Day 26 on the Vermont Long Trail

This morning we woke up at Puffer Shelter. It was too cloudy to see a good sunrise unfortunately. Family Mule was feeling much better today! He was back to himself and ready to go. We had hot chocolate and pop tarts for breakfast. Dreamer was loving it! We didn’t start the trail until 8:40! We made it to Taylor Lodge for lunch. It was a nice shelter, however it was very busy with people passing because the trail is easily accessible for day hikers.

We pressed on towards Butler Shelter. We passed a great water source just before the tenting area. We took a small break while filing up our water supply.  We were heading up towards Butler when Dreamer got behind Family Mule due to fixing her shoe. Then Tiny Turtle hollers back to Dreamer, “Get up here and talk to me” and then Dreamer replies, “I’m stuck behind these people”! UGH! “These People”, as though we are the slow ones. It became an ongoing joke. We did make it to Butler Shelter laughing at the way we are viewed by our children as “These people”. Butler Shelter is located off the trail, so we decided to bypassit. We had a second lunch right on the trail before we pressed on to Taft Lodge.

Tiny Turtle and Family Mule raced to put their packs back on. Family Mule barely won! It was very amusing to watch.  We then proceeded to climb Mt. Mansfield. It was a steep climb. We had some ladders and lots of rock scrambling. The rock scrambling became very sketchy. We had to climb over one rock to stand on a small corner of a ledge then jump to the other side which had a small piece to stand on. Once we were on the other side, it was a small ledge to stand on and then over another large rock. I was very worried about the kids crossing but did my best not to show it. Tiny Turtle went first! The scary part is…HE JUST DID IT WITHOUT WAITING ON US! I love his confidence but I am worried at the same time. It’s a bad combination for a mother. The trail then came to a small squeeze/cave between 2 rocks. Someone claustrophobic probably won’t like this.

We then came to the forehead of Mt.Mansfield. The wind was very strong by this point in the day. Dreamer and Tiny Turtle would drop to their bellies because the wind was so strong it would knock them around as we climbed. The trail then came to a road and shortly up the road we came to the visitors center. The visitors center has an unclear opening so you will need to be looking for it. We came in an unmarked way. Oops! The visitors center is easily accessible to day hikers or tourist. It has a parking lot so people that may not be able or have the time to hike can still enjoy the wonderful views.

Just past the visitors center is the “chin” of Mt.Mansfield. By the time we reached this point it has began to sprinkle but we had to proceed in order to get to the lodge. There was not any places to set up camp. Lots of people were heading down the mountain as we were heading up. The trail was full of rock scrambles. These are some of personal favorites! We knew we had to keep a good page as the weather was quickly changing. It started raining harder and the wind was picking up. We found a side trail for bad weather conditions called Profanity Trail. We decided it was in our best interest of safety to take it. The trail turned out to be extremely steep, wet and slick. Family Mule had to help us off the rocks and stop us from falling several times. I was very worried about us making it down safely. The trail is .5 miles from Taft Lodge, however it felt a LOT LONGER! ***WARNING*** Do not take this trail unless you have to!

Once we arrived at Taft Lodge, it was packed but dry and out of the wind! Taft lodge is very popular so expect it to be crowded. It is an enclosed shelter with an attendant on the weekends, a porch and a great water source located next to it.  There is a fee to stay at the lodge, which was $5 per person. It was worth getting out of the storm for us! We were very lucky and a whole top bunk area was open and could fit the four of us nicely.