| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Speckled Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Cold Brook Trail, Evergreen Link Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 31, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked one car .5 miles from Adams road on side of logging road just before the gate as described in guidebook. Low clearance vehicles can do this easily. Other car parked at Evergreen Valley Inn (where I stayed night before). There is parking a few hundred feet up the road from here that is closer to trailhead but we were going to be coming down not up so we just left car at the inn. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of Cold Brook is bridged and the small tributary afterwards was an easy crossing with one long step/hop. There were multiple small crossings that were easy but needed your attention on the switchback section that probably are a trickle in normal weather |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One real annoying crawl under on Cold Brook about 10-15 minutes before the Evergreen Link intersection. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Would be a great dog hike. Zero scrambles. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Flash flood? What flash flood? I was prepared for some sort of brutal navigation/overgrown disaster first few miles of Cold Brook but it was a breeze. The first 1.5ish miles is on a gravel logging road that was easy to follow and not overgrown at all this time of year. After you cross Cold Brook on a bridge the trail gets progressively more overgrown but not tough to follow. I can see how in summer this could be an overgrown, tick-filled sh*t show but wasn’t bad at all this time of year. We hiked up to the ledges in a steady rain but it stopped at that point and views opened and the sun came out. I have heard people say “there was a river running down the trail†on here before. Today, there was a RAGING river coming down the trail for the upper half-it was nuts. Plenty of flooded areas too. Luckily the grades are easy and we managed to never slip and fall all day, although we had lots of close calls. Amazing views from ledges and summit, where we basked in the sun and dried out a bit for the glorious walk down. Saw three ladies just above evergreen link intersection who inquired about cold brook as they intended to descend that route-must have been redliners because the bottom of Cold Brook is not that fun to hike:) |
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 | Name: |
Spence and Dan |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-10-31 |
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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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