My friend and officemate Emily contacted me Saturday night and asked if I'd like to join them on a hike the next day. It sounded like their plans weren't solidified yet, so I suggested doing a loop on Mt. Mansfield, the highest mountain in Vermont. The Long Trail-Hell Brook loop always looked a little more interesting than your standard White Mountain or Green Mountain hike, so we made plans and set out.
The portion of the Long Trail that ascends Mt. Mansfield from the East involves some class 3 scrambling once above treeline, which neither Emily nor Max had ever done before. I didn't know much about the Hell Brook trail, other than it was less traveled than most other hiking trails on the mountain, and it was supposed to be pretty steep. I thought the loop might be a fun day.
Since we had a perfect forecast, we got a leisurely start out of Lebanon around 11:30am, arriving at the Long Trail trailhead just before 1:30pm. The first 3/4 of the hike is standard trail cruising, though there is still some significant snowpack in the shade below treeline in some cases. Microspikes are probably overkill as long as you're not hiking in the early morning, but trekking poles might have made things a little easier. Once above treeline, the hike changes character. Not only do you have magnificent views of the Green and White Mountains, but the hike starts to become more and more like a climb.
 |
| First views above treeline |
 |
| One of the more challenging scrambling sections above treeline |
 |
| Max taking a break above the Adam's Apple |
 |
More scrambling to the summit ridge |
Once we gained the summit ridge, the wind picked up but so did the views. With such a perfect day, we were able to see from the Adirondacks in New York all the way to the Presidentials in New Hampshire! We identified Mt. Marcy, Algonquin and Indian Ridge, Whiteface, Camel's Hump, Killington, plus some of New Hampshire's high peaks: Mt. Washington and the Presidentials, Lafayette and the Franconia Ridge, Mt Moosilauke, even all the way to Mt. Cardigan and Ascutney in the south.
We reached the summit almost exactly at 4 pm, 2.5 hours after we left the trailhead. It was nice to have such a popular summit to ourselves, especially on a gorgeous day such as this. We sat around at the top for a few minutes and had some snacks before picking up and heading over the Adam's Apple and toward Hell Brook.
 |
| On the summit ridge |
 |
| Summit snacks! |
 |
Descending through the class 3 terrain |
Once we were off the steep stuff, we headed through some alpine bogs and over the Adam's Apple. The north end of the mountain is definitely wilder than the east or west flanks, and you can tell the trails are far less traveled. We passed Lake of the Clouds and were met with a chorus of bullfrogs. I've never heard so many croaking at once in my life. Unfortunately there was still a significant amount of snow on the trail at this point, and our going was slow.
The Hell Brook Trail certainly lives up to its name. We had several steep stretches filled with snow and brush, and then once we were below the snow line, we found a lot of steep, wet scrambling. It was pretty fun, but it took us longer to descend than it did to ascend the Long Trail. I think if I were to do this loop again, I would start with the Hell Brook Trail and end on the Long Trail. That way you also finish right at your car instead of having to walk a ways down Smugglers Notch.
 |
| Lots of snow still on the upper portions of the Hell Brook Trail |
 |
| More wet scrambling down the Hell Brook Trail |
 |
| Hell Brook itself is beautiful |
After a couple hours negotiating our way through muddy wet roots and rocks, we came to the lower portion of the trail. This was pretty dry and very similar to the beginning of the Long Trail, so we were able to cruise it back to our car fairly quickly. Once we reached the road in Smugglers Notch, we stopped and dipped our feet in the creek for a bit. We grabbed some food at the Pie-casso pizzeria in Stowe and headed home. Definitely a trip I would recommend, though probably not for beginner hikers. I would also recommend ascending Hell Brook and descending the Long Trail if you were to do this particular loop.
