| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Sugarloaf Mountain, Spaulding Mountain, Mt. Abraham, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Ski trails, Sugarloaf Side Trail, Appalachian Trail, Spaulding Side Trail, Abraham Side Trail, Firewardens Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Left a car at Rapid Stream about 0.6 past the jct and started from Golf Course Clubhouse. Need to buy $10 uphill ticket at Base Lodge which officially opens at 8am but there was someone there by 7:40. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction, Ice Axe |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easy |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Maybe a dozen or so significant blowdowns |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs not allowed on ski slopes plus would be very tough postholing for a dog |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The hike up the ski slopes to Sugarloaf summit was the easy part of the day! I had hoped the trail would be broken out to Spaulding but only one person had been out/back a couple days before. This faint track made trail finding easier but was too uncosolidated to help with breaking it out. Ken, Chris, and I ended up breaking trail all the way from Sugaloaf to Abraham. There was no trace of anyone having been through once we got past Spaulding. Lost the trail briefly in several places. Breaking the trail was tough! We all found several spruce traps where we ended up with a face plant or required help getting out. Abraham had a firm crust above tree line and coming down the steep talus field with snowshoes was treacherous. If you slipped you would not be able to get traction to stop without a whippet or ice axe which two of us had. Crampons would be helpful on that section. Luckily the Firewarden trail was well broken out below tree line but I have never before exprienced a trail lined with so many twigs and branches. There were long sections we were walking on twigs/branches/spruce tips which often snagged the snowshoes. I think recent heavy winds blew them into the trail bed depression. Overall spectacularly nice warm weather but by the time we got to Abraham the winds had picked up and required bundling up with face masks so we got a bit of everything today. |
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 | Name: |
Rick Simmons |
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 | E-Mail: |
RickNH1@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-10 |
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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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