 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, July 5, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Just past the bridge over Zealand River (south side of bridge) there is a small parking area for the Sugarloafs. Only room for about a half dozen or so cars I imagine so I’m sure it overflows on nice summer weekend days! Zealand Road is it’s usual obnoxious but doable self. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The only one to speak of is the large and difficult one on Trestle Trail where the bridge washed out years ago and was never replaced. I knew I’d be wading through the crossing but I still underestimated it; water was moving quickly and gushing at points. If I hadn’t chosen my route as carefully as I did I would have been wading in water much higher than my knees which I wasn’t up for. I also became acutely aware that I left my poles in the car 😂 The water was just high enough and fast enough for it to feel a bit dangerous for this 170lbs guy. I wouldn’t recommend doing this crossing in anything more than slightly above normal water levels unless you’re very experienced and/or with other people and have poles. No matter when you do it though, expect to get wet! Note that, this crossing is not required for hiking the Sugarloafs; you’ll only come into contact with it if you do the entire loop around the Trestle Trail. My route was several dozen yards upstream |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trails are all well blazed in yellow and easy to follow. There was one left turn shortly after the water crossing on Trestle Trail (traveling clockwise) that I didn’t see at first. It was getting dark though. See comments below about odd intersection and viewpoint near the summit of North Sugarloaf. No blowdowns that I recall. The trail is in great shape. It’s vey well travelled and there seems to be lots of erosion though :( |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I imagine they’d do alright so long as they’re okay with some steeper climbing and one ladder (up Middle Sugarloaf). The only water available seemed to be from the Zealand River although it’s a pretty short and quick hike. |
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 | Bugs: |
They were out. Others commented on how awful they were but I didn’t think they were all that bad. I was moving pretty fast though. When I stopped to rest up top, they were annoying but nothing obscene like some other recent hikes of mine. Ants are crawling all about EVERYWHERE over the ledges. I set down my sweaty shirt to dry and there must have been several dozen ants crawling over it in a matter of minutes. It was freaky. Per usual, it seemed to be mostly mosquitos below treeline and black flies up on the summit. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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