Vermont 4000-Footers in Winter - January 2014

Originally, I had planned to climb the five VT 4000-footers in a day starting at the minute of the winter solstice, but rainy weather changed that plan, immediately throwing my winter hiking plans a curve ball.  Instead, the Vermont peaks waited until after the New Year.  They would be my first five 4000-footers in 2014, and they were all exciting for one reason or another.

Killington - January 2
After a few days at home for the New Year, I had two more vacation days at the end of a week, so it was a Thursday and I was headed to Vermont.  If you remember January 2nd this year, it was Blizzard Hercules arriving to the Northeast.  Well I arrived at the Bucklin trail head pretty late and I was dealing with some work matters - someones major water leak, for about a half hour before I could settle and prepare to head out into the snowstorm.  The parking lot was untouched, but for a good portion of the lower trail there were some very very faint steps on the trail, but I broke trail for the entire hike.  It got dark quickly, and from then on it became a pretty difficult hike, but I focused on the goal, and getting it done as quickly as possible.  I thought in advance of my descent, and I decided to clear many of the blazes in the opposite direction because the snow was blasted to all sides of the trunks, and who knows how quickly my tracks might fill in when its snowing multiple inches an hour.  With the wind through the trees I had to listen at all times.  When I got to the top, I unintentionally did a little loop around the actual trail, and I came out towards the ski side of the summit.  This wasn't a big deal, though, because I knew where I was.  I couldn't see much up there.  The snowflakes were enormous, and the wind seemed to be blowing in many directions, and I couldn't see anything beyond a few feet in front of my headlamp.  All I know is I stood in the same spot when I finished the VT 4Ks all-season, sipping a beer.  This time it was a raging blizzard at night. #54 will be one to remember!

Bucklin Trail head

A blurry lower part of the Bucklin Trail

Near the summit, the blizzard raged

And there I was for #54 in winter!

Hike Stats

Trails: Bucklin Trail

Distance: 7.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,700 ft.

Actual Book Time: 3:39
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Mt. Mansfield - January 3
After my late start blizzard adventure to Killington, I was basically winging my VT plan at this point as I decided my next move, which was driving north in the blizzard, about 30 mph or less the whole way to Stowe, where I'd hit Mansfield in the morning.  Trust me, I feel much safer hiking in a raging blizzard than I do driving in one.  Sprawled out in my sleeping bag in the jeep, I braced myself for record-setting lows overnight and for the next day.  I fared perfectly fine overnight and was plenty comfortable, but it was -11 outside when awoke.  It took me a good long while after waking up before I did anything.  Finally, and finally, I mustered up motivation that I had to get at least one more.  There was no way I was going to get another hike in after this one with it -11 outside, but I had to get one.

Long Trail just up the road from the closed gate at the entrance to Stowe

It was beautiful outside, except arctic-ly frigid.  I walked up the road to the trail head, and I saw some fresh snow over a few foot prints from yesterday.  Up went the televators (heel lift) on the MSRs, and I motored up the mountain, trying to keep my body warm constantly.  It was hard, and there was no question I had to add another layer before going any higher.  I stopped near the outhouse and trail junction and did just that, but when I did, I remember it being so strikingly cold, it almost hurt as I did it.  I got my thermal fleece on, my 3rd layer under my shell, and had to get going fast in order to get back to normal.  I opted for the main route on the Long Trail instead of the Profanity Trail (aka "Badweather Bypass") and continued on.  Either way, it didn't look like it was going to be easy after what Hercules did to Mansfield's alpine zone.

