BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 17, 2010: Mount Mansfield Loop
Trails: Long Trail, Adams Apple Trail, Forehead Bypass, South Link, Haselton Trail
Summits: Mount Mansfield
Hikers: Solo
Sue decided to take the weekend off from hiking in favor of some family time. I decided it was a good opportunity to finish off the Vermont 4K’s. I had only Mansfield left and it became my primary hike target for the weekend.
My plan was to be on the road from Nashua around 5:00am which would have me on-trail around 8:30 – 9:00am. I woke up early and decided to head out early. A 6:30am on-trail start time meant I’d be home by late afternoon if there were no problems along the way.
The plan was a simple one, hike the loop of Mansfield in a counter-clockwise direction and include the Adams Apple and Forehead loops. I parked in the roadside lot just north of the south Long Trail trailhead on Route 108. At the end of the hike I would have a short road walk back to the trailhead lot from the ski area which is the ending location for Haselton Trail.
The conditions at the start were pretty good with a cool temperature but the humidity was high. It took little time to have my shirt soaked with perspiration. The trails were all generally clear and dry. Some of the areas of rock slabs required extra care due to the moss and the slipping and sliding that comes with it. I managed to settle into a relatively comfortable pace and climbed to the spur that leads to Taft Lodge with very limited stops along the way. I felt my progress was pretty slow but upon checking I found myself right on a “book time” pace. That was a surprise. I knew the hike was short, I started a lot earlier than planned, and there was no hurry to complete the hike.
Roughly .3 miles past Taft Lodge I came to the first of the side trips – the Adams Apple Loop. At this elevation the trees were generally gone. Unfortunately, the great views that should have been available were obscured by clouds blowing through from the west. There were occasional views but nothing long-distance. I made the turn and headed out. The loop only adds .3 miles and under the prevailing conditions nothing else, there were no views.
I continued the climb to The Chin (actual summit). The final .3 miles and couple hundred feet in elevation has some interesting scrambles that would probably be a real test if wet. As I made this final climb the wind really picked up and it was cool. My shirt was soaked and I needed to grab a jacket to help shield from the wind – it felt pretty cold due to evaporation. I made it through the climb to The Chin without any problems, got a couple pictures, and continued south. There were brief views to the south between the clouds. A short distance before Subway I met the first people on the trail. They were not hikers – no packs or equipment of any kind. I assume they must have come up via the ski lift or the auto road. Not long after I met a couple more with shopping bags – why didn’t they leave the bags in the car??
Soon I arrived at the Visitor Center. There were several vehicles in the lot and a number of people wandering around the area. I paused long enough to locate the place where Long Trail left the area, and left the area passing by The Nose on the way out. The exit from the area of the Visitor Center also put me back into the trees and the jacket was no longer helpful; off it came and I headed for The Forehead loop. Actually, I think I may have already been on the loop at this point. I made my way to The Forehead and continued to the junction with Forehead Bypass. From there I headed back toward the Visitor Center on the bypass to the junction with South Link and the start of my exit hike.
With the cloudy conditions, all of this wandering around was little more than some pleasant exercise. Unfortunately, the great views that I hoped for based on the forecast for the day were nowhere to be found.
South Link is a tight and rough trail compared with the other trails I hiked in the area. It wasn’t until I was close to the lower end that I found the trail open up a little. South Link connects Forehead Bypass with the Auto Road near the Hazelton Trail.
I’m glad that I brought my Long Trail Guide with me. The Haselton Trail is not marked at the Auto Road. It runs with the top several hundred yards of the Nose Dive Ski Trail, which is very well marked. I scratched my head a little while I attempted to locate Haselton Trail and finally pulled out the book. From the description I simply started descending Nose Dive and at the first turn – roughly a hundred yards off the road, I found a small sign and an arrow on a tree. From there it was generally clear sailing down to the base of the Gondola. Finally, some hikers; I met approximately a dozen hikers on the climb of Haselton Trail. They all generally had the same question – How were the views? I told them. Most just shrugged their shoulders and said – oh well.
I enjoyed the northern half of the hike the most because of the limited impact by the ski area and other development. The southern half of the hike would probably make me do an up and down to only The Chin on my next visit. It’s probably quite different and more enjoyable in winter.
I wandered out to Route 108 and headed back north to the trailhead lot. It didn’t take very long to pack, change into comfortable footwear, and hit the highway south. I pulled out of the trailhead lot six hours after pulling in. It was an unusually short day in the mountains.
