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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Elephant Mountain, ME
Trails
Trails: Bushwhack, herd path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Before the major washout there is a deeply rutted area that may prove challenging for vehicles with low clearance. There are large rocks protruding from the road surface. Also decaying culverts. One has some sharp metal on it. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: None 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs: Around but not too bothersome 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Other trip reports warned of heavy slash over the herd path. I was interested in finding the drainage area to begin climbing so as to completely avoid the slash area. Luckily we found it and did avoid the slash completely. Lots of overhanging small trees to duck under or over. Continued following it and saw a few footprints along the way. I recorded a few waypoints so we could find this “path” if necessary on the way back. Unfortunately, about a third of the way up the mountain this path petered out. We wasted a lot of time trying to find another herd path and got into a steep area following a northerly bearing. Instead we should have set a more northeast bearing pushing thru the balsa and spruce pines as necessary. On the summit ridge we picked up a clearly used herd path to the summit. On the return we followed the herd path we had found but after descending on it a ways it disappeared. We continued on down in roughly the same direction and soon reached the edge of the slash. At this point I took a rough southwest bearing aiming for my last waypoint recorded on the way up. Reaching this point led us to the drainage path and the way we had come up. 3 hours up, 2 hours down. A few items to note:

• The access road was in worse shape than I had envisioned. One of the exposed metal culverts has some sharp edges. Not worth taking chances with your vehicle in this very remote area with no cell service. We parked near the worst washout area and walked the rest of the road.
• The grassy logging road noted after the usual parking area is growing in fast. We did leave a small cairn on the left at the entry point for climbing via the drainage area.
• Strongly recommend wearing eye protection, long pants, and a long sleeve shirt for the inevitable bushwhacking
• The clearly visible herd path on the summit ridge is very crude and narrow in places thru the small pines. There are other herd paths around to confuse you.
 
Name
Name: Dexhiker 
E-Mail
E-Mail: dexpcdoc@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-08-15 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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