Hiking Mount Mansfield, Vermont

Everyone talks about "hiking" Mount Mansfield, but really, when you take the Hell Brook Route to the top, it is more of an extended scramble. By the time we reached the first ridge below the Adams Apple, my GPS said we had covered three tenths of a mile and gained over 2,000 feet of elevation. As the images below testify, this trail really shouldn't be called a trail.

There are several ways to get to the top of Mt Mansfield without even scrambling up the Hell Brook route. You can ride the Stowe Ski Resort Gondola; you can drive up the Stowe Scenic drive, or you can hike on a variety of other trails, Vermont's Long Trail is one of them. You may be able to drive to that location on the map, but there are no shortcuts to that place in your mind.

The white blazed image below is a three-frame panoramic that looks down from below the Chin of Mt. Mansfield towards the rocky bald that folks call the Adam's Apple. In these sections of the trail, it is easy to get a bit 'wigged-out' by the steep exposed trail, but there really weren't too many challenging spots.

Many thanks go out to Alpen Tussi and Skeecher for directing us to the best spots and for fueling us up with wholesome food during our first real visit to Vermont. We'll be back.