This spot was the top of the Mt Mansfield auto toll road - open to the public and providing a very easy summit hike to those willing to pay the cost. Fortunately, the toll road had not yet opened for the season, and the parking lot was empty. The whole area on the top of Mansfield can get quite busy in the summer owing to this easy vehicular access.
Continuing aLong the Long Trail
The Long Trail disappeared back into scrub and fir trees on the other side of the visitor center / parking area, and soon we were continuing our walk along it, north towards The Chin, the highest of Mansfield's features.
After a brief crossing through thick fir forest, the Long Trail began to emerge into the open again, first through small clearings but increasingly continuously in alpine terrain. By the time we crossed over the 4000-foot mark, the trees were almost entirely gone. Mansfield's ridgeline narrows here, and there are great views both to the west and east. Down to the east, we could see the ski runs and resorts of Stowe. Some of the runs still had substantial snow on them.
courtesy JInnes
We had not seen anyone during the first half of our hike, all the way up to midway along our hike north along Mansfield's ridgeline. Now, though, as we approached the highpoint of the Chin, we started to encounter increasing numbers of people. I had thought that perhaps a Canadian-only Monday holiday would have given us a quieter summit, but it was not to be. Perhaps many other Canadians had had the same idea we had!
We arrived at the top (the busy top) shortly after 11:30 a.m. The day was virtually calm and the temperatures warm, so sitting around and having lunch at the summit was an enjoyable experience.
Approaching Top of Vermont
We were slightly mindful of the time. Even though it was early, we had to get back to Ottawa at a reasonable hour, and that meant finishing our hike somewhere in the 2 to 3pm range. Time to move on.
Fortunately, the arrangement of the summit with respect to our loop meant that we were already three-quarters of the way to completion. All we had to do now was descend nearby Sunset Ridge back to Underhill State Park.
Sunset Ridge is another of Mansfield's premier hiking features. A broad rib descending west from The Chin, Sunset Ridge sports open alpine terrain down to a fairly low 3400 feet. When combined with an ascent of Maple Ridge and the main summit ridge, a loop hike with nearly 50% of time spent in the alpine is possible - something very rare for a northeastern US mountain hike.
courtesy JInnes
In fairly short order, we clambered our way down Sunset Ridge's easy terrain. After about 45 minutes of descent, the trail veered left off of the crest and descended into the trees for good. Once in the trees, a steep descent over quite rough trail (in winter this part is much more pleasant) took us towards the closure of our loop at the upper boundary of Underhill State Park.
With our loop now closed, it was a simple matter to finish our hike: walk down the combination of park access road and cutoff trail back to the main entrance. We encountered many vehicles in the campground parking area when we arrived, implying that today was the opening day of the season for the park. We dropped our packs here, and I marched on ahead to bring our car up (which I had parked the day before at the then-closed gate).
Our tightly-planned and executed outing had been a success (on all fronts). We stopped for a final satisfied look at Mansfield's facial profile on our drive out from Underhill State Park.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Mansfield Loop - click map to view
Mansfield CCC Road-Maple Ridge-Rock Garden-Long Trail-Sunset Ridge Loop
Start Time:
6:45a.m.
End Time:
2:09p.m.
Duration:
7h24m
Distance:
13.41 km
(8.33 mi)
Average Speed:
1.8 km/hr
(1.1 mph)
Start Elevation:
1838ft
(560m)
*
Max Elevation:
4394ft
(1339m)
*
Min Elevation:
1837ft
(560m)
*
End Elevation:
1837ft
(560m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2856ft
(871m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2844ft
(867m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
