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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Caribou Mountain, ME
Trails
Trails: Mud Brook Trail, Caribou Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 20, 2012
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Modest sized lot off 113 had maybe 6 cars there when I left with room for as many more. The lot off Bog Rd. in the N only had 2 cars in it, one hiking family and one using a swimming hole, with room for a few more.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Rock hops for me, sip 'n dips for Pepper. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: A short distance N of Caribou's intersection with Mud Brook there were two multibranch blowdows and a step over. I cut enough of the multibranch to open up the trail, but one is still a duckunder. There is a big blowdown on Caribou near the Wilderness boundary on the S stretch. It seemed as if most of the seeps on Mud Brook had cleared out their water bars but maybe a human had done that. Other waterbars could use a cleaning but more are working; the erosion on Caribou up high as it nears Mud Brook probably needs a lot of water bars, way beyond any normal trail maintaining. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Great dog trails, with plenty of streams and een seeps up high (although they may dry up later), a generally soft footpath, modest slopes, critters to be chased, open views on the peak, and lots of solitude. Pepper had a ball; the sip 'n dips were so sweet.  
Bugs
Bugs: A few black flies at the parking area were left behind by hiking. A few skeeters midway up Mud Brook bit the dust on my arms. A light breeze kept the black flies away on the peak; otherwise they probably would have been pesky. They were also a nuisance when I stopped to work on some blowdowns. One couple I met were in head bug nets but they had stopped to eat. One tick found on Pepper on the peak. Overall, bugs were not an issue for us. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: We redlined by going up Mud Brook, down Caribou to the N trailhead, then back up and down Caribou to the car. It turned out to be a great hike. The views from Caribou's ledges and peaks were superb, and the open feeling splendid. Most of Mud Brook and Caribou N of it after the initial descent is a delightful footpath and walk in the woods. Caribou west of Mud Brook has an upper eroded section in the steeps, and then a mix of boulder and dirt in the lower steeps next to many brook falls, followed by a nice footpath in the lower sections. Small pockets of mud do occur but they can be navigated by looking for stones or branches to step on instead of walking off to the sides of the trail.


It was warm, but all those streams kept the little dog cool, and I dipped my hat in many as well.  
Name
Name: Pepper and Me 
E-Mail
E-Mail: windriversjohn at gmail dot com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2012-05-20 
Link
Link: https:// 
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