Welcome to the Alpine Zone

Looking up to the summit of Mt. Mansfield

It sure was pretty, but then I came to the steep chimney area, which was filled with powder and ice. I was able to shimmy my way up using opposing force and keeping my snow shoes on.  After that, there was a lot of powder on the ledges above, but it was very loose and there was ice underneath so I remember every step on this section was very calculated, and I had to smoothly double check the footing of each one, almost slow motion.  It was either that or I had my arms in front extended into the snow, crawling, maintaining weight on 4 points in the powder.  It was pretty intense looking over my left shoulder a couple of times, and I thought, please don't slip...  After those tense moments, I finally made it to solid ground, and continued on up the summit.  I could feel the snow frozen onto my eyelashes and face, and the wind was wicked.  It was -11 degrees or colder, and on the very top the wind was definitely over 20 mph, making it at least 30 below, if not closer to 40.  All I know is that I that the view I got was all the view I needed from my VT 4Ks in winter.  I stared at the massive Adirondacks as I approached the summit, and when I got there, I could see mountain ranges all over the northeast, including the Presidential's in NH.  The view was amazing...I had only a few very very short minutes to look around.

The Adirondacks from Mt. Mansfield,, highest point in VT

Mt. Mansfield in winter (#55)

Hike Stats

Trails: Long Trail

Distance: 5.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,003 ft.

Actual Book Time: 3:34
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Mt. Abraham & Ellen - January 12
I think Jan 11th was a complete bad weather day, but the following Sunday, January 12th, my goal was to bag Ellen and Abraham, and then Camel's Hump to finish VT in winter.  I had wrestled with deciding on using Battell and Jerusalem Trails and setting up a car spot or taxi or going out and back by the ski trails. Ultimately, after reading some old trip reports, I decided to park at Sugarbush North and ascend by the Lower F.I.S. ski trail.

Good morning Vermont

A bare and lower part of the Lower F.I.S. ski trail

Although it was the middle of winter, a recent warm spell that week meant a lack of snow, believe it or not.  From the lot, I easily found the trail to the left.  After about 20 minutes it became icy enough for microspikes. After it being a rather nice walk up a gradual road, it got pretty darn steep for a grassy ski trail and was sort of half-frozen and still mushy.  Nearing the top of that trail, I merged onto a usable ski trail (not yet open for the day), and then the lift strip for the last haul to the top. At the top, the summit of Ellen is just to the left on the Long Trail in the trees.  For a 4000-footer in New England, Ellen has to be one of the most boring, but the view on a clear day is very good.

Mt. Ellen summit in winter (#56)

Now on the Long Trail, the snow cover was minimal - almost late spring-like minus the monorail, which made for fast travel over the ridge.  It felt even faster because of the cool summits in between that break up the hike.  Little Abe was definitely way cooler then Ellen, especially with that nice rime on its summit sign.  I remember it being colder up on the ridge, with the wind blowing just over the tops of the trees.  I arrived at the summit of Mt. Abraham.  The summit sign was missing from my last visit, so that was sort of strange, and the view was nil, also much different than my summer hike here.  I snapped my summit photo, for my 57th New England 4000-footer in winter, and then booked it back to my car as quick as possible, the same way I had come, completing the 11.2 mile hike in just over 5 hours.

Thin snow cover on the Long Trail

Sugarbush South from the Long Trail

Nancy Hanks Peak

Lincoln Peak

Little Abe Summit

Mt. Abraham in winter (#57)

Hike Stats

Trails: Lower F.I.S. Ski Trail, Long Trail

Distance: 11.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 4,541 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:18
GPS Track: Will upload later

Camel's Hump - January 12
After my hike to Ellen & Abraham, I drove about 45 minutes north to Camel's Hump to head up by way of the Burrows Trail.  The start of the hike didn't feel like winter at all.  Somewhere along the way I eventually put on the microspikes.  It was a nice hike up, and I passed several people coming down on the way up. Near the top, a woman was questioning heading up the final stretch which rounds the summit cone and approaches the top over a half-exposed section.  Rightfully so, the tricky section was filled with solid ice and no snow to aid in traction.  She asked if she could join me to the summit, and I said absolutely.  It was pretty gusty up there too, and there was a unique sun and clouds view. It wasn't very spectacular, but the feeling of finishing the Vermont peaks in winter, a milestone on this winter's journey, was a good feeling, and that's what I remember Camel's Hump for.  I got the true sense of winter at 4000-feet in VT from Mt. Mansfield with its toughness and spectacular views and holy moly does Killington get the pow!

