Hiking Vermont's Tallest Mountain: Mount Mansfield

 

Success! At the top of Vermont's highest peak, the chin on Mt. Mansfield. The clouds dispersed and the views were amazing. What a day!

Vermont's tallest peak, Mount Mansfield, stands majestically at 4,393 feet and is a central feature of the Green Mountains. Located near the charming town of Stowe, this iconic mountain is known for its distinctive ridgeline, which resembles a human profile, with notable points such as the Forehead, Nose, Lips, Chin, and Adam's Apple. Mount Mansfield is a year-round destination, offering scenic hiking trails like the Long Trail, which traverses its ridge and provides breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape. In the winter, the mountain transforms into a snowy wonderland, attracting skiers and snowboarders to its renowned slopes at the Stowe Mountain Resort. With its rich natural beauty and diverse recreational opportunities, Mount Mansfield stands as a symbol of Vermont's rugged and pristine wilderness.

Today I tackled the trail to the summit. I used my epic pass to ride the gondola part of the way up. At the top of the gondola the fun really starts. The trail traverses huge rocky outcroppings, skirts under a massive cliff, takes you through some squeezes and even turns into a bit of a waterfall at times. The views from the ridgeline can be amazing, although today it was just a dense, white cloud for me. But then as I traveled further up the ridge, towards the summit, the clouds magically parted and revealed the beautiful green landscape below. It was perfect timing.

Looking back down. The trail was quite narrow in some parts. The trees got smaller and smaller as I worked my way higher. Occasionally the forest smelled of spruce, reminded me of christmas.

Hiking up the rock face into the clouds. I sure hope it clears up at the top

Beautiful day for a hike!

Hmmm. I made it up to the ridgeline and there is very little visibility.

I used my epic ski pass to take the gondola up to the beginning of the hike. This would have been extra grueling if I had to do it from the bottom!

The trail skirts the bottom of this sheer cliff for a while.

Taking in the view from the gondola.

The whole trail was a rocky scramble. Some places were more like bouldering or strait up rock climbing!

A boardwalk shows hikers the way here while protecting the fragile sub-arctic ecosystem.

Vermont's Green Mountains, disappearing into the horizon. This was the view from the top of the summit.

Highest peak!

The clouds parted and gave me some wonderful 360 degree views from the summit of Mount Mansfield.

The hike is quite interesting. This was a narrow squeeze between huge rocky outcroppings. Just keep following the blue marks.

I felt like the trail near the summit was more like Scotland than Vermont.