03/21/2015
Mansfield 4393′
Long Trail
7:00-10:30
5.5 miles

The Friday night ended at work. It was 8:30. I hurried home. Everything packed it was only a drive away. I decided Lucy earned the weekend off. Jason and I were to meet up with Andrew and attempt the Vermont 5 4000 footers in a single day. We drove to Vermont and took a nap. Andrew met us and we dropped the car. We all drive together to Stowe and the Long trail trailhead to mount Mansfield. We started hiking at 7.

There is a short road walk from the parking lot to the trail. It is on the lefthand side of the road. There is a kiosk to lead the way.

There are currently lots of ski trails that merge onto the long trail so try and keep an eye out. It is all well packed and can be hiked with traction. We wore snowshoes the entire time. Just try to keep to the ridge line and the trail will merge together before the Taft shelter

We had a moment at the shelter. Leaving our bags we hiked the .6 up to the summit. We followed the trail up to the ridge line following a previous pack. We deviated from this and went up the line towards the chin and the summit. The snow was falling lightly and there was a limited line of sight.

We made our way down in an hour. Picking up our bags at the shelter we carried on. Shortly after we met a couple making for the summit. We shared info. They were members of the green mountain club. The hike out was uneventful. We had to make haste as we put our gear in the car. On to Camels hump. Keep following for the rest of the trip!!