Mansfield - 1/29

[Joe H.]

Part of the group decided to ski for the day, but three of us head east, and we found ourselves in Underhill State Park shortly before nine. There is a plowed parking area about a mile short of the gate, but the tire tracks continued on in the snow, and we tried to make a go of the hill. Halfway up, and we were backing down again. As we geared up a van shot by successfully, and then we watched another car continue on. Making one more try we were once again denied. Since both DSettahr and Commisionpoint have helped pushed one of my vehicles up slight grades in the snow to get it parked – I will say that this was our newer car with the much better tires. I can only think that my driving skills have somehow been diluted by too many years in Virginia. Anyhow … up the road we trudged to a parking lot full of successful endeavors. We continued on to the Laura Cowles Trail. This route was suggested by Mirabela, and it was GREAT. Pretty steep, but a nice fluffy, but fairly heavy snow was falling to add 3-4 inches to what was there. We used snowshoes once we left the road. We met a pair of hikers on Laura Cowles that were section hiking the Long Trail in the winter. As we neared the top, the clouds lifted giving views up and down the range. Camel’s Hump was clearly visible to the south and outline of the High Peaks to the west. Quite nice! We went down Sunset Ridge per Mirabela’s suggestion, and it was also much enjoyed. A fantastic day out, and we were a bit jealous of watching the skiers, boarders, and sledders head back to their cars at the bottom of the road as we walked along.

Next we went here.

https://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16741

[4mincharlie]

Thx for the report. I plan on leading a group up there on the 11th of Feb. I understand the difficulty of the sunset and cowles trails...moderate, but what about the the more southern trails on the western side. One is said to have a rocky...boulder -like and ledgy area that may be unwise to hit in the winter. I believe it is the Maple ridge trail. What about the difficulty of the halfway house trail?

My entire group is experienced and have climbed ice ridden slides in the adk. My only concern is the boulder-like terrain. That type of terrain can be hazardous for crampon wearing hikers. Thoughts?

4mincharlie

[Jay H]

Yes, the maple ridge trail has a couple of boulder fields and I think one that is a short hop to cross. I would definitely bring crampons. One summer, I went up from Sunset and back via the Maple Ridge.. I would expect it to be somewhat slick right now..

Jay