| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Van Dyke Mountain, Merrill Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Logging road, bushwack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, September 12, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lowelltown Road / 400 Rd was fine, better than Goldbrook actually. We parked at the side road that goes toward the peaks, which was not drivable, we had to walk from there. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
There was a tricky balance beam, 2 long steel I-beams actually high over a stream, in the beginning of the road walk. I suppose you could go down and rock-hop the stream, but we did the balance beams. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This one of the tougher pairs of the 4 days spent whacking up there. After a long road walk to its end as shown on Gaia, we headed up planning to go to the col between the two peaks, but ended up going higher on the eastern shoulder of Van Dyke. It was good going until about 2800', then the blowdowns started. We probably could have avoided these by going around to the south, but we fought our way over and under the blowdowns for almost half a mile and 400' up to the summit. At the top the jar still had a register from 1988 inside, as did many of the peaks around here. We picked a good line down to the col, weaving through some steeper tight woods but not too bad, soon we could see Merrill, then hobblebush in the open col. Going up Merrill was very steep at first, and hobblebushy, then ferny mid way, then the same blowdown situation again at the top. We felt like we earned these two, but the fight was not over yet. There was a lot of swearing the whole way down following the curving ridge to complete the loop. The footing was rough. Down lower there were some muddy and grassy lanes with moose paths leading back to the spot where we launched, about 4 hours earlier. It was about 5 hours total with the road walk, and 7 miles or so. |
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 | Name: |
Carl G |
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 | E-Mail: |
calxjohnson@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-09-13 |
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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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