Mt Mansfield (NE#53), (VT#5)

On Sunday I had hiked Camels Hump, just south of Burlington Vermont. I spent Sunday night at The Anchorage Inn on South Burlington so I could get 2 days of hiking in without driving for MANY hours. The Anchorage was OK. No Frills, better than car camping as I have so often in the past. I’ll be back to car and tent camping soon enough. I couldn’t check in until 3:30 and I arrived before noon. I spent a few hours roaming around a very lame mall. I got my stuff to my room and ordered some Applebees for dinner around 4:30. I settled in watching TV hopeful for a good nights sleep and an early start. Sleep came relatively easy but didn’t last. I was awake from 12:45 am through 3:30 am. Just couldn’t sleep. I actually debated driving to the mountain at 3 or even home. I did drift off and my alarm sounded at 5 am. I shut the alarm off and slept a little more getting up at 6:00.

I packed and prepared for the day while eating my frozen overnight oats (I put the container too close to freezer in the little fridge) . I was on the road just after 7 making the 45 minute drive to the Sunset Ridge Trail trailhead in Underhill Vermont. After stopping for gas I arrived at the trailhead around 8, got my gear on and started up the CCC road which would lead me to the trail. I knew I was parking a ways from the trailhead but still as close as possible. I walked 2 miles just to get to the trail up Mt Mansfield.

The walk to the trail was not real steep, just a gradual incline with a steeper section from time to time. The road was nicely packed and my micro spikes were just fine. Snow shoes would have worked as well but I didn’t feel like going through the hassle of getting them off my pack. I didn’t feel like the hike started until I got the Sunset Ridge Trail sign. The path narrowed, the snow deepened and the woods grew a bit more dense. The trail was moderately steep from the start, winding over several bridges and frozen streams. I could see a ridge up ahead through the branches of the leafless trees. On the maps I could see that the spine of Sunset Ridge ran down this western flank of the mountain. The trail turned from north to east and the incline grew more consistently steep.

As the terrain grew more steep the impacts of the warm weather became very apparent. Just beneath a layer of fluffy snow was a sheet of ice. It was very consistently present. At times it was not masked at all by snow. I was encountering some very challenging hiking by mid way up. Navigating around ice and at times choosing the ice over ledge. You get to know what ‘good’ ice looks like. Some ice is much harder than other ice. The very hard white ice can be hard to get a good bite in with micro spikes. My steps became very deliberate, planting each step as firmly as possible.

The section of ice gullies and steeps gave way to open exposed ledge. Open wind swept rock and ice. I was beginning to think I need crampons. I was through some tough stuff and decided to keep moving on. Going down was not going to be easier if I bailed now. I was open to turning back depending on what I encountered and how my gear matched up against it. I was able to balance between rock and ice and was making my way to just beneath the summit cone.

I made it through the ice covered sections without too much drama. I’m sure it was slower going than I would otherwise been moving. I popped over a ridge, down a hill and found myself at the southern turn that would take me around and up to the summit ridge. Here at the summit directional sign I decided to change some layers around. I could hear the wind above but I was in a sheltered cove. I didn’t realize how soaked with sweat my hat had become. I dug a fresh one out and put a shell on at the same time. I followed the sign and made my way to ward the summit.

This section was much less icy, or at least there was a lot more snow covering the ice. I could see where others had fallen prey to spruce traps. Post holes several feet deep dotted this section. Without snow shoes on, I was concerned I would pop through. I managed to find dense snow that I was able to stay on top of and avoided any spruce traps. A few more steep parts and I was on the very windy, icy summit ridge. I could see another solo hiker a ways ahead, making his way to the top.

The walked along the ridge to the summit was cold and windy. I got the top just the other hiker I saw was leaving. We said hello in passing and then I was alone at the top.

I spent about 10 minutes at the top. I decided to get back down the ridge out of the wind and cold. The trail along the ridge was hard to follow, I relied on GPS to get back the junction of Sunset Ridge and the Long Trail. Once at this point, it was back through the steeps on my way to the ice. At one of the steep ice sheets, I lost my footing. My feet went out from under me and I took a hard fall on the ice. I was able to rotate while falling and land intentionally on my shoulder. I seemed to be ok. I got up and waited for the pain to arrive as the adrenaline subsided. No pain. I was lucky. I continued down to the first ice gully. Here I encountered a group of 4 hikers on their way up. They were putting on crampons. Good call. I looked down the gully and noticed a member of that group was kind of stuck at the bottom of it. We have all experienced this, looking at something daunting, wondering if you can do it. His friends were encouraging and not rushing him. He offered to move so I could come down. Good idea to move as I could easily come down this chute must faster than I want to. I made it down without any issues. I offered to stay with him and I also offered to walk him out. He wanted to stay, I moved on.

I caught up to the hiker I met on the summit and we walked the last 2 miles together to our cars. We chatted about hiking, what brought us here and what our future plans were. His name was Pete. Nice young guy from Connecticut. I made my way to my car and began the long drive home.

Mt Mansfield is a challenging hike. By all appearances, most routes up are pretty steep and challenging. Its a beautiful mountain that I am sure I will return to often.

Miles	Elev Gain	Time
9	3,205′	4.75 Hours