Gonna be in Jericho on Friday and I'm looking for a hike. Can someone tell me how far the road walk is from wherever you park to the trail head? Any info on the loop along the ridge and down Maple Ridge would also be appreciated. I'll probably be solo and will definitely be in unfamiliar terratory so I'm a little reluctant to do a loop unless I can get reliable assurance that I won't be walking into any unpleasant surprises. A comparison to Blueberry Ledge Trail on Whiteface (NH) would be usefull.
Mansfield via Sunset Ridge
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michaelb
New member
I haven't done Sunset in the winter, but it is otherwise a fairly straightforward hike; the top half is all exposed above treeline so could be nasty in the wind. I would bet there would be ice up there. It gets a lot of traffic and is a beautiful hike. The road up should be about 20 minutes one way. Lots of skiers will be there doing various backcountry ski trails, including Teardrop.
Maple ridge coming off the forehead is very steep, scary steep in a few places with some exposure. I have snow shoed up to that ridge several times but have never gone all the way up the ridge in the winter either. It is very rugged, and I haven't seen any sign of anyone else's tracks on the ridge line, so I get lost and lose the trail. I am also not sure how many people ever go off the back side of maple ridge down to the CCC road in the winter either, so that could be hard to follow too. Maple ridge is very beautiful though.
So it would be a great loop in the spring/summer/fall, but I wouldn't necessarily try it as your first winter hike on Mansfield. Coming down via halfway house or laura cowles would be much, much easier.
Maple ridge coming off the forehead is very steep, scary steep in a few places with some exposure. I have snow shoed up to that ridge several times but have never gone all the way up the ridge in the winter either. It is very rugged, and I haven't seen any sign of anyone else's tracks on the ridge line, so I get lost and lose the trail. I am also not sure how many people ever go off the back side of maple ridge down to the CCC road in the winter either, so that could be hard to follow too. Maple ridge is very beautiful though.
So it would be a great loop in the spring/summer/fall, but I wouldn't necessarily try it as your first winter hike on Mansfield. Coming down via halfway house or laura cowles would be much, much easier.
Rich Lachapelle
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Sunset Ridge
If you have never been, make sure you get hold of a good map.
Probably the best is the waterproof map of Mt. Mansfield put
out by the GMC (Green Mtn Club). From the large gate where
the State Park road is usually plowed to in winter, it is about
1 1/4 miles to the Sunset Ridge trailhead, where the CCC road
takes a righthand bend and heads south. The bottom of the
Maple Ridge trail is another 1 1/4 miles down the CCC road,
about where it stops being a defineable road.
If you really want to commit yourself to walking the whole
ridgeline and making a loop down Maple Ridge, be prepared to
be above treeline for 1 1/2 miles after reaching the top of
Sunset Ridge. All of the sidetrails along the western side
of the ridge:
Sunset Ridge
Laura Cowles
Halfway House
Maple Ridge
...will take you back down to the CCC road if you need to
bail. Be aware, as narrow as the ridgeline of Mt. Mansfield
is, it can get difficult to navigate if the visibility gets
short. The blazes are painted on the rocks and are often
covered in winter and there are very few cairns.
Crampons would be highly recommended for any of these
trails. A rollup sled would also be highly recommended for
a quick ride back down the park road below the Sunset
Ridge trailhead.
Happy trails
If you have never been, make sure you get hold of a good map.
Probably the best is the waterproof map of Mt. Mansfield put
out by the GMC (Green Mtn Club). From the large gate where
the State Park road is usually plowed to in winter, it is about
1 1/4 miles to the Sunset Ridge trailhead, where the CCC road
takes a righthand bend and heads south. The bottom of the
Maple Ridge trail is another 1 1/4 miles down the CCC road,
about where it stops being a defineable road.
If you really want to commit yourself to walking the whole
ridgeline and making a loop down Maple Ridge, be prepared to
be above treeline for 1 1/2 miles after reaching the top of
Sunset Ridge. All of the sidetrails along the western side
of the ridge:
Sunset Ridge
Laura Cowles
Halfway House
Maple Ridge
...will take you back down to the CCC road if you need to
bail. Be aware, as narrow as the ridgeline of Mt. Mansfield
is, it can get difficult to navigate if the visibility gets
short. The blazes are painted on the rocks and are often
covered in winter and there are very few cairns.
Crampons would be highly recommended for any of these
trails. A rollup sled would also be highly recommended for
a quick ride back down the park road below the Sunset
Ridge trailhead.
Happy trails
climbingbassist
New member
Mansfield
I did Chin via Sunset Ridge and back down Laura Cowles Saturday before last. There maybe some ice on SR, but it's not too steep, Probably need snowshoes after the storm. It's pretty steep down Laura Cowles, but very fast if you butt-slide, like Lion's Head descent.
Only remotely scary place was top of Laura Cowles, but that should be covered with snow now.
Eliot
I did Chin via Sunset Ridge and back down Laura Cowles Saturday before last. There maybe some ice on SR, but it's not too steep, Probably need snowshoes after the storm. It's pretty steep down Laura Cowles, but very fast if you butt-slide, like Lion's Head descent.
Only remotely scary place was top of Laura Cowles, but that should be covered with snow now.
Eliot
Thanks everyone. I think I'll take Rich's advice and try to pick up a good map on Thursday during my drive up. It'll probably be a up and down on Sunset Ridge but the option of Laura Cowles or Halfway House are worth looking at. I just hope Friday isn't too windy.
