| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, RI |
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 | Trails: |
North South Trail, Cedar Swamp Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, November 25, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at the George Washington Campground where we spotted a car. The campground is closed for the season so it looks like you can park anywhere you want. We parked a car at the northern end of the NS Trail at SW Main street gate 19 in Douglas. One other car, maybe a hunter, when we got there. Two cars when we got back in the afternoon. Room for a few more for sure. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossing of outlet of Richardson Wildlife Pond was soggy and tricky. A recent blowdown (with NS trail sign still attached provided a makeshift bridge that helped a little. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There were a fair number of blowdowns from the October nor'easter. Some smaller ones I moved off the trail. I did not bring my saw but if I had I would have cut a few others. Some were big blowdowns and required walking around. A few were climbovers, a couple of duckunders. We saw a trail maintainer on the Cedar Swamp trail heading to some work. The Cedar Swamp trail is like one continuous brook crossing for much of it, the result of the recent rain. A number of trees with trail signage are down. See MA report of same day for an issue on the Midstate trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Didn't see any dogs, except for a few at the houses in the Staghead neighborhood we had to hike through. They barked at us. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
I lost a hubcap on the drive home. But I guess that doesn't count. There was a brown hoodie jacket hanging on a tree someone lost at the gas pipeline crossing in the GW Wildlife management area. |
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 | Comments: |
Our first section, with CJ and Dead Man Walking, of the North South trail. We are heading north to south and this makes the guidebook confusing and we have to rely mostly on the trail signs as well as the map, rather than the text descriptions. At the beginning the blue blazes are kind of overdone as they appear on almost every tree. Then when the blue blazes stop the white NS plastic squares are kind of few and far between. One stretch of the NS trail on the dirt road called Richardson Trail went without any plastic blazes for at least half a mile, to the point where we were wondering if we missed a turn due to a rerouting of the trail that is not in the book. Made for a suspenseful few minutes until we finally spotted a blaze.
The lack of blazes, and also the fact that we were doing the trail in the reverse direction as described in the guidebook caused us later to miss an important turn and that is why our trip included the Cedar Swamp Trail. Once we figured out that we were on the wrong trail we decided to continue and make a course correction later on to get back to the NS Trail near our destination. The total distance remained about the same, we figure. Saw a few hunters. Make sure you wear blaze orange. This is a legal requirement from October to February through much of the area we were in. |
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 | Name: |
greatoz |
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 | E-Mail: |
greatoz.tz...gmail |
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| Date Submitted: |
2011-11-26 |
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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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