At least I got the checkmark. Vermont is done.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Long Trail, Adams Apple Trail, Forehead Bypass, South Link, Haselton Trail
Summits: Mount Mansfield
Hikers: Solo
Sue decided to take the weekend off from hiking in favor of some family time. I decided it was a good opportunity to finish off the Vermont 4K’s. I had only Mansfield left and it became my primary hike target for the weekend.
My plan was to be on the road from Nashua around 5:00am which would have me on-trail around 8:30 – 9:00am. I woke up early and decided to head out early. A 6:30am on-trail start time meant I’d be home by late afternoon if there were no problems along the way.
The plan was a simple one, hike the loop of Mansfield in a counter-clockwise direction and include the Adams Apple and Forehead loops. I parked in the roadside lot just north of the south Long Trail trailhead on Route 108. At the end of the hike I would have a short road walk back to the trailhead lot from the ski area which is the ending location for Haselton Trail.
The conditions at the start were pretty good with a cool temperature but the humidity was high. It took little time to have my shirt soaked with perspiration. The trails were all generally clear and dry. Some of the areas of rock slabs required extra care due to the moss and the slipping and sliding that comes with it. I managed to settle into a relatively comfortable pace and climbed to the spur that leads to Taft Lodge with very limited stops along the way. I felt my progress was pretty slow but upon checking I found myself right on a “book time” pace. That was a surprise. I knew the hike was short, I started a lot earlier than planned, and there was no hurry to complete the hike.
Roughly .3 miles past Taft Lodge I came to the first of the side trips – the Adams Apple Loop. At this elevation the trees were generally gone. Unfortunately, the great views that should have been available were obscured by clouds blowing through from the west. There were occasional views but nothing long-distance. I made the turn and headed out. The loop only adds .3 miles and under the prevailing conditions nothing else, there were no views.
I continued the climb to The Chin (actual summit). The final .3 miles and couple hundred feet in elevation has some interesting scrambles that would probably be a real test if wet. As I made this final climb the wind really picked up and it was cool. My shirt was soaked and I needed to grab a jacket to help shield from the wind – it felt pretty cold due to evaporation. I made it through the climb to The Chin without any problems, got a couple pictures, and continued south. There were brief views to the south between the clouds. A short distance before Subway I met the first people on the trail. They were not hikers – no packs or equipment of any kind. I assume they must have come up via the ski lift or the auto road. Not long after I met a couple more with shopping bags – why didn’t they leave the bags in the car??
Soon I arrived at the Visitor Center. There were several vehicles in the lot and a number of people wandering around the area. I paused long enough to locate the place where Long Trail left the area, and left the area passing by The Nose on the way out. The exit from the area of the Visitor Center also put me back into the trees and the jacket was no longer helpful; off it came and I headed for The Forehead loop. Actually, I think I may have already been on the loop at this point. I made my way to The Forehead and continued to the junction with Forehead Bypass. From there I headed back toward the Visitor Center on the bypass to the junction with South Link and the start of my exit hike.
With the cloudy conditions, all of this wandering around was little more than some pleasant exercise. Unfortunately, the great views that I hoped for based on the forecast for the day were nowhere to be found.
South Link is a tight and rough trail compared with the other trails I hiked in the area. It wasn’t until I was close to the lower end that I found the trail open up a little. South Link connects Forehead Bypass with the Auto Road near the Hazelton Trail.
I’m glad that I brought my Long Trail Guide with me. The Haselton Trail is not marked at the Auto Road. It runs with the top several hundred yards of the Nose Dive Ski Trail, which is very well marked. I scratched my head a little while I attempted to locate Haselton Trail and finally pulled out the book. From the description I simply started descending Nose Dive and at the first turn – roughly a hundred yards off the road, I found a small sign and an arrow on a tree. From there it was generally clear sailing down to the base of the Gondola. Finally, some hikers; I met approximately a dozen hikers on the climb of Haselton Trail. They all generally had the same question – How were the views? I told them. Most just shrugged their shoulders and said – oh well.
I enjoyed the northern half of the hike the most because of the limited impact by the ski area and other development. The southern half of the hike would probably make me do an up and down to only The Chin on my next visit. It’s probably quite different and more enjoyable in winter.
I wandered out to Route 108 and headed back north to the trailhead lot. It didn’t take very long to pack, change into comfortable footwear, and hit the highway south. I pulled out of the trailhead lot six hours after pulling in. It was an unusually short day in the mountains.
At least I got the checkmark. Vermont is done.
Pictures will follow.
Last edited:
