Elevation: 4,393 (Vermont's Tallest, New England's 24th Tallest)
Route: Sunset Ridge Trail
Mileage: 6.2 miles
Arya's Take: What's this? What's this? There's white stuff on the ground!
I don't think it's quite fair to say that I had been "saving" Mount Mansfield, but as I drive past it twice a day on my way to work (just like Camel's Hump), it had been looming in my mind. Plus, there were other mountains that were easier and slightly more accessible, so Arya and I did those first.
It worked out though, since I was finally able to put the house that my wife and I bought to good use, and hosted a full crew for the weekend to come hiking with us. Many were repeat hikers with Arya and I on this little quest to bag her 4,000 footers, most recently from the day hiking the Franconias, and we even were able to have another dog along for the ride! A lovely sweetheart of a Pitt Bull named Lilo, she and Arya have been friends for a while, and she's on her own peak-bagging quest. As a matter of fact, I think as of this writing she might be closing in on Arya, if she hasn't already.
This also marked on of the latest ends of the hiking season I'd ever had, as after doing the Osceolas right before my wedding and Old Speck immediately after, I couldn't find a good weekend for everyone to all come up until we were pushing the end of October. This didn't really change much for prep and safety more than an extra layer or two, though I was disappointed that the weekend in question ended up being well after peak foliage, so the vistas we got (while nice) were not quite what I had sold everyone on when I suggested coming up and hiking in Vermont in the fall. I was also unsure of what to anticipate from the hike, as Mansfield is Vermont's tallest peak, and I'd only ever been on it in the winter, when I'd gone skiing at Stowe, which dominates one whole side of the ridge.
And that led to me having to make a decision, unsure of what the best route up would be. The guidebooks I have (as I've lamented in the past, not particularly helpful if you're not on the Long Trail) suggested a couple of options, depending on how we wanted to approach the mountain. From the Stowe base area and Smuggler's Notch, there were a couple of trails that were described as the most direct ascents, and that is admittedly usually what I'm looking for when I plot a hike. However, as I delved further, I was put off slightly to discover that this would take us up the "Profanity Ridge Trail", and the more I thought about it, the more I figured that there had to be a good reason someone called the ridge and the trail that, and that it didn't bode well for us enjoying ourselves. That, and some more reading described some steep sections that would force us (and most importantly, Arya) to use ladders, and that's not really super ideal when you're hiking with a dog. So, to the other side of the ridge I went.
I settled on the Sunset Ridge Trail, which would almost double the total mileage we would do, but also didn't look too bad when I looked at the topographical map (side note: I am TERRIBLE at reading topographical maps). It would put us right between the Nose and the Chin, with some nice extended hiking above treeline, which is a downright rarity in the Green Mountains. Oh, also, a note on naming the peaks on Mount Mansfield: See, the mountain itself is actually a really long ridge, with multiple prominent peaks. Some time ago a bored Vermonter decided that if you squint right, the whole ridge looks like a human face, so they're all named appropriately. From south to north, there's the Forehead, the Nose, the Chin, and the Adam's Apple, with the Chin being the official summit at 4,393 feet.
We awoke to a fairly crisp 23 degree morning, with the furnace going to the surprise of some of our Boston-based guests. Our trip to the base area for sunset ridge would take us through some rather unfamiliar territory for me, as I'd never been to Underhill, Vermont, or any of the other little hamlets we passed through on our way to the back side of the mountain. I mean, I wasn't worried or anything; it's hard to get lost or miss the mountain when it's the biggest and most prominent thing in the goddamn state. Once we pulled in, we met some friends who came over the Connecticut from New Hampshire, and set off up the ridge.
Which, for the first bit, was a little anticlimactic. From the parking lot, we actually followed a paved road for the better part of a mile, before hooking into the woods. This wasn't a bad warm up, actually, and it allowed us to all realize that the cold start to the day had caused us all to layer up way too much to start out, and we all shed various layers before we were too far along. I'd started the day wearing track pants, for crying out loud! You'd think I would have learned from my experiences on Old Speck, but there it is.
And from there, the hike was really quite wonderful. The day turned out to be not only sunny and clear but in the mid-40s, which was refreshing while we were at least in the trees. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the GMC had done a fair amount of trail maintenance, with good drainage and both wooden and stone stairs when needed. Arya had a blast with Lilo, though she did find out that it's hard to keep up with better-behaved dogs who are allowed off leash. Maybe some day.
At around 10:00 we took a break for breakfast just as the ridge was moving above treeline, to take in the sights and survey the Champlain Valley. The trees were basically completely bare at that point, giving the whole view a weird stark and still feeling, though we were for the most part shielded from the wind by the other side of the mountain. I tried to practice some sit-waits with Arya while my companions ate, though she has never been one to sit still on the trail, and was wholly unconvinced that we should stop. After all, there was still trail to climb!
Once we got full above treeline, my spirits began to soar. There looks to have been an early-season snowstorm on Mansfield a few days before, and while it had mostly melted in the sunshine, pockets of snow were coupled with a really neat ice effect. The exposed rocks of the ridgeline were covered with it, though between the rocks and the ice had begun to melt, so we could see streams of water trickling down the slope under the ice. Arya didn't really seem to care, though she did find out the hard way a couple of time that just because footing looks secure, doesn't mean that it is.
We ended up in our familiar position in the back of the group, as Lilo and her owner plowed ahead and most of the rest of the group settled in front of us. This wasn't a bad thing in my mind, though, as we got to enjoy the ridge rising in front of us at our own pace. It made me really remark at how little true alpine areas there are in Vermont, and I wanted to savor it while I had the chance. Even the taller peaks like Camel's Hump and Killington don't really have much to speak of when it comes to hiking above treeline (Killington not at all and Camel's Hump only barely), and the only other instances I can think of involve ski areas. Jay Peak, for instance, as a slight alpine area at the top of its tram, though as you can probably guess, Jay is 3,862 feet, so Arya and I haven't done it. I've enjoyed the open view whilst I've been skiing there, but it's not a place that we'll probably find ourselves any time soon.
At any rate, we did eventually meet up with the Long Trail, which of course traverses all of Vermont's major peaks on its way to the Canadian Border. From there, we took a sharp left and began to ascend the Chin, with me trying to make sure that Arya didn't travel too far off the beaten path, what with the polite but forceful signs to keep off the fragile alpine vegetation. We caught up with the rest of the group at the summit, I found the USGS marker to officially summit the mountain, and then we scrambled to find and alcove out of the wind. Without the protection of the ridge, we were hit with some pretty forceful gusts, to the point that I even put my winter hat jacket and track pants BACK ON, to keep warm over lunch. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd gone hiking and actually USED my warm stuff on the summit. Flume as a kid, maybe?I grumbled to myself as I wolfed down my soggy peanut butter and banana sandwich, while my friends proved that they have thought much better about what they would want to have for lunch on the top of a frigid mountain. One of them, who had proven resourceful with sausage and naan on our Franks trip, even produced a hiking thermos with tea he had brewed that morning, which was still piping hot. I don't even *like* tea, and I though a swig of it really hit the spot. Made me think that with all the over-planning I do that gets Arya and I on a summit wicked early, I should invest in one to bring some coffee along. Maybe next year.
There were a surprising amount of people on top, too, maybe attempting like we did to enjoy the last few easy hiking weekends of the year. We wrapped up lunch after about half an hour, and began our descent. I even kept the track pants on the whole way down,
Arya was more or less in constant motion on the way down, as she does, and only rankled slightly with the blaze orange bandana that I made her wear around her neck. I usually force it on her in mid-September, and I even took the step of bringing along my blaze orange winter hat, just to be on the safe side. Not that anyone would mistake her or me for a deer, but you never know.
The trail improvements that were so nice to have on the ascent also gave us a fair amount of landmarks on the way down to estimate our progress (as did a spur trail with 2.0 miles to go), and by the time we hit the paved road at the finish line, we were all ready to get to the car. I mean, I will say that Mansfield as a whole was a lot less taxing than I had initially anticipated, but six miles is six miles. This was also nice as, since it was the latest that we'd been hiking all year, we had the setting sun to deal with. Not quite as dire as a trip with my brothers up Owl's Head several years ago (where we were racing the shadows by the end of it), but enough to make me appreciate how much daylight you have to play with when you're hiking in the high summer.
We returned back home and had a nice pot of chili waiting for us courtesy of my wife, who enjoys being around everyone after a hike a little more than going on a hike herself. All in all it was a wonderful weekend, and a great test-run for us to be able to host hiking and skiing weekends up in Vermont for our friends. Of course, I was confronted with the fact that with Mansfield done (which was my first ascent as well!) Arya and I had completed all 5 of the Vermont 4,000 footers, and beginning with the 2016 season, would have to look increasingly further afield in order for her to keep pace. But in all, not a bad way to cap the year.
-M
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