| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bigelow Mountain - Avery Peak, Bigelow Mountain - West Peak, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Stratton Brook Pond Road, Fire Wardens Trail, Appalachian Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, December 7, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for 3-4 cars just off Rt. 16/27 before Stratton Brook Pond Rd. turns into a snow-mobile trail. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Open water in pretty much all tributaries and in several sections which are generally wet - incl. the section with bog-bridges shortly before the Horns Pond tr. jct. Most are just an easy step-over but some sections have to be navigated with a bit more caution. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The section from the TH to where the trail starts to climb in earnest has numerous blowdowns and bend-overs. Tracks are good - circumnavigating most of it. After this section there are only a few blowdowns and conditions are pretty good. A couple more blowdowns in the steep section up to the saddle between the peaks but I was able to remove one of those and trim the other so it is fairly easy to pass. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Good conditions for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trail was nicely broken out and packed down until the steep section about 1/2 mile before the saddle. A big thank you to those who went before me and broke out this section. Breaking out the steep section was hard until the trail starts to flatten out shortly before the saddle. From there on everything was solid and much easier to deal with. The short sections above tree-line are absolutely spectacular.
2 more hikers came up after me and the trail should be reasonably packed down all the way by now.
I bare-booted comfortably to the Horns Pond tr. jct. and then put on snowshoes which I kept on back to the car. Note: I would advice against attempting to ski the flatter section of the trail (too many blowdowns) as well as the road (hard crusted and uneven snow-mobile tracks). |
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 | Name: |
LongMark |
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 | E-Mail: |
perfrost@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-12-08 |
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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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