Judging by the "groomed" nature of the Overland Ski Trail this afternoon, I'd say it was a busy weekend on the west side of Mt. Mansfield!
This backcountry trail is accessed from Stevensville Road in Underhill. You start up as if you were hiking the Nebraska Notch Trail, but then at the first fork in the trail you go left. It was evident that many backcountry snowshoers, dogs and skiers had been on the trail, and in fact we met several people on the trail.
The trail was very packed for the first half of our steady climb. Up above, the Skimeister and I remained on the Overland Trail when many others had turned right, so the snow wasn't so packed from there up.
This area had not been hit by wind since the last snowfall. A couple of inches of snow clung to each tree. Look at the photos to see how white it was! Gorgeous.
We climbed up to where Overland hits the Long Trail. Then we added another layer, closed our pit zips and had a homemade cookie before enjoying the rather deep snow in the trees on the sides of the trail. About three inches of fluffy powder was over a thin crust. We broke through the crust as we skied. There was quite a bit of snow underneath.
We encountered some narrow, open streams and a couple of wet spots that we needed to step around. Getting your skis wet is a very bad thing. Say no to icing!
It was fun to be out in the snowy woods today!
