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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Old Speck Mountain, Goose Eye Mountain, Mt. Success, Mt. Hayes, ME
Trails
Trails: Mahoosuc Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 14, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking when we arrived to start our journey at Grafton Notch at 5 am 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: None of note 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: AT in Maine is in good shape. Well blazed, brushed very well. In NH quite another story. The trail is in good condition say from Gentian Pond to US 2. It is not in the best shape from Gentian to the NH/ME border. Additionally, there are a lot of places up on the alpine boggy sections in Maine that need bog bridge repairs. There is one section in particular that is impassible via the trail unless you want to practice escaping quicksand like muck. That bog is hiker swallowing size. There is a cheat that skirts it and it's kind of a shame that hikers are left with the choice of being swallowed up in a mud pit or trampling alpine vegetation. The NH section really needs blazing on the rock slabs, trees. In need of brushing as well. I think it's not so great that the crown jewel of eastern hiking is in such bad shape. It was very difficult to follow the AT in some areas because of the lack of blazing on the rock slabs.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Didn't see any 
Bugs
Bugs: Thankfully mostly gone other than interesting white moths seen during the night hike  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Old Speck, Goose Eye and the rest of the Mahoosuc Range ME 26 to US2

Our crew of 5 went for it. 1 day Mahoosuc Traverse. If you want an incredibly demanding hike, this one fits the bill quite well. For reference, I would consider this hike twice as difficult as a 1 day Pemi. Loop.

You will want to wear the most sticky grippy shoes that you have. There are so many wet slabs and car sized boulders...

I used my GAIA GPS quite a lot to make sure that I was on the correct trail. As mentioned previously, there are a lot of spots which have the potential to get you disoriented or lose the trail due to lack of marking.

If you attempt this hike, bring a water filter and offline GPS. I used 10 liters of water through the hike and definitely appreciated my Sawyer.  
Name
Name: Al-X 
E-Mail
E-Mail: powerpackager@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-09-17 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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