Mt. Mansfield - 9/20/06

[Homer]

So, this was to be my first peak bagging/hiking in VT. Hard to believe, but then again I'm such a White Mountain lover who can blame me. I've definitely had my share of skiing in VT over the years however. Anyway, the goal was to just kind of wing it and head north to bag some of the VT 4000 footers. So off I went at 0630 Wednesday morning, the first target was Mt. Mansfield, the tallest in VT. One things for sure, it's a long way up there from Mystic, CT. After many pit stops I was finally able to find the Long Trail trailhead on VT 108 at 1145. I did however manage to drive right by it the first time and ended up driving up into Smuggler's Notch. No big deal here as this was quite a beautiful place. I would have thought that the Long Trail would have had better signage next to the road or parking area, but that was not to be the case. The signs were in the woods a bit, but I found them nonetheless. I signed the trail register and off I went right at 1200. It was a beautiful day, sunny with some patchy clouds and 65 degrees. Fall was definitely in the air as the leaves were already starting to turn colors and falling onto the trail. I would imagine they would be in peak form in about another week or two. The first 1.7 miles was just a steady climb up through the woods till I reached Taft Lodge at 1255. Very good trail conditions with an occasional wet spot here and there. I only managed to pass a few people who were already coming down for the day. After 5-10 more minutes you break out into the open with views all around. Then there's the final steep climb up to The Chin, or main summit (4393'), which I made by 1320. Time to add another layer of clothing as the west wind hit me right in the face. It was a little overcast but there were still some good views from the top. It was tough to tell if I could make out the silhouettes of the White Mountains to the east. I took all the usual pictures and videos and then proceeded south on the Long Trail towards the The Nose, or summit station. Now for anyone who intends on bagging Mt. Mansfield I highly suggest incorporating this ridge walk into your plans. This is all the above treeline, alpine experience we are used to seeing in the White Mountains of NH. There are only a couple of places like this in VT. Obviously, if it's bad weather take the appropriate precautions. I absolutely love this kind of hiking. So, across the ridge I went, reaching The Nose at 1400. Then I made my way down the Toll Road about .5 miles and stopped in to see the Stone Hut which is a public lodging facility run by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Stowe Mountain Resort. Neat little hut that sleeps 12 people. I then headed down the Hazelton Trail the last 1.6 miles and reached the base at 1500. The upper part of this trail is an actual ski trail which is fairly steep and grassy with not very good footing. It does get better however once you get back into the woods with the usual rocks and roots for good footing. I then made my way about a mile back up VT 108 to where I parked at 1530. It was a great day of hiking, the highest point in VT, and my first 4000 footer in the Green Mountains. All said and done, about 6.5 miles, approx. 2800', and 3 1/2 hours of hiking. Enough for today as tomorrow I would tackle both Camel's Hump and Killington Peak in one day. Those trip reports are coming soon.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/foste...one=http://photos.sbc.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

 

[DaveSunRa]

That Taft Lodge looks cool. Might try it out this winter.