| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Goose Eye Mountain, Fulling Mill Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Notch Trail, Mahoosuc Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 8, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Success Pond Road kind of rough for cars, causing me to drive about 20 mph on much of it. I live on a dirt road too but I've also had a lot of flats. Pickups and SUVs moved at a pretty good clip, as by historical standards it's in pretty good shape. There is a standard white with green lettering trail sign on a tree where the WMG says Shelter Brook Trail intersects although I didn't see a street name. I drove over the first bridge but the second seemed a bit broken so I parked on the side before it and walked the short distance up to the actual trailhead. But I did see a pickup come to get a hiker so they drove over it without problems. There's room for a handful of cars shortly before the trailhead; only room for two where I pulled off. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
rock hops |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Notch trail in great shape. Mahoosuc generally in decent shape, no blowdowns, some wet ledge, and a handful of mud pits where the planking has sunk so much as to be useless, and people are tippy toeing around damaging the soft bog soils, if they aren't falling in deeply as happened with one thru hiker. There's an incredible amount of board/puncheon/stair wood work on this trail; it boggles the mind. The sign for the Wright Trail consists of square plywood piece with a tattered piece of paper on it, now on the ground and enough letters gone to make it worthless. Fortunately planks visible from the Mahoosucs Trail make it obvious there is a trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper had fun, but he's used to rough rock, steep ledges and stairs of which there is plenty. The cool breeze and frequent small seeps (today) on the trail meant he needed little packed water, but only on the Notch trail were there any good sippin n dippin spots. A group of N to S AT hikers had a modest sized dog named Segar who was doing fine, although they said he needed to be handed from hiker to hiker to get through Mahoosucs Notch. |
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 | Bugs: |
None, too windy. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Notch trail has a splendid footbed, delightful woods, noisy brook and gentle slopes; it's great to start and end a hike on. This section of the Mahoosucs trail has quite a bit of open ridge hiking with plenty of scenic views. The trail work on it is astonishing, and going up Goose Eye East it is mostly some form of stairs; Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven popped into my head. We chatted with several groups of AT hikers going into both directions, but for the most part we hiked in solitude. There was a strong breeze; I measured a steady mid 30 at one point, but there were bigger gusts. The wind had caused me to cancel a Glen Boulder hike to Isolation to redline some new trail, and it made this hike superb, keeping us cool and bug free, while adding to the ridge/peak experience. This is a great hike, better than most of the 4Ks. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-07-08 |
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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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