There’s nothing more exhilarating than climbing up the Sunset Ridge Trail on Mt Mansfield on a perfect sunny day. For my companions and I, it was the climax of a month of effort to raise funds for the Green Mountain Club (GMC) to protect and maintain Vermont’s Long Trail (LT), the first National Scenic Trail in the United States. While the LT, at 272 miles, is one of the shorter long-distance trails in the United States, it has humbled many experienced thru-hikers or section hikers with its rugged skyline, remoteness, and unpredictable weather.

The Sunset Ridge Trail is not actually on the Long Trail proper, but is a blue-blazed side trail and part of the Green Mountain Club trail system. These blue-blazed trails serve as on and off-ramp trails, allowing hikers to access the LT, and many are just as beautiful and formidable as the LT itself. I spent the past year climbing all 88 of the Long Trail Side Trails, and they are a remarkable resource that’s also well worth the protection and maintenance of the Green Mountain Club.

The Sunset Ridge Trail is an open ridge on the west side of Mt Mansfield

We arrived early at Underhill State Park, where there’s parking for the trails that leave the northwest side of Mansfield. I knew it was going to be a busy hiking day and wanted to get an early start to avoid the crowds. Mansfield, like Mt Washington in New Hampshire, has an auto road to the summit, which brings many more people to the summit in fine weather.

From the park entrance, it’s a mile walk to the start of the Sunset Ridge Trail and the Laura Cowles Trail, the two most popular and steepest side trails on the west side of the peak. We planned to climb the Sunset Ridge Trail to the Long Trail and follow it for a short distance north to the Mansfield summit, before descending on the Laura Cowles Trail. Sunset Ridge has great views; Laura Cowles has almost none.

Rob Gordon of the Burlington Section passionately describes the GMC’s mission

We encountered several enthusiastic volunteers from the Burlington section (the GMC’s term for its regional volunteer groups), who were manning an information table and explaining the GMC’s role in preserving the trails on Mansfield and along the Long Trail. They had a rapt audience.

We were soon climbing the Sunset Ridge Trail, which has the most amazing stonework for erosion control below treeline. It takes tremendous skill to build such beautiful stone stairs using only local materials, something that the GMC and its trail construction/maintenance crews, both professional and volunteers, are famous for.

Gazing south at the peaks that dot the route of the Long Trail.

When we popped above treeline, my friends and I stopped for a snack and to take in the view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack peaks beyond. We’d struck the motherload in terms of weather, climbing under clear blue skies. I knew we’d have 360-degree views from the summit, but I was content to gaze southward at the succession of peaks that run south along the Long Trail’s route. While I hiked the trail 17 years ago, the memory of my hike, my first big section hike, remains at the forefront of my mind. I’m delighted to be involved with the GMC again, this time as a board member, because the trail has played such a significant role in my life and the sequence of events that followed.

Scrambling up the Sunset Ridge Trail

As we continued ascending the Sunset Ridge Trail, I was pleased to see my companions enjoying themselves and the views that unfolded before us. The trail is a long sequence of rock ledges that are almost entirely exposed to the elements, affording great views of the surrounding landscape and Mansfield’s massive footprint, which extends southward for miles. It’s no wonder that hikers and skiers become enraptured by this mountain, climbing it repeatedly or playing along its flanks.

The Long Trail follows the top of Mt Mansfield’s summit ridge for miles

As we neared the top of the Sunset Ridge Trail, we turned right to join the Laura Cowles Trail just before its Junction with the Long Trail and the final 0.4-mile climb to the peak’s summit. While there were more people than we would have liked enjoying the view of the valley below and the adjacent ridgelines, we’d arrived early enough in the day to avoid the crush. Craving some solitude, I led my friends to the top of the Subway Trail, a fun, but seldom hiked side trail that drops below Mansfield’s west flank, and I mean “drops”, where we enjoyed an undisturbed lunch and rest.

The crowds on Mansfield were quite light early in the day.

Soon we were headed back down, this time on the Laura Cowles Trail, which drops steeply down the mountain’s west flank. This trail is normally quite wet, which can make it extra hazardous to hike downhill. But we’ve been having a terrible drought this summer in Vermont, which, while clearly evident, didn’t make the ledge drops that much easier, although the but sliding was at least drier.

At the top of Laura Cowles where it meets the Sunset Ridge Trail.

We were soon down at the bottom and on our way back to the car to hook up with our friends from the Bread Loaf section, who were enjoying hard ciders at the Woodchuck Cidery outside of Middlebury, VT. As we sat outside and gorged on homemade Rice Krispie treats, we recounted our adventures and basked in the camaraderie that all hikers share.

Map

Mt Mansfield Loop

Suggested Maps

• Green Mountain Club Long Trail Map 
• Northern Vermont Hiking and Biking Map
• Green Mountain Club Mt Mansfield and Worcester Range Hiking Map
• Green Mountain Club Digital Maps

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