| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Snow Mountain (Chain Of Ponds), East Kennebago, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Logging Road, bushwhack, North Road, Snow Mountain Trail, logging road, boundary swath, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 3, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
see comments. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
north road from rt 27 was plowed for 3 miles for logging at which point the plowed way turned up to the right on a parallel logging road to an active operation. we were able to continue driving over rough plowed road to within .3 of the snow mountain trailhead via a bushwack, but parked about .5 further back down the log road in a large pull off away from the equipment and landings just in case (even though it was sunday and we assumed they would not be out there). we walked down the road to the last landing area then bushwacked over to north road just short of the summer trailhead. from there we followed the usual route at 2 miles hitting the intersection that has a "snow mountain trail" sign. the trail continues on atv trails and roads until a short steep pitch where the trail to the summit turns right and is marked by flagging. snow was generally firm to this point with evidence of some prior snowmobile use. firm snow continued on the trail which was vague in a couple spots though it is marked with yellow flagging to the summit. the hard left turn up near a cliff was very icy in the usual ascent spots. steve made it up and down in the woods just right of the ledges and i did a short route around which though also steep had no ice. higher up the trail was pretty grown in and could be hard to follow with more snow depth. there is a register on the summit which is pretty much full.
we then drove over to langtown main road which leaves rt. 16 about 9 miles from the 16/27 intersection in stratton. we had scouted it a bit the night before and found it had the same thin layer of solid snow we found the day before on lincoln pond road, etc. again we had to be aware of snowmobiles. we were able to drive about 3 miles parking where you make a hard left turn up hill to get to the summer high clearance vehicle parking. the road had a bit of snowmobile use and was generally hard packed with some ice up to the log landing before a large drainage ditch turned the snowmobiles around. from here the road becomes more of a trail and was dominated by moose tracks and postholes up to the yellow marked boundary which we followed up to the usual herd path start. from there we bushwacked directly uphill hitting the ridge right near the summit canister and sign.
we used both snowshoes and microspikes on the road then snowshoes to the summit.
another phenomenal day. cold, but beautiful and sunny to start warming later in the day. clouds blew over and obscured the views from snow, but the views from the roads and old log landing on east kennebago were fantastic. i never expected we would be able to pick up 5 of the "six pack" peaks in two days this time of year, but sometimes the conditions are in your favor. thanks again to steve for a great hike and continued guts in taking his subaru so far out this time of year. a great couple days in maine.
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-02-03 |
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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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