| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Goose Eye Mountain, Mt. Carlo, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Wright Trail, Mahoosuc Trail, Carlo Col Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, August 2, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No issues parking for Wright Trail. The directions in the WMG are very good. The dirt road is in relatively good condition. There's a sign at the start of the trail telling hikers to park at the turnaround just past the trailhead. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of Goose Eye Brook on Wright Trail 2.5 miles in was running fairly high with slippery rocks. We crossed it slowly and carefully, making use of a few small, loose rocks added to help hikers over the final part of the crossing. The minor stream crossings on Wright Trail below that point were fairly straightforward. The uppermost section of Wright Trail and substantial sections of Mahoosuc Trail were covered with standing and running water, much of which was unavoidable. There were also many huge, deep mudpits on both trails. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Drainage: OMG. Both Wright Trail and Mahoosuc Trail were extremely wet, with long sections of unavoidable standing and running water and lots of deep, wide mudpits. Drainage doesn't seem to have been a priority when constructing those trails, and they are suffering seriously for it. A lot of steep, wet rock slabs on Mahoosuc Trail that hikers are bypassing by bushwhacking around, which leads to more erosion and just makes the trail even wider. A couple areas of open rock on both trails where the route forward wasn't obvious. Some bog bridges on both trails have deteriorated. Finally, Wright Trail supposedly has two branches right at the beginning, however we couldn't follow the one close to the stream (there was no discernable footway) so we had to use the woods road branch. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are discouraged along the AT in Maine. And Wright Trail has a couple of steep rock scrambles that would be very difficult for any dog. |
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 | Bugs: |
Perhaps thanks to the cool, wet weather, there were practically none. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None. |
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 | Comments: |
This was Day 1 of a three-day backpacking trip in the Mahoosucs. Our hike began on Wright Trail. The first 2.5 miles are pretty straightforward, with nothing particularly difficult. Once we crossed Goose Eye Brook and started to ascend the ridge, the trail was extremely muddy, with unavoidable standing water in many places. (This would be a theme of the entire trip.) The trail climbs fairly moderately until just below the exposed ridge, where it climbs a very steep rock scramble (which was wet) and breaks out into the open. The wind was very strong, so we passed through the first exposed part quickly (luckily the exposed rocks were dry) and got back into the trees (and mud). The trail then climbed steeply to another hump along the ridge - this also involved some steep open rock. There were bypasses around the steepest parts, but those bypasses were very muddy, so we had to pick our poison. The uppermost part of Wright Trail was almost constant standing and running water and mud. Some sections had bog bridges, but many of the bog bridges have deteriorated to the point of uselessness, and there were still plenty of very wet areas that didn't have bog bridges. It was like that all the way to the junction with Mahoosuc Trail.
As we turned left onto Mahoosuc Trail toward Goose Eye Mountain, we were greeted almost immediately with a massive mudpit and more standing water. I don't know why the WMG claims that "water is scarce" on the Mahoosuc Trail, but I call BS on that - Mahoosuc Trail had to be one of the wettest and muddiest trails I have ever hiked. The summit of Goose Eye is beautiful, with panoramic views in all directions, but the descent down from it is extremely steep (with iron rungs and ladders - not horribly scary, just requiring caution) and also very wet and muddy. Even the parts of the trail that looked like they would be easier actually had a lot of steep, wet ledges with large, unavoidable mudpits between them. Some of the mudpits and open areas had bog bridges, but many of them were deteriorated or underwater. Most of Mahoosuc Trail is either steep wet rock, unavoidable deep mud, or bog bridges - there's practically no normal trail in this section (or really almost any section east of Gentian Pond).
Carlo Col Campsite was easy to find, but it seemed to be further down Carlo Col Trail than we expected - comparisons to "going down to Guyot" are apt. There's no caretaker and no fee. The bear box worked well, and the privy had no TP so make sure you bring your own. Water was flowing well, and there were only four other hikers there overnight besides us - two on another tent pad and two in the shelter. It was a cold, windy night. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-08-04 |
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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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