| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bald Mountain, Stowe Mountain, Sunday River Whitecap, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Grafton Loop Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Designated parking is in a dirt lot (plowed in winter) signed “Mahoosuc Public Land†off ME 26 in Grafton Notch (Newry). This lot is 0.6 miles from the start of the southern section of the western side of the Grafton Loop trail. Please do not park at the trailhead. This is private land. The lot is also the starting point for Puzzle Mountain and the southern side of the eastern Grafton Loop. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bear River is bridged with a snowmobile bridge. Water levels are higher right now. This only minimally impacts the remaining water crossings. I was still able to use the rocks for the larger crossings. The smaller ones I just hopped over. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I have mentioned this before so I won’t go into much detail. The blazes are too far apart. Even with bare ground below Bald Mtn tentsite, it was hard to figure out where the trail goes in the open woods. Only one turn is double blazed. Signs are up and in good shape. The majority of blazes are faded or peeling with bark. The ladders on Stowe are intact and in good shape. The bog type bridges on the alpine zone on the summit of Sunday River White cap are falling apart. 3 of the bridges have at least one plank that has deteriorated. One broke completely under my weight. All carins (that are visible above the snow) are intact. Three large blowdowns obstructing the trail. One just after the summit of Bald, one in the col between Bald and Stowe, one just past Sargent Brook tent site. The rest of the blowdowns can be stepped over/slid under. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No issues for dogs. They must be leashed as the first 7 miles of the trail are on private land. |
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 | Bugs: |
Egad!! What’s that on my face?!?! Oh. Cobwebs. Been awhile... Also 6 mosquitoes. Yup. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
My patience. Several times. While route finding, dodging postholes, postholing myself IN snowshoes, and squeezing over/under/through blowdowns. The conifers were exposed to some colorful language... |
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 | Comments: |
The trail is mostly snow free from the trailhead up to Bald Mtn tent site (1400 feet). What small patches are left are shallow save a couple of deeper spots. I put on snowshoes just above the tent site when I saw that the snow was getting deeper and covering most of the ground. I did not take them off until I was back to the Bald tent site. I still postholed wearing snowshoes as afternoon temps warmed up. It was a bit demoralizing at times...
One hiker has recently traversed this trail as evidenced by postholing from the start of the trail to the foot of Stowe Mtn. Some were pretty deep. I normally get very irritated with this act but because this, at times, is such a frustrating trail to navigate between blazes, I kinda welcomed the foot prints/holes. Sometimes they were as lost as I was in the open woods. Otherwise these markings were surprisingly helpful to stay on trail. Past the foot of Stowe it seems that the person put on snowshoes. But this person must not weigh very much as the snowshoe prints were barely discernible on the snow. The faint prints went all the way to the summit of Sunday River Whitecap.
360 degree views at the summit. The Presidentials were in full view today. All of Grafton Notch peaks, along with hundreds of other peaks to and past Saddleback, can be seen from this bald summit.
Bear tracks (that appeared on my way back) on the ledges of Stowe. Butt pucker moment. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-04-08 |
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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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