Hike Stats

Trails: Burrows Trail

Distance: 4.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,300 ft.

Actual Book Time: 3:00
GPS Track: Will upload later

Vermont's Five 4000 Footers in Two Days

What an incredible weekend it was in Vermont as my brother and I took on and successfully climbed Vermont's five 4000 footers in two days. Since we had never hiked a single step in Vermont before, there was a great sense of uncertainty and unknown factors as we planned out the logistics for this undertaking. At the same time there was great excitement and of course NO doubt in our minds that this would be a mentally and physically tough challenge, Two separate hikes, two days in a row, on trails we knew only stats about.

In terms of the plans and routes, we considered a couple of different options for the 5 peaks, but everything leaned towards going North to South (Mansfield to Killington), doing the two short hikes first and the two longer hikes second. Each of the peaks had about an hour drive (one of them a little more) between them, and this seemed to be the most logical way, in terms of keeping driving time and distance to a minimum. One of the options we left for ourselves was that there might even be an opportunity to start the 3rd hike (Abe & Ellen) on the first day, and hammock camp or use Battell Shelter on the way up Abraham on the Long Trail. In planning, we banked on ourselves being able to meet the stated book times on each hike (the map we had and online research), but we did factor about 3 hours or so of leeway on each day in our planning. This was not much to leave ourselves, but then again hiking 5 mountains across an entire state in two days does not leave one with much time to begin with :)

We left MA on Friday night between nine and ten o'clock at night, and we arrived at the Long Trail South trail head for Mt. Mansfield on Route 108. It was so dark, and we were mesmerized by the coolness of the mountain road, that it took a few minutes to find the exact trail head. The signs are somewhat set back from the street, so we actually drove past it, but then checked out each one until we found the right one. This was good because we became acquainted with the map. The road climbs steeply near the trail heads, and huge boulders come within inches of the side mirrors. We parked, put the seats back, and got some rest/sleep.

By the time we got going, it was 6:15am. A little later than our intended start. I started the spot tracker and we were on this adventure, heading up the highest mountain in Vermont, Mt. Mansfield, for our first VT 4000 footer. The trail ascended moderately and consistently. It took us a little bit to get the juices flowing. The trail reminded us of some of those in the White Mountains. We passed the Taft Lodge and a nicely built outhouse. We ascended further, and we came to the junction for the Adam's Apple. Here, it was .3 more to the summit, and a nice .3 climb it was, up a cool chimney. We were loving it and the clouds were doing there thing around in and around the mountains. It doesn't have to be sunny to be enjoy a peak.

Looking up to above treeline 

Long Trail South approaching Taft Lodge 

Taft Lodge sign - no tent camping around shelter 

Lots of signs and roping to prevent damage

Bulging calf muscles all the way 

Adam's Apple from the chimney section on Mansfield

The summit was awesome and interesting. The clouds hovered around the eastern slopes, and the wind was blasting at us. I would guess around 40mph as predicted. We could see the towers on Stowe breaking through the cloud. We had fun leaning against the wind, and cooling off in it, as the air was quite humid for this hike. After a few minutes at the summit, we descended back to the car. We did well on the descent, but already, my knees were feeling it again.

Stowe from the summit of Mt. Mansfield 

Same as above, except closer 

View from a section below the summit

Now we were ready for our first hour drive to Camel's Hump. We took off the boots and off we went. Our ascent of Camel's Hump was via the Burrows Trail. This trail is a great one for a workout, as its very gradual. The trail was really pretty which helped, and there were many other hikers on this peak. We reached a somewhat crowded summit of Camel's Hump in 1hr and 40min. The wind was crisp, chilly, and the clouds were impressively passing by at quick pace.

