| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Table Rock, Baldpate Mountain (West Peak), Baldpate Mountain (East Peak), ME |
|
 | Trails: |
Table Rock Trail, Appalachian Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 19, 2014 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Large lot at the top of Grafton Notch. $2pp/day fee (no envelopes, just a tube). Still plenty of room when I arrived late-morning. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing worth noting. Water source at the Baldpate Leanto running well. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No real issues. But the painted letters indicating the "caves" route was faded out and I missed it, and thought the "trail" letters were pointing back the way I came. The caves were cool, but didn't offer me (perhaps some crazy rock climber) a way to Table Rock. So make the hairpin right turn at the orange "trail" lettering to continue to Table Rock. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few, nothing super-difficult for experienced trail doggies on the AT. There is a bouldery section on the Table Rock Trail with large holes between it that could be tough for some. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Mosquitoes out and about. A breeze up top kept them at bay, and moving quickly on the descent kept most of them out of my face. Almost pulled out the headnet anyway. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
It was supposed to be a gorgeous day to tackle the Baldpates for #98/100, the kind of day I've been waiting for. Instead what I got was a pretty overcast day with a little filtered sunlight, but at least the cloud deck was plenty high. I started late on this one, shortly before 11AM, but the days are long this time of the year so I don't mind sleeping in before the 4-hour drive up :)
The climb up to Table Rock was steep, but other than the confusion at the caves section (see trail maintenance notes), nothing too bad. Nice view from Table Rock itself. A stiff climb from the lean-to to West Baldpate, and then the fun began. An awesome ledgy descent and then climb up to East Baldpate and what were pretty nice views, even if they were limited in range due to the overcast. There was a nice side-on view of the Kilkenny Range in NH though, which was cool.
Busy, but not jam-packed like I expected of a segment of the AT. Mostly backpackers out and about, some doing the Grafton Loop, and a fair number of SOBO Thru-hikers. Gave one a ride into Bethel after my hike. Only a couple day-hikers out, what a cool corner of Maine. |
|
 | Name: |
madmattd |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2014-07-21 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://mattshikes.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
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. |
|
