MANCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — After hiking over 200 miles (320 kilometers) on the country's oldest long-distance trail, Rob Mullen had just 3 miles (5 kilometers) to go in the rain to meet up with his wife and father for a break.

He kept dry with his foul weather gear as he walked down the trail with a backdrop of trees sprouting fall's orange and yellow leaves and carrying trekking poles and a big stuffed blue pack on his back that held his precious painting kit.

Mullen, a 64-year-old wildlife and wilderness artist, is hiking the 272-mile (440-kilometer) Long Trail that runs the length of Vermont an...