Camel's Hump Long Trail Junction.  Burrows Trail enters from right

A steeper section approaching the summit 

Above treeline hiking (AKA doin' the Rock Walk) 

View from Camel's Hump summit

Descending off Camel's Hump

We flew on our first two peaks, finishing pretty early in the afternoon. But, as we made it back down to the car, we knew there would be no more hiking today. Man we were exhausted, but pleasantly surprised, pleased, and content with our experience so far. We got 2 of the 3 most difficult out of the way. This next drive was mine, and I drove us directly to Lincoln Gap to check out the area. We pulled in, and Bill was asleep in seconds. It was still mid afternoon, but after a quick look at the radar on my phone, we were about to be hit with a strong band of bad weather, which included a tornado watch. It was amazing how it came over the gap, pelted us as we sat in the car, and the wind swayed the trees all around. The heavy stuff passed by rather quickly, but it rained for a few hours. I even got an hour or so of sleep here. After it rained and we were somewhat awake again, we drove towards the Town of Warren for a convenience store stop and to gear up for the car camp. When we got back, we checked out the trail head sign and peeked up the trail. The soaking wet surroundings and the sunset peering over the hill was kind of cool. After all, Lincoln Gap is at 2,424 feet of elevation. Sure, I'll take in a Lincoln Gap sunset.

Sunset at Lincoln Gap, Vermont

We watched some videos, read articles, talked about hiking, and future plans. There was excellent cell phone coverage throughout the Vermont peaks, so the night was not boring. Sometime before midnight we were paid a visit by some authority in a white and green vehicle. I am not sure if it was fish and game or local police because we were blinded by their insanely bright lights. They approached the car very quickly with more lights blazing in our windows, so I immediately sat up and acknowledged them, and stated we were just car camping, planning to hike tomorrow. They said OK, and that they check it frequently because of partying and break-ins. So just as fast as they were on top of us, they were outta there after telling us that it looked like the weather would break for us tomorrow. A little bit of a startle, but no hassle, and we were fast asleep.

The next peaks on the agenda for Sunday morning were Abraham and Ellen, and without a car spot, our plan was to do the 12.6mi out-and-back on the Long Trail. We started at 5:25am, well before sunrise. Everything was wet and it was a little bit cooler as we went along first thing in the morning. The woods gave off a mysterious vibe, but we still knew it was going to be a good day.

Eerie section of the Long Trail in the morning 

The moon above the Long Trail en route to Mt. Abraham

We really liked the trail features on this hike. We liked that we'd get to come back through during the daylight.  We continued the ascent, and started to get occasional views over our backs. The clouds were filling in the little valleys here and there, and patches hovered over some of the crops and farms. To our right and east, the sun was just about up, but it was blocked by one mass of clouds. As soon as it crested that cloud, it would be an awesome sunrise summit of Mt. Abraham.

Looking back as we ascend Mt. Abraham

And that it was. We arrived to the summit of Mt. Abraham to an incredible sunrise. The feeling was awesome. There is nothing quite like arriving at the summit of a 4000 footer to a sunrise with no one there but yourselves to take it all in. We saw our destination (Ellen), we saw 360 degree views, and the best views so far on this trip. This was all we needed to keep us going for the day. Oh yeah, it was pretty cold. Winter's coming...

Sunrise from Mt. Abraham summit 

Mt. Abraham summit, 4,006' 

Looking towards Mt. Ellen from Mt. Abraham

This summit kept our attention for a little bit, but we re-focused and pulled ourselves away, and continued on the Long Trail into the trees. We knew we'd pass over some additional peaks, but we were pleasantly surprised to see signs and stuff and a lot more nice trail. We even found an observation tower on Mt. Lincoln (had no idea there would be one). We were surprised of these little peaks having features. That was a cool touch, and easily broke up the mileage for us. The coolest sign was on Nancy Hanks Peak. There is a new one, and then several steps away and into the trees is an older one in a patch of moss with moss growing all over it.

