Lake Mansfield, Nebraska Notch and Clara Bow Trails Day Hike

On Friday, November 7, 2008 I took a day of vacation in order to complete a day hike. I chose to hike two trails that I hiked last year with Charlie Castelli and students from Vermont Tech as well as a third trail I hadn't hiked before.


The day was unseasonably warm, in the upper 50's, and overcast. It had drizzled the night before, making the trails damp but not soggy. I began at the Lake Mansfield Trail Trailhead (1,140 ft. above sea level). The trailhead starts at the picturesque Lake Mansfield Trout Camp and I take a picture of the lake and the spillway from the lake before I take off on the hike. It is 11:00 am when I start.

The trail is quite nice and ascends gradually 1.6 miles to Taylor Lodge. Along the way I see a number of interesting rock formations and numerous small streams. The trail steepens as I climb into Nebraska Notch but there is no ice and the footing is solid. Near the top I round a curve and come to a beautiful cascade of water falling some 100+ feet. The two pictures above show the top and the bottom of the cascade. I was unable to frame the entire drop in one photo.


A few hundred yards further up I come to a beaver pond complete with a perfectly constructed beaver dam. This beaver must have gotten his architechtural engineering degree from Vermont Tech as his pond and palace are well constructed. Another two minutes of uphill hiking and I come to Taylor Lodge (Built 1978, sleeps 15, 1,860 ft) named after the founder of the Green Mountain Club James P. Taylor.

From the Lodge I hike north on the Long Trail 0.4 miles to the LT intersection with the Nebraska Notch Trail. The trail offers a gradual 1.5 mile descent out of the Notch to the western side of the range. Thus, by hiking these two trails together I go from the eastern side of the range to the western side in a short and not too steep 3.5 mile hike.


At the Nebraska Notch Trailhead (1,400 ft) I reverse direction and climb back up to the Long Trail. From there I head south 0.3 miles to the LT intersection with the Clara Bow Trail. The Clara Bow offers an 0.4 mile alternative route back to Taylor Lodge. The guidebook and the trail markers indicate that it is a rugged trail. Completing it requires that I navigigate over some large boulders and drop drown into a ravine that leads to a cave where I must use a 10-12 foot wooden ladder to climb out.
The pictures above show the blue blazes telling me where to hike and the picture to the left shows the cave/crevice I climb through to get to the other side of the rock formation.


I arrive back at Taylor Lodge no worse for the wear and take an unarked side trail leading about a tenth of a mile to a pleasant overlook of the Nebraska Valley below. Something tells me the state of Nebraska doesn't have many views like this.

My hike back down to the car is uneventful and I arrive at 3:00 pm having hiked 8.2 miles in four hours. I unlock the car and reach back to remove my back pack. It is only then I realize that I left my pack back up at the Lodge...Crap! Now I have to hike 3.2 miles up and back to get my pack. I practically jog the trail covering the 1.6 miles up in 37 minutes and the 1.6 miles back down in 35 minutes. Thus I have now hiked over 11 miles in just over 5 hours. Live and learn - I'll not be leaving my pack behind again!