November 11, 2007 Hike #2
Here's the track from my 2nd hike of the day.
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On the way to the trailhead, I got a good view of the mountain. Mansfield gets its' name because it resembles (with some imagination) a man's face looking up.
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It was a steep climb, but I had several log staircases . . .
. . . and stone staircases to help out.
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Look at that ice! I guess I'll put on my Stabilicers.
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I took a short side trip to check out the 'lodge'.
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Taft Lodge with the Chin of Mansfield in the background.
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Inside the shelter
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View from the deck
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I headed back to the Long Trail and continued up the mountain.
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I bypassed Profanity Trail. Hmmm? I imagine it is a very rough trail that provokes a lot of four letter words.
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It was only a tenth of a mile to the top of the Adam's Apple, so I headed up.
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Nearing the Adam's Apple
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View from the Adam's Apple
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Looking up to the Chin of Mansfield, the highest point in Vermont.
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Almost there
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The extremely steep .3 miles up the Chin in the snow was perhaps the toughest .3 miles I've ever hiked. But I made it to the 4,393 foot summit! This was a great moment!! This mountain was on four of my lists. It's my 90th for the New England 100 highest, my 7th state highpoint, my 22nd for New England's 50 finest, and most importantly, my final New England 4000 footer! And just to top it off. It's my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!
Here's the view down to the Adam's Apple.
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Being above treeline, I couldn't just go back down the way I came, so I decided to run up the face. This was the view over to West Chin. I guess even a mountain can have a double chin.
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I could still see green fields in the valley far below.
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Looking over to the Nose.
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As I neared this hump, I thought it was the Nose, but it wasn't. I guess this man's face has a wart on it.
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Looking back to the Chin.
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I reached the base of the nose. I didn't have any up left in me, so I decided not to climb it.
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Looking back to the Chin and Adam's Apple.
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There is an auto road that will take you up to Mansfield's Nose. Here's the visitor center.
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Here's a close up. I was trying to get the elevation.
I also managed to get a reflection of myself taking the picture.
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I walked a few tenths of a mile down the snow covered auto road. Lots of snow was being made.
The ski lifts weren't open yet, but it won't be long.
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The plan was to head down the Haselton trail, but I never could find it. Instead, I headed down the ski slope on the Nose Dive Trail. Here's one last look back up to the Chin.
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So, what's up now that I'm done with the New England 4000 footers? Well, I still have 10 mountains to go on the New England 100 highest list. Of which, I'm hoping to bag 2 more tomorrow. I guess I'll have to do what many other peakbaggers do and move onto the 46 four thousand footers of the Adirondack Mountains in New York. Maybe I'll start this list, this winter. Stay tuned.
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