I was back at Mt Mansfield again to hike more trails on my quest to hike all of the side trails (also known as blue blaze trails) to Vermont’s Long Trail. With winter on the horizon, I’m making a big push to finish as many of the remaining trails on the list that cannot be hiked or accessed in winter as possible. There are many of them, and I expect I’ll be hiking through November, in what Vermonters call “stick season,” when all the leaves have fallen off the trees. In the meantime, hiking and backpacking in Vermont’s autumn splendor is a blast, and I plan to make the most of it.
Mansfield is really growing on me. The terrain is rougher than even the White Mountains (of New Hampshire), with lots of scrambling, caves, boulders, ladders, and cliffs to contend with that slow down the pace. If you like to use your hands to climb when hiking, this is the place! On this latest hike, I carried my trekking poles for 7 miles because the terrain made them impossible to use, and I only used them on the final descent down what most people would classify as an actual trail and not a rock gym.
This was the route plan for this hike. Please remember that this is not a normal loop but one designed to complete as many trails as possible without repeats. You might find it useful if you undertake a similar quest someday. I’ve included some trail descriptions below because the trail descriptions that others have written on the web, including AllFails, are so inaccurate. Frankly, I wish I had this beta before I hiked this route. Not that I would have done anything differently, but it would have been less of a surprise!
- Hell Brook Trail – 1.3 miles
- Adams Apple Trail – 0.2 miles
- Long Trail North – 0.3 miles
- Taft Lodge Spur – 0.1 miles (out and back)
- Long Trail North – 0.1 miles
- Hell Brook Cutoff – 0.7 miles
- Hell Brook Trail – 0.5 miles
- Long Trail North – 0.3 miles
- Profanity Trail – 0.5 miles
- Long Trail North – 0.2 miles
- Long Trail South – 0.5 miles
- Cliff Trail – 1.2 miles
- Long Trail South – 0.2
- Access Road South – 0.2 miles
- Forehead Bypass – 0.3 miles
- South Link – 0.6 miles
- Haselton Trail – 1.6 miles
- Rt 108 North Road Walk – 1.2 miles
- Total distance – 10 miles w/5000′ of elevation gain
Hell Brook Trail
Reputed to be the hardest trail on Mt Mansfield, it climbs 2200′ in 1.5 miles. I got it on a fairly dry day, but it would be very treacherous when wet. It requires the use of your hands and legs to ascend. Water flows down the trail near the top, so you don’t have to carry the water you need for the entire day if you carry a filter. Contrary to many web reports, it does not run to the Mansfield summit but ends when it reaches the Long Trail 0.3 miles above Taft Lodge. This is not a trail to hike down. Ever. I ran into an elderly couple as they were descending. They turned around wisely.
Adams Apple Trail
The short Adams Apple Trail is easy and leads to great views of the valley and the Mansfield summit. A large portion is above treeline and fully exposed.
Hell Brook Cutoff
Side trail off the Hell Brook that leads to Taft Lodge from the Hell Brook Trail. If you think the lower section of Hell Brook up to the Cutoff junction was technical, this is far worse. Stay on the Hell Brook Trail and don’t leave it thinking the Hell Brook Cutoff will be easier. I hiked the Cutoff from Taft Lodge back to Hell Brook and ascended the final section twice because it was easier than hiking back on the Cutoff Trail.
Taft Lodge Spur
The Taft Lodge is good place for a rest or to get out of the rain. There is a water source to resupply.
Profanity Trail
The Profanity Trail starts easy at the bottom but then becomes a continuous rock scramble to the top. It’s challenging but fun. I can’t imagine doing it in the rain or coming down it when it’s wet. It comes out on top a short distance south of the Mansfield summit. I did mutter the F-word several times as I climbed it.
Cliff Trail
The Cliff Trail is easily the hardest trail I’ve experienced on Mansfield so far. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a near-continuous scramble over boulders and slick wet rock, through multiple caves, up cliffs that include ladders, and across crevasses with metal rungs. There’s one cave about 100 yards long, just past the gondola cutoff (heading south), where arm strength is the only way to get out. I thought I’d be trapped. It is the equivalent of the Mahoosuc Notch Trail + The Buttress Trail + the Ice Gulch Trail. The latter two of these are technical trails in the White Mountains. The Cliff Trail is an expert trail that is dog-unfriendly. Don’t bring a risk-averse partner here. They won’t be happy.
Forehead Bypass
Getting to the Long Trail South and the Forehead Bypass from the Cliff Trail is a little tricky and poorly depicted on the GMC map. From the Cliff Trail turn right and then left onto a side trail to the Mansfield Visitors Center. Walk straight past the building on your right and you’ll get on the Long Trail South. Follow this a short way until you get to a gravel road and turn left. Follow that until you see a sign on the right for the Long Trail South. The Forehead Bypass soon forks left. The first 0.3 miles are easy, up to the junction with South Link. Beyond that, it’s very slippery – I hiked it on a previous trip to Mansfield.
South Link
Another relatively easy trail, but it’s easy to miss because the sign for it is not easily seen when walking south. When looking for blazes or signs along Green Mountain Club trails, it’s always a good idea to turn around and look behind you. You’d be amazed at how often that works. The South Link Trail ends at a parking lot.
Haselton Trail
It took me a little while to find the Haselton trail after South Link. It is signed by not obviously. When you get to the parking lot at the end of South Link, turn left and walk up the access road about 75 yards. The top of the trail descends a ski slope before re-entering the woods. From there, it’s a rocky descent, but it is a “trail” and not an avalanche slide. It follows a stream if you need water. You’ll see the Stowe Park Ski Area parking lots when you get to the bottom of the trail. Follow the exit signs to get back to Rt 108, unless you’ve parked a car here. I walked up Rt 108 to my car at the Hell Brook Trail junction because none of the out-of-state leaf peepers would pick up a hitchhiking hiker. It was getting dark at 6:30 when I finally arrived at my car and headed home.
Map
Here’s a map of my crazy route. I must reiterate once again that the Green Mountain Club Map of the Long Trail does not do justice to the side trails and that the publicly available information about many of the side trails is really lacking. I’m loving the Long Trail side-to-side list and the challenge of finishing it, but you have to use your wits to figure it all out. But I guess that’s half the fun.
Vermont Trail Guides and Maps
SectionHiker is reader-supported. We only make money if you purchase a product through our affiliate links. Help us continue to test and write unsponsored and independent gear reviews, beginner FAQs, and free hiking guides.