Sun effects on the Long Trail 

Easy hiking 

Little Abe - 3,900'

Nancy Hanks Peak - 3,950' 

The view from Nancy Hanks Peak at the summit sign 

Mt. Abraham from Mt. Lincoln 

Wind flag on Mt. Lincoln summit observation tower 

Mt. Lincoln observation tower

After crossing the top of the ski trails, we came to the summit cairn of our next 4000 footer, Mt. Ellen. There are no views from the highpoint, but just down the trail a few feet is the open top of Mt. Ellen and the Sugarbush Ski Resort, where there are very nice views. Here we sat and snacked on some snacks, including a stick of pepperoni which later seem to give us some good energy. We took a solid break here, but then got going. This summit was great, but now our attention was turned to getting down and to our next and final hike.

Mt. Ellen summit

View from the top of the ski area on Mt. Ellen  

Descending Mt. Abraham on our way to Killington for our final hike

We really would have liked to add Pico Mountain to this hike, but early in the day Sunday, it was decided that we would be taking the 7.2 mile Bucklin Route, and not another 12 mile route. The rides from north to south were also quite enjoyable as drove through the Vermont countryside. Little town halls, shops, unique names, and all that. In route to Killington, we saw the peak ahead in the distance, rising above the farmlands and among the blue sky and puffy clouds.

Killington Peak in the distance

It was 2:45pm when we set foot on the Bucklin Trail. Obviously a little bit later of a start than a typical Sunday hike, but this was no typical hike. It was still a beautiful afternoon, and we passed several groups descending. At 3.6 miles, this seemed, to us at the time, to be a long ascent. Killington is the second highest peak in Vermont, so we were back at it doing 2,800 of gain in order to complete the challenge. This was the first and only trail we saw to be severely damaged by tropical storm Irene. Not far from the trailhead, there is a diversion from the river that takes the trail to the left, and up and over the high hill to the left of the river. I don't know what the old section looked like, but the new section was nice, soft, and kept us going.

The Bucklin Trail 

Newer trail work on the Bucklin Trail 

After a while, a logging road intersected the trail, and the trail went right, immediately starting to ascend at a much steeper rate. From here, it remained that way, but even as it approached 5pm, we were still on our solid pace, headed straight for the top. The trail is all flat at the beginning, and then when it goes right and steepens, it doesn't stop until you reach the summit. There is no medium or ups and downs at all! At least that's what I thought of it.

Starting to get steeper 

At the Long Trail and Bucklin Trail junction 

The final push to the summit of Killington

We arrived at the summit of Killington Peak, our fifth and final Vermont 4000 footer. Again, it was just us on the summit, as if it had been reserved for us to enjoy this moment. The sky was a little overcast, but the views were still impressive. We brought a special treat with us to enjoy on the summit - A Wolaver's Pumpkin Ale, made right in Vermont.

Cheers Bill, on another great accomplishment, another great adventure 

Me and Bill on the summit of Killington 

View from the summit of Killington 

A spooky tree reminded us Halloween is coming!

We arrived back at the trail head just as light faded. We met our set plans for the weekend successfully, and had a reasonably good ride home of two and half hours to near the MA/NH border. It was a tremendous weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed Vermont's high peaks. With the NE 100 highest peaks to take on, we know we'll be back someday, but until then, we have this amazing hike to reminisce on as part of our NE 4000 footer journey. With this hike in the books, we now have just 11 peaks in Maine to climb. We'll be headed there soon, but not sure exactly when.

Hike 1 Stats: Mt. Mansfield (4,393')

Trails: Long Trail

Distance: 4.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,800 feet

Book Time: 2hrs 26min

Hike 2 Stats: Camel's Hump (4,081')

Trails: Burrows Trail

Distance: 4.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,300 feet

Book Time: 3hrs 6min

Hike 3 Stats: Mt. Abraham (4,006') & Mt. Ellen (4,083')

Trails: Long Trail

Distance: 12.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,500 feet

Book Time: 7hrs 12min

Hike 4 Stats: Killinton Peak (4,235')

Trails: Bucklin Trail, Long Trail

Distance: 7.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,800 feet

Book Time: 4hrs 50min

Cumulative Stats:
Distance: 29.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 11,021 feet
Book Time: 17hrs 34min (looks like next time, I'll try them in a day!)
Driving Distance: 455 miles (Home-to-Home near MA/NH border)