Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Tully Mountain, Royalston Falls, Spirit Falls, MA |
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| Trails: |
Tully Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 15, 2017 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I was asked to park at the boat launch lot @ Tully Campground on Saturday since regular parking was being used for a triathlon. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
No issues: many are bridged and the others are small. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail is well blazed and well signed at junctions. There are some newer-looking fallen trees that I have been reported to the NQTA - the only real whack-around is S of the hairpin turn across Fish Brook on the E side. I tossed and pulled aside many branches and limbs throughout. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
I only saw one about a half mile from the end at a house next to the trail. It charged me but stopped short of attacking. I was prepared if it did. |
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| Bugs: |
None worth mentioning. |
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| Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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| Comments: |
This was an overnight hike for OCT 14/15 heading clockwise from the Tully Campground...
Trails are in excellent shape here - the NQTA does good work in this area and it shows. The only area to take a bit of extra time on is heading down along Spirit Falls: it is steep with soft dirt and awkward rocks under foot. Because many leaves are down I had to take a second look at a couple of spots on the loop to make sure I was still on the trail.
On Tully Mountain Saturday morning the clouds lifted just enough for views into the valley and beyond. Heading N I spent the night at the Royalston Falls shelter: the structure itself is excellent but because of the easy access to it from that parking lot I was greeted with lots of ramen pieces on the floor and lots of graffiti everywhere else. The area was busy with a few tents around but I only shared the shelter with two others. On Sunday I very much enjoyed the E section of the loop, especially the 'gorge' below Royalston Falls to the Long Pond area further S with some good foliage in view - a nice Sunday morning walk in the woods :)
I passed a pair of folks also heading N on the W side Saturday but beyond the shelter I didn't see anyone on this hike until I got back to the campground area on Sunday. Relatively warm weather, lots of interesting features and viewpoints and lots of solitude made this a pretty nice weekend trek. |
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| Name: |
HMJ |
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| E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-10-15 |
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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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