Chapter 4: Mt. I-Can’t-Feel-My-Hands-field
At 4,393 feet, Mt. Mansfield is often known colloquially as “I wet my pants-field.” It was a seven hour, 14-mile hike, and our previous adventures did NOT prepare us for the onslaught that was Vermont’s highest peak.
We also brought Tara and Anne, aka Emma’s entourage, with us. We knew they’d be up to the challenge (everyone from Vermont is hardcore, let’s be real). We began the festivities by having a carbfest and sleepover, where we watched Hot Rod to inspire our trash talking. If you haven’t seen Hot Rod, it is the most underrated movie of ALL TIME, especially if you have the humour of a 14-year-old boy. Here is a fun clip to illustrate just how stupid it is:
Then, we got up at six and dragged ourselves to the Burlington Bagel Bakery. It was actually much colder than expected, so we thought, hey, maybe we should bring light sweatshirts? These might come in handy later.
We got lost on the way to Underhill (yes, we’re pretty sure it’s called Underhill because Mt. Mansfield just towers right over it) and had to turn around. Of course, Google Maps led us to an abandoned boarding school complex, where we had to turn around because the exit was closed. There was a scary Escalade parked there with a dude sitting in it, probably waiting to shoot us because let’s be real, America. (It did say “Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted,” but we’re pretty sure Emma’s Volvo is bulletproof. But Tara ducked just in case.) But we also saw a bunny, so, yeah, worth it.
Upon arriving at the state park, we were ELATED to find REAL BATHROOMS at the trailhead! We have decided to dispense with the “best places to squat” section, so we’ll tell you now: there are actually porta-pottis at the Long Trail lodge near the forehead. It was exciting.
We began the eight trails of the day along the “CCC Road,” taking the Eagle Cut to save some time, on the way to the Maple Ridge trailhead. The road gradually became more and more trail-like the further along we got. It’s the farthest trail from the campground (we were very glad not to have camped, it poured all night), about 2 miles.
The Maple Ridge trail was fairly standard, in terms of difficulty and #views. It was a little cloudy at first, but we got a nice lookout as we got closer to the forehead.
Shortly thereafter, we decided to take a detour, as it was only about 8:30 AM, and we were quickly approaching the Forehead. We took the Rock Garden trail (which takes you to Butler Lodge), and then from there joined the Wampahoofus trail. Yes, this is a real trail. Here is proof:
On these trails, we began a steep ascent through caverns, caves, and open rock faces! Closer to the Forehead, we encountered our first 50 mph gusts of the day, and sat down to see if they would pass. They did not. It was misty and freezing (approx. 50F/10C before windchill), and Tara declared several times that this was a GREAT way to get hypothermia, so we continued our trek. As we crossed the face, we had occasional respite from the terrible winds. See video for proof of wind:
A video posted by Erin Skelly (@erin_skelly) on Jul 2, 2016 at 6:55am PDT
Finally, finally, FINALLY, we reached the Forehead!
Then, we took the Long Trail to the Nose, where we found the Long Trail hut. A very nice ranger gave us directions, but of course, we didn’t quite listen properly, and ended up taking an annoying loop that got us straight back to the hut! Embarrassingly enough, the ranger actually walked us all the way to Cliff Trail, which spurs off the Amherst trail.
Cliff Trail could be its own post or three, but we’ll try to do it justice in this one. The ranger told it was the “PERFECT day to hike Cliff Trail,” because it was pretty cloudy and there wouldn’t be anyone else there. And of course, because apparently you don’t hike Cliff Trail for the views, you hike it for the joy of the trail! So this sounded promising.
The previous night’s rain proved hazardous as we slipped and slid our way down the initial drop. Except Tara (who is not a regular human), we all had soaking wet butts the entire way because we pretty much just slid down about fifty waterfalls in a row. Several times, all of us almost slipped and died. There were a few scrapes and bruises (indeed, Erin found a massive unidentifiable bump on her shin that later disappeared), but nobody was hurt too badly (including when Erin fell off the trail and nobody noticed). After the waterfalls, we came upon a truly lovely view of Stowe (which was nice, after the lack of view at the forehead):
Note the enormous cloud that had previously enrobed us at the forehead.
Cliff Trail was full of many wonders. These included several ladders, iron handles screwed into the rocks, multiple caves and chasms, and so much scramble that we no longer wanted breakfast. There was also a good fifteen minutes spent walking directly in a brook, and this included getting on our knees to crawl through a cave. Here are some photos of Cliff Trail:
We were so excited about the caves!
Erin sandwich! The unenthused look in her eyes shows you how difficult we were faring on Cliff Trail.
After this true trial, we joined back up with the Long Trail, where we bounded towards the Chin, or the highest point in Vermont, with renewed energy. The strong gusts came back, though the clouds had parted on one side, giving us quite a view…
You have no idea how long it took Tara to get the angle right for this #diditforthegram
We also found an ownerless dog. It followed us for a while, and then some fellow hikers called the number on the tag. We are pretty sure we saw it later reunited with its family. Tara was real excited about it until she realized how muddy it was….
Then, we made it to the Chin! We finally encountered other people, which was slightly surprising on a day this cold until we remembered that you can actually drive most of the way up. (No, there is no gift shop, sorry to all the people that were upset about that on the way.)
Proof that we made it ft. the most swollen fingers we’ve ever had!
We hiked down Sunset Ridge from the Chin. Sunset Ridge is beautiful, though not underrated. It is one of the most-trekked trails in VT, for obvious reasons: the top half is completely above the tree line, and the view is pretty magnificent. Unfortunately, due to the cold, everyone’s phone had died at that point, so here is a nice Google Images photo of the view:
We encountered many obnoxious people on the way down Sunset Ridge (who were mainly trail hogs and didn’t like to share). Personal favourites include a couple who was literally holding (BOTH) hands the entire way up (seriously, the dude was walking behind her and she kept being like “are you ok to keep hiking like this? I like it better”) and a girl (we can’t recall if her accent was British or Southern, that’s how tired we were) who screamed with delight “I’ve NEVER touched so many trees in my life!”
After a cool seven hours, we made it back to the CCC road, and hiked down Eagle Cut again to the car, where we were so relieved that we almost cried.
Latte rating: Erin somehow survived without caffeine, rendering her superwoman. The rest of us were not so lucky.
Boyfriend rating: idk, maybe Sunset Ridge would be all right if you’re not so co-dependent you don’t hold both hands. Don’t do what we did. All we have to say about that.
Places to stop for food: there are two general stores on the way, one in Underhill Center and one in Jericho Center. We stopped at neither, but if you’re dying for chips, this is probably the best bet unless you can wait until Burlington, where we recommend creemees at Burlington Bay!
Places to swim: you’re not gonna want to swim after putting your butt in all those streams on Cliff Trail! But you know, somewhere in the lake would probably suffice. Also, Bolton is on the way back (sort of), so the Bolton Potholes wouldn’t be a massive detour.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
