Northwestern Vermont Geoscience Tour
Todays trip will be much
more strenuous than the previous two days where we spent a lot of time
in the Burlington area at pretty much the same elevation. Today we will
hike Mount
Mansfield in the Green Mountain Range that runs in a north-south
direction in Central Vermont. It will take us about 75 minutes to get
to Underhill
State Park from Burlington including a stop to get some
goodies for the hike. The Mountain is only 4393 feet high but the
terrain can be challenging at times and proper hiking
gear will make
your trip much more enjoyable. If you are unfamiliar with hiking and
are unsure about what gear to take ask me about it beforehand.
This hike and the travel time will take the entire day.
PO Box 249
Underhill Center, Vermont 05490
Park Phone: 802-899-3022
Season: Memorial Day Weekend - Oct 19
Photo taken by Jared C. Benedict on 26 September 2004 Photo by: Joe Calzarette Date: June 7, 2007
I have hiked this mountain dozens of times from different directions using different trails and I always seem to discover something new. Aside from the beautiful views as you hike to the summit there is a wealth of geological, environmental and climatological points of interest along the trek to observe and make notes of in you journal. The daily weather, meteorological and geographical data records today may show more variance throughout the day than on any other day of the tour. This hike will be up the Sunset Ridge trail and is 3.3 miles (one way) to the summit with a 2,700 foot elevation change. People with disabilities can take the toll road or gondola on the Stowe, Vermont side but will not get the same experience hikers will.
Driving from the west from Burlington towards the Green Mountains the long ridge of Mt. Mansfield and the more abrupt summit of Camels Hump to the south can be seen. The photograph on the left above is taken from the east side but shows the profile of the mountain and the landmarks we use in describing the locations along the summit. Use your imagination to imagine a prone figures face and starting from the left identify the forehead, nose, chin and adams apple. These designations are used on topographic maps of the summit and are not only whimsical but useful references when hiking this mountain. The profile of this mountain as well as that of Camels Hump and others in the Green Mountains was created by the southward advance of successive ice sheets that completely covered these mountains with ice and plucked and scoured their summits and left glacial erratics from further north scattered around Vermont. These mountains were formed by a series of events associated with the opening and closing of the Iapetus Ocean (5). Erosional sediments along the continental margin of that ocean consisted of silt, sand and calcium carbonates that formed shales, sandstones and limestones over time. A geologic map of the area is available to help with understanding the area. The closing of the Iapetus ocean during the Taconic Orogeny about 440 mya and the subsequent Acadian Orogeny about 360 mya metamorphosed those sedimentary rocks into the schists, phillites, greenstones and serpentinites found in the Green mountains(18). You can observe these types of rocks as we climb, as well as the occasional included garnets in the often wavy iridescent rocks along the path of this hike. The process of glacial plucking where the moving ice sheet grabs and removes blocks of the country rock is evidenced in the interesting summit trail called Subway which is a scramble over, under and between these blocks for those who are physically able and have some extra time.
The environmental geoscience of Mount Mansfield is interesting in that the elevation change during the hike reveals different plant communities. Be observant and take notes about the community of trees and other plants along the trail as you hike and take a GPS elevation reading at the generalized boundary between the forest types. A very unique ecosystem near the summit is an Alpine Tundra area found on only the three highest peaks of Vermont. These areas are ancient in their origin and very fragile so please stay on the trails to protect these plants. Take photos of the plants for the purpose of future identification in your journal.
Image1&2http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/travel/escapes/12trek.html http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150938/mount-mansfield.html
As you reach the summit you will see the effects of acid precipitation on many of the coniferous trees at the summit. Your knowledge of Geosciences should allow you to write a hypothesis in your journal about why this location is so affected by that type of pollution given the low population and low amount of industrial activity in Vermont. As a treat as you approach the summit if you are hiking in the fall, you may notice low bush mountain blueberries along the trail that are absolutely the best tasting blueberries on the planet. The terminus of this trail at the summit gives you the opportunity to explore the long and relatively level summit. Use your trail map of the summit and explore around and make note of what landforms you see in each direction and note these and any other observations you make at the summit in your journal. Observe the polished nature of the summit due to the effects of glaciation. As you stand on the summit, imagine being under 2 km of ice and as you look west imagine that ice sheet carving the Champlain Valley where you can currently see Lake Champlain. Connect what you learned on the previous day's tours in Burlington when we discussed the evolution of the lake from Lake Vermont to the Champlain Sea to the Present Lake Champlain. You can almost see that sequence of events using your imagination from this vantage point. Once again, avoid stepping on any vegetation at the summit. Check your data instruments to see what changes have occured due to the elevation. There are a couple of alternate trails that will lead back to the State Park parking lot but some are more demanding and retracing the ascent route may be the best choice for most first time Mount Mansfield hikers. After returning to the parking area, a barefoot soak in one of the cool streams nearby is always a personal reward I enjoy.
