Mount Mansfield, Vermont

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
6/2/2018

Map: Long Trail Map
Parking:
Directions: CCC Road / Eagle Cut Trail / Sunset Ridge Trail

We decided to spend 2 days in the Waterbury, VT area during our trip to Vermont. Hiking Mount Mansfield (the Vermont state high point) and Camel's Hump have been on my bucket list for a very, very long time. These hikes both have unique alpine tundra zones which are above tree line.

Our first day we hiked up Mount Mansfield. There is a ranger station at the parking area, and a fee for hiking. We got there early enough that we got a good parking spot in their main parking area. It's a really popular hike. The beginning of the hike was on a gravel trail. People jogged past us. I wish I had that kind of energy! Today, I think we heard as much French on the trail as English. Maybe more French! We are close to the Canadian border, so we saw many cars from Quebec in the parking lot. I like that!

We passed by the side trail to Cantilever Rock - since it was still overcast, we hoped we might have a better view later on. So we decided to visit it on the way down. At times, hiking up Mount Mansfield, there were many people. We were pretty slow, and most people passed us.

We got lucky and there was no rain, but the top of the mountain was still in clouds. The summit was windy and chilly - so we found a place to sit where we were less exposed. There were a lot of people at the summit. There was a summit steward there, and it was interesting to see her interact with people - answering questions, etc. It's a paid position - how cool! We hung out for a long time, hoping the clouds would burn off. They didn't. Mount Mansfield is on the Long Path, and definitely feels more challenging than the Vermont section of the AT.

I loved this hike! Even though we were in clouds by the time we got partway up the mountain, it's just an excellent hike.