Day 12: Wed - Emerging from the green tunnel

Taft Lodge to Taylor Lodge via an incredible view from Mt Mansfield

Morning awakening! The early morning light streamed in through the glass windows of the lodge shortly after 5:30am. I could see the pink of the sunrise reflect of the morning cloud - it was tempting enough to draw me out of my sleeping bag camera in hand to take a few shots.

We decided to walk up Mansfield and have breakfast with a view, so attempted to pack quietly whilst the others were sleeping, then said a silent goodbye to this great place to stay.

Early morning 

Taft Lodge

It didn't take long for us to climb the 0.3mi up to "The Adams Apple" for our first views. The wind buffeted us from the west, as it hit the steep slopes of the mountain and raced across the top. The early morning cloud was still rising, and occasionally drifted across our path. We could see how the area was given the name "Lake of the Clouds" on the map. It was beautiful to be up so high, by ourselves in the soft morning light.

We climbed further up to "The Chin", the highest point on the mountain at 4,393ft, scrambling up a few rocky cracks that added to the feeling of height. We'd climbed above the montane spruce-fir line, which had been replaced by ground hugging alpine meadow allowing us spectacular views both sides of the track. A perfect spot for coffee and breakfast!

The views were amazing! To the south we could see Camel's Hump peaking out from amongst the clouds.

Camel's Hump

As we sat and relaxed a couple of guys ran past, looking like they were training for trail running and the Race to the Top of Vermont race held in August. I felt a bit overdressed with a full overnight pack, hiking boots and raincoat, when these guys were just wearing sneakers and carrying waterbottles. But I was also sipping on freshly brewed coffee and eating pancakes, so it seemed an ok trade-off. We also felt the satisfaction of taking 7 days to walk here for the view! And were happy to savour every moment in the open, out of the green tunnel. A completely different feeling to just driving the car up, or taking the gondola.

We continued across the flat top of the mountain to the summit station, where we met the GMC caretaker from Taft. She was there to talk to the day trippers, coming up on the toll road or gondola, before heading down to Butler Lodge on the southern side. We chatted for a bit, then continued past The Nose (closed due to radio towers) and wound our way down a large crack in the forehead, formed by two large boulders that had fallen from the cliffs above. We were back to the forest.

Our next stop was Butler Lodge, another neat cabin. We thought about staying here for the night, but our ice cream deadline was nearing, and we were keen to get a few more miles out of the way.

Without too much trouble, we traversed around to Taylor Lodge, keeping an eye out for moose in the swampy sections (although the day was hot and humid, so we guessed the moose would be relaxing somewhere cooler). Taylor Lodge was a bit of a disappointment after the grandeur of the last two cabins - the exterior was caged and uninviting. Instead, we climbed up to a small lookout and put up the tent overlooking Lake Mansfield and the shadow of Mt Clark and Mt Mayo.

"Eeeek. Move!"I shouted, somewhat unhelpfully as I spotted a yellow and black snake, twisting like a crazy bike inner tube amongst the brown needles of the forest floor. Thankfully, both Billy and the snake kept their cool, and avoided confrontation. I had also forgotten that, unlike in Australia, most snakes here aren't venomous! It turns out that this was probably a Common Garter snake, and harmless to humans.

After this moment of excitement, the rest of the afternoon was free for reading and relaxing. We settled into our usual dinner cooking routine - something I look forward to each day!