| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Old Speck Mountain, Stowe Mountain, Sunday River Whitecap, Bald Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Route 26, Old Speck Trail, Grafton Loop Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, September 12, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the East Grafton Loop trailhead area. There was one car when we arrived, and a few more on our return, with room for much more. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No large streams, low streams flows, so everything easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
For the most part the trails are doing great, with nice soft footbeds past Old Speck, which is more like a regular 4K trail. There was one large fir tree blowdown south of Sunday River Whitecap but it was easy to get around. One of the Grafton Loop trails signs where the trail leaves the snowmobile trails in the southern section is broken, off its post but lying at the base. There was a bit of brushiness just S of Bull Run and extending uphill from there due to the spruce & fir canopy being lost due to death and blowdown. Some waterbars in the southern section on some steeper stretches don't look to be working and could use a cleaning, although the trails is in good shape and protected by others. I tried cleaning them a bit with my poles, but I have the rubber tips on them for the summer and they did nothing. A couple of magic marker type signs at the tentsites are tough to read. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The trails have few really good sip n dips so Pepper was encouraged to enjoy the few he found as long as he wanted. There were just enough small drainages along the route to keep him hydrated. The road walk could have been hot in full sun, but we hiked up it in the cool fog to start and cool morning for the rest of it, so he had no problems. There was very little traffic but I had him on a leash for the road walk. He found his usual little "cave" right at the summit of Sunday River Whitecap to get out of the sun there, but it won't fit a larger dog. It was a long route but the pawbeds were soft and easy, and temps with canopy shade comfy. |
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 | Bugs: |
No problems |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Grafton Loop Trail was Plan A, but the road walk was Plan B. Pepper just won't spot a car. But traffic was very light in the morning, the slope up very modest, and at places the adjacent Bear River had very interesting falls, some with a name and parking and some without. As we left the road to enter the Notch trail parking, we saw a huge group getting ready to hike, so we didn't stop and boogied up the trail. They apparently went up Baldpate though. There were a fair number of hikers going up Old Speck, and it was nice to chat with WeRMudFun. After that we saw only one hiker going S to N, who planned to camp at one of the sites. The solitude on Grafton Loop West is wonderful, as are the views from Sunday River Whitecap. We got started too late to see Georg, Per, Erica and more do a Mahoosuc traverse. It sure is a long drive to get to the trails starting from Grafton Notch, but they are worth it. Thanks Pepper for another great hike. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-09-12 |
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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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