip doable and fun! Enjoy!


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## BosPete (Apr 23, 2017)

I did a shorter 3 day version of the GMGG this past July and it was a lot of fun. We hit a perfect week with 100% clear sky's, 78-84 degree temps with little humility. I posted about it here: http://forums.mtbr.com/beer-forum/v...l-growler-32oz-bike-packing-trip-1084655.html


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