| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Crooked Pond, MA |
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 | Trails: |
Crooked Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, January 31, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Roadside pull off parking on Middleton Rd 1.5mi north of East St and 1.7mi south of Main St. Room for a few cars on both sides of the road. Only one other car there around 2:30 and 4:15pm I think. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of the ponds inlet on the west side was frozen over and stable enough to cross. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Well the trail seems to be abandoned in parts so that’s the biggest thing. In particular, there’s a bad blowdown section or two on the north side of the pond but a number of other blowdowns as well. The numbered trail jcts the guidebook mentions are not always there anymore either. Just a couple of old blazes. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are allowed but must be leashed. Good trails for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Mine |
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|
 | Comments: |
Third and final hike of the day after redlining the Ward Reservation and the Deer Jump Reservation. This was another difficult one to redline because the guidebook’s description did not match Gaia or the maps I found online. This was because, not unsurprisingly, the trail, or portions of it, appear to be abandoned. The online trail map shows a trail on the north side of the pond (again, seemingly abandoned) which is what the guidebook describes but it does NOT show a trail on the south side anymore which is what the guidebook describes. Both are shown on Gaia but the trail isn’t shown as connecting over the inlet or outlet of the pond, again making things confusing. Online trail description seems to describe the old loop on both the north and south sides of the pond even though the map shows a new loop just on the north side.
In any event, please feel free to reach out if you’d like my track. If following the old loop described in the guidebook, continue straight across a dam, 1/4mi from the parking area, then continue along the north side of the pond, bearing uphill and a little away from the pond near the west end before reaching another old jct where you turn left and cross the pond. There were tracks on the north side of the pond but none crossing to the south side. The trail is difficult to follow through here. Once I was on the south side, I bore right for 0.2mi to the base of Bald Hill before turning right and ascending to the summit. I then returned to the jct, turned right, and followed along the south side of the pond back to the parking area.
I did not use spikes but there were some steep and slick sections by the pond. There was a couple of inches of snow throughout. Gaia had me at 3.5mi, 175ft of gain, 1hr45min. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-05 |
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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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