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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Bauneg Beg Mountain - Middle Peak, Bauneg Beg Mountain - North Peak, ME
Trails
Trails: Bauneg Beg Trail, Ginny’s Way, Linny’s Way, North Peak Loop
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Monday, March 9, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Gravel parking area for at least a half dozen cars. I think there were five or so when I arrived although two were about to leave. This was at 5:30pm. I was the last one in the lot at 7pm. Note that there are signs saying it is only open from dawn till dusk and that police take notice of the lot.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Small Patches 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: None 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: All trails were relatively well blazed in white. Cairns only around the summit of north peak. I don’t recall any blowdowns. Some arrows on trees indicating sharp turns on the trails (mostly North Peak Loop) of which there were quite a few. Although the signs made perfect sense, my Gaia GPS app was a bit off and thus the trail system felt a bit confusing to me although in reality it wasn’t bad. Some people I met said people often do get lost and wind up going down a herd path to someone’s yard though. A map of the trails at the kiosk might be nice.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Saw one leashed with their owner who I had a very nice conversation with at the Middle Peak. Should be good trails for dogs. Coming down the steep Linny’s Way through the Devils Den might be hard for some.  
Bugs
Bugs: There were flying insects around although I don’t think any were biting.  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: There was a Yak Trax or something of the sort on one of the rocks at the start of the trail. It may have been gone by the time I got back. A collection of hiking staffs there for you to take your pick from too ;)  
 
Comments
Comments: With such nice weather today I just had to get out...not enough time to get up there and redline the Whites after work so stuck close to home and started redlining the Maine Mtn Guide :) There’s always hiking to be done ;) Just starting to really cool off when I arrived at the trailhead at 5:30pm as it was 66F. Significantly cooler just an hour and a half later when I returned. Nonetheless I got to hike in shorts and a tshirt for the first time in many months :D

Both Gaia, the trail guide, and especially the trails themselves were confusing so allow me to try and provide my own explanation. First off, please understand that I still haven’t entirely made sense of the trail system so please take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. Also, I’m fairly certain that Gaia is not entirely accurate. What it’s missing is part of Linny’s Way between where North Peak Loop and Linny’s Way meet and Ginny‘a Way and Linny’s Way go their separate ways at the end of Bauneg Beg Trail. The guidebook I believe to be entirely accurate in its description but is incomplete in that it’s really only useful if you follow it the way it describes. Otherwise it would be very confusing.

Anyway, starting at Bauneg Beg Trail, ascend up to an unmarked jct left (easy to miss) with what looked to be a herd path. I later learned that this descends to someone’s property so don’t go that way! Shortly thereafter you come to a jct on your right with North Peak Loop. Continuing straight you’ll then come to a jct with Ginny’s Way going to the left and Linny’s Way going to the right. Most people go to the left. If you go to the right I believe you’ll quickly come to the jct with North Peaks Trail. Continuing past that would continue up Linny’s Way through the Devils Den to the summit of Middle Peak. I did not travel this small section of Linny’s Way since the guidebook does not describe it (just mentions it) and I descended Linny’s Way only to the jct of North Peak Loop and then continued on that. Anyway, I took Ginny’s Way to the summit passing Tom’s Way which ascends from the south just before the summit. Met some nice people there and had a long conversation with a local who frequents the mountain :) She warned me that continuing ahead on Ginny’s Way (which, according to the guidebook magically turns into Linny’s Way just below another ledge immediately after the summit) to be very careful as someone has fallen off that ledge and nearly died. She also warned that it can be very icy and slick in the Devils Den. Sure enough it was very icy and I threw my micro spikes on. After the quick bit steep descent I came to the jct with North Peaks Loop. I think I got confused here because I thought it was the jct of Ginny’s Way and Linny’s Way that I’d come to earlier. I wound up not paying attention to the signs here and followed a path left that a man had just come up which I eventually realized was not a trail (another herd path from someone’s private property perhaps?). It was very wet/puddly/muddy. Once I came back and went on North Peaks Loop it was smooth sailing from there.

A great evening out in the woods! I might have to come back for Tom’s Way even though it’s not needed for redlining and to make sure I now understand the trail system near the summit ;)
 
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-03-09 
Link
Link: https:// 
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