| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Trap Falls, MA |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Brook Trail, unknown trails, Friend's Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, December 26, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road to the campground is closed and gated (Hosmer Road) but there is a wayside pulloff where you can park and requires only a 0.1mi road walk. Based upon the guidebook's directions, I'm unsure if this is where you also need to park during the summer but Gaia does show a parking area right at the start of the trail too. Room for well over a dozen cars and there never seemed to be more than a few while we were there. Rt 118 to get here is windy and steep and follows the brook closely; wouldn't be my favorite road to drive on if snowy or icy. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I think there was one very small one that was a drainage into the brook that had some dilapidated logs across it. It was easy enough to cross. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There were at least a couple of blowdowns, mostly or all on Brook Trail I believe. Nothing I can recall that looked new but at least two mid-large sized blowdowns, one of which was large enough that you either had to climb over it or straddle it because it was too big to just step over. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure and I think we saw one out. There's probably leash restrictions. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Not certain but I think Brook Trail was marked with blue diamonds and Friend's Trail with orange diamonds. The spur path to Fort Hill Rd had some different colored blazes. Friend's Trail is not signed at its start by the campground (I followed that for a second instead of Brook Trail but very quickly realized we were heading away from the brook) but is on the road at its northern end.
2nd hike of the day after hiking the required sections of Jeff Smith Trail nearby for redlining. This was a pleasant and easy hike with my parents. We completed the loop as described in the guidebook but I also made the quick trek across the street to Trap Falls which was frozen over. I followed a trail from the forest headquarters for a ways, but then bore right where the road bore left (and a sign said not to bear right as it dead ended but I went this way anyway) and made an exceptionally short whack off this road to the falls (it's all shown as a continuous trail on Gaia and it may be a hard pat but it's certainly not well established). There was a bit more ice here than on Jeff Smith Trail and we had spikes but never used them. More or less a dusting of snow the whole way and you just had to, on rare occasion, watch out for ice underneath. the spur 0.2mi to Fort Hill Rd mentioned at the end of the guidebook's description is rather confusing. The turn off the trail is not signed but is obvious and is shown on Gaia but the route all the way to the road is not shown. After about 0.3mi, of following this spur trail uphill it comes to a field (this is where a trail jct is shown on Gaia) YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!! Turn around and in a very short ways take a right (this is an incredibly sharp left on your way in and you'll almost definitely miss it) that is now shown on Gaia, then take another right in a couple hundred feet, if that, and descend the rest of the way to Fort Hill Rd. This is about 0.4mi from the trail, not 0.2mi as the guidebook indicates. It is not shown on Gaia despite another, longer route being shown that also goes to Fort Hill further east. These trails had multiple colored blazes on them. Gaia had me at about 5mi and 350-375ft of gain. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-01-02 |
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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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