Directions:
From I-89 Northbound From
Burlington: Take exit 11and turn right at W Main ST/ US RT
2. Turn slightly to the right, onto River Rd./ VT Route
117. In about 260', turn right onto Governor Peck Highway and
follow to end. At stop sign, turn left onto Browns Trace Road and
follow to end (about 5.3 miles). At stop sign turn right onto
Route 15 for 1/2 mile. Turn right onto River Road. Continue
onto Pleasant Valley Rd (2.7 miles). .Turn right onto Mountain Road and
follow for 2.7 miles to end. At stop sign, 1 mile to park
entrance. The park fee is $5.00 per car. You can get a trail map from
the ranger station that will be helpful.
PO Box 249
Underhill Center, Vermont 05490
Park Phone: 802-899-3022
Season: Memorial Day Weekend - Oct 19
Photo taken by Jared C. Benedict on 26 September 2004 Photo by: Joe Calzarette Date: June 7, 2007
I have hiked this mountain dozens of times from different directions using different trails and I always seem to discover something new. Aside from the beautiful views as you hike to the summit there is a wealth of geological, environmental and climatological points of interest along the trek to observe and make notes of in you journal. The daily weather, meteorological and geographical data records today may show more variance throughout the day than on any other day of the tour. This hike will be up the Sunset Ridge trail and is 3.3 miles (one way) to the summit with a 2,700 foot elevation change. People with disabilities can take the toll road or gondola on the Stowe, Vermont side but will not get the same experience hikers will.
Driving from the west from Burlington towards the Green Mountains the long ridge of Mt. Mansfield and the more abrupt summit of Camels Hump to the south can be seen. The photograph on the left above is taken from the east side but shows the profile of the mountain and the landmarks we use in describing the locations along the summit. Use your imagination to imagine a prone figures face and starting from the left identify the forehead, nose, chin and adams apple. These designations are used on topographic maps of the summit and are not only whimsical but useful references when hiking this mountain. The profile of this mountain as well as that of Camels Hump and others in the Green Mountains was created by the southward advance of successive ice sheets that completely covered these mountains with ice and plucked and scoured their summits and left glacial erratics from further north scattered around Vermont. These mountains were formed by a series of events associated with the opening and closing of the Iapetus Ocean (5). Erosional sediments along the continental margin of that ocean consisted of silt, sand and calcium carbonates that formed shales, sandstones and limestones over time. A geologic map of the area is available to help with understanding the area. The closing of the Iapetus ocean during the Taconic Orogeny about 440 mya and the subsequent Acadian Orogeny about 360 mya metamorphosed those sedimentary rocks into the schists, phillites, greenstones and serpentinites found in the Green mountains(18). You can observe these types of rocks as we climb, as well as the occasional included garnets in the often wavy iridescent rocks along the path of this hike. The process of glacial plucking where the moving ice sheet grabs and removes blocks of the country rock is evidenced in the interesting summit trail called Subway which is a scramble over, under and between these blocks for those who are physically able and have some extra time.
The environmental geoscience of Mount Mansfield is interesting in that the elevation change during the hike reveals different plant communities. Be observant and take notes about the community of trees and other plants along the trail as you hike and take a GPS elevation reading at the generalized boundary between the forest types. A very unique ecosystem near the summit is an Alpine Tundra area found on only the three highest peaks of Vermont. These areas are ancient in their origin and very fragile so please stay on the trails to protect these plants. Take photos of the plants for the purpose of future identification in your journal.
Image1&2http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/travel/escapes/12trek.html http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150938/mount-mansfield.html
As you reach the summit you will see the effects of acid precipitation on many of the coniferous trees at the summit. Your knowledge of Geosciences should allow you to write a hypothesis in your journal about why this location is so affected by that type of pollution given the low population and low amount of industrial activity in Vermont. As a treat as you approach the summit if you are hiking in the fall, you may notice low bush mountain blueberries along the trail that are absolutely the best tasting blueberries on the planet. The terminus of this trail at the summit gives you the opportunity to explore the long and relatively level summit. Use your trail map of the summit and explore around and make note of what landforms you see in each direction and note these and any other observations you make at the summit in your journal. Observe the polished nature of the summit due to the effects of glaciation. As you stand on the summit, imagine being under 2 km of ice and as you look west imagine that ice sheet carving the Champlain Valley where you can currently see Lake Champlain. Connect what you learned on the previous day's tours in Burlington when we discussed the evolution of the lake from Lake Vermont to the Champlain Sea to the Present Lake Champlain. You can almost see that sequence of events using your imagination from this vantage point. Once again, avoid stepping on any vegetation at the summit. Check your data instruments to see what changes have occured due to the elevation. There are a couple of alternate trails that will lead back to the State Park parking lot but some are more demanding and retracing the ascent route may be the best choice for most first time Mount Mansfield hikers. After returning to the parking area, a barefoot soak in one of the cool streams nearby is always a personal reward I enjoy.
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Day 5 |
Day 6 |
Day 7 |
Met. data |
Geogr.
data |
References |
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