| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Blueberry Mountain, Speckled Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Bickford Brook Trail, Blueberry Ridge Trail, Lookout Loop, Bickford Slides Trail, Shell Pond Loop, Shell Pond Trail, White Cairn Trail, Stone House Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, July 13, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I was second car at brickett place at noon. after first loop i shuttled down the road to shell pond/white cairn/stone house trailhead where there were five cars parked roadside. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Everything was very low and slow despite all the rain |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
trails are in great shape and easy to follow for mostly being wilderness designation. Shell Pond Trail is a bit odd when you are walking through a huge mowed field/orchard with no clear trail-but pretty easy to figure out that you just keep walking straight and there were a few blazes on trees if you looked around. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
nothing too tough for dogs on this hike-just steep hiking on white cairn. after crossing bickford brook to climb speckled it is pretty dry so carry water! |
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 | Bugs: |
some weird little striped flies kept trying to chew on me. easily swatted. We walked through thousands of moths emerging from their pupae in the shell pond orchard. the trees were covered in them and the newly emerged moths were swarming-it was pretty neat. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
fantastic trails redlined in the speckled caribou area. Did a counter-clockwise loop over Blueberry and Speckled and then drove down road to Shell Pond and looped it with Blueberry again for the second time. Missed the rain with the late start but had the occasional drizzle and everything was soaked. Some views down from Blueberry lookout but above that was socked in. I thought I had found my favorite swimming hole in the Whites at the middle Bickford Slide, only to later encounter Rattlesnake Pool-two awesome swim spots that Fin and I took full advantage of to cool down. Bickford Brook and Shell Pond Trails are excellent for trail running. Chatted with lone hiker on Speckled summit and couple of tourists at Rattlesnake pool-otherwise no one seen in 18+ miles. White Cairn very steep at the end of the day but not scrambly. |
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 | Name: |
Spence, Fin |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-07-14 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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