2020-08-20: Mount Mansfield

My apologies for the extremely long hiatus, but I have been extremely busy. I took a massive amount of pictures when I hiked Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest mountain, some two and a half months ago, and I've been trying to find the time where I can to sort and cull them. The eight-mile loop I walked took me up Mansfield and several of its sub-peaks in the Green Mountains of north-central Vermont, reaching a high point of just under 4400 feet.

I took a slight detour during my ascent to view Cantilever Rock, a long, enormous boulder precariously wedged between some larger rock faces.

Climbing up the windward side of the mountain, forest cover soon became intermittent, providing this view to the southwest relatively early into the hike.

A view west along Sunset Ridge towards Mansfield's summit (right of center).

A closer shot of the summit over a forest of dwarf krummholz.

A view northwest over an adjacent ridge from some distance below the summit.

A small false summit obscured Mansfield's true tip from the upper part of the ridge.

A west-facing panorama from Mansfield's summit. The false summit, to the right, characterized the view from the top.

Another panorama, this one focused on the south. At 4396', this is the highest you can get in Vermont.

A view of the false summit and part of the ridge beyond it.

Looking northwest, the curvature of the earth could be seen over the foothills of the Green Mountains.

The woman climbing the crest of the summit gives some grandiose scale to an otherwise plain-looking scene.

The High Peaks of the Adirondacks loom over Lake Champlain in this westward view, interfered with by a slice of the false summit.

Looking northwest again, the many tendril-like ridges of Mount Mansfield stretch out towards the lowlands of western Vermont.

Most of the summit can be seen in this wide-angle shot, along with the northernmost of the Green Mountains.

Leafy grasses are the only cover at the summit, although shrub-like trees cover the ridge leading towards a sub-peak known as "The Nose".

Mount Marcy (center), New York's highest point, was clearly seen from over sixty miles away.

The impressive silhouette of the distant Adirondacks, here dominated by Whiteface Mountain, were reflected in Lake Champlain's bluish mirror.

Late summer heat made parts of the four-mile Island Line Trail in the lake seem like they were underwater.

Farmland to the north, south of the town of Cambridge. Although Vermont is known as a primarily mountainous state, I found on the hike and the five-hour drive there that it holds significantly more farmland than most people (including myself) assume.

Looking northwest, some bits of New York (and possibly Quebec) are visible beyond the northern reaches of Lake Champlain.

Farms dot the forested foothills of Franklin County to the northwest.

The serious peaks of the northern Green Mountains include Jay Peak (far right), thirty miles distant and one of Vermont's higher summits.

The nearby Morse Peak (R) dominates this eastward view into the less rugged terrain of north-central Vermont.

Summit rocks partially obscure this 1.5-mile view of The Nose, covered in communications towers.

The Stowe Mountain Resort, popular for skiing in the winter months, opens its gondolas to take tourists to the summit for summer sightseeing. This has the unfortunate tendency to make the delicate alpine environment very crowded on nice days.

Mansfield's summit is located at the north end of a two-mile ridge, which from the valley below somewhat resembles a face. The summit is known as "The Chin", with lips, a nose, and a forehead farther along the ridge. 

A distant view of communications towers atop The Nose. The elevation allows for signal to reach both sides of the mountains and provides cell service to otherwise remote areas.

Looking down towards the ridge from a stand of dwarf spruce trees below the summit.

A couple photographs the impressive view from near the Upper Lip (4121'), themselves adding a sense of scale to my own picture.

Looking back towards Mansfield's barren summit from the Lower Lip (3963').

Some sort of tower and its control station, located at the col below the Nose. Warning signs about electromagnetic radiation surrounded many areas on the ridge.

A view of the Nose's northeast cliff face from the Lower Lip. Cars pack the parking lot of the (closed) visitor's center below.

Impressive towers loom ominously below some dark clouds, giving a Cold War feel to the mountaintop station.

Looking back towards Mansfield from below the Nose. Sunset Ridge, to its left, was where I hike on ascent.

Wind-stunted evergreens underlie this south-facing view from the Forehead (3900'), the last peak of the loop.

Looking north from the loop to Mansfield (L) and the Nose (R).

A distant close-up on Mansfield's summit. Some hikers can be seen reaching their journey's end.

Mansfield's iconic summit rises suddenly even from the narrow spruce-covered ridge, making for very dramatic views.

A look back at the Forehead from the last clearing above the denser forest.

The pyramidal Dewey Mountain was most prominent to the Forehead's south.