Trip high point number 6: Mount Mansfield, Vermont, 4,393 feet. We're really moving up in the world! Unfortunately, it was raining, but we were 1,000 miles from home and had this one day available, so off we went.
Mount Mansfield is about an hour's drive from Williston, just north of Stowe. You can ascend most of the way up the mountain via gondola or toll road, but the final push to the peak must be done on foot. The gondola wasn't open this early in the season, so that left the toll road. It was $51 for a car, driver, and one passenger.
Historic Auto Toll Road, Mount Mansfield, Vermont
The Historic Auto Toll Road is 4.5 miles of steep, unpaved switchbacks that takes you high up Mount Mansfield to a visitor center from which you can hike to the top. The drive up was a foggy mess, but with nobody else dumb enough to be here today, at least we didn't meet any oncoming traffic on the narrow road. The visitor center wasn't even open. I mean, why bother? We were the only ones here. At least we had our choice of parking spots.
Scored the best parking!
Tom braces himself for the hike
When viewed from below, Mount Mansfield's ridgeline looks vaguely like the profile of a face, with a distinguishable forehead, eyebrow, nose, lips, chin, and Adam's apple – or so they say. I couldn't tell you for sure, because we couldn't see the mountain for the fog. Our trail began at the 3,850-foot Nose, with the high point being the Chin, at 4,393 feet.
To the Chin!
The sodden path
Tom on the trail
The temperature was only in the mid-40s for our hike. Along with the rain, fog, and fierce wind, conditions were far from ideal, but it certainly made things interesting. You had to stay strictly on the trail to keep off the fragile vegetation of the high-altitude tundra, and with the rain, there were times we were literally walking through a stream to proceed.
Watery walk
Jana climbs through a stream
This is literally the trail
It was a 2.8-mile round-trip hike to conquer our high point. The trail was steep, the rock was wet and slick, and I got blown off the trail twice, but we made it! On a clear day, the peak offers stunning views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains – again, so they say. At least there was enough visibility to find the survey marker. Another high-point success!
The top of Vermont!
Jana conquers the peak
Our soggy selves on the summit of Mount Mansfield
Oh, our soaking feet!
Dinner: In addition to Tom's nephew, his niece Alysha and her husband Sean live in Williston as well. Alysha and Sean invited us to their home for dinner tonight, and we got to meet their amazing young son and sweet baby daughter for the first time. Alex and Sarah came too, and when Sean had to step out for a work emergency, Alex finished cooking the fajitas. The food was great, and it was wonderful to see everyone. As we were leaving, Alex gifted us with a case of Citizen Cider. We didn't have a lot of room in our car, but we made space for that!