| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Snow Mountain (Cupsuptic), ME |
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 | Trails: |
Herd path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, June 18, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Road is easily passable by any car all the way in |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Lots of wet spots on the old logg6roads, but no stream crossings |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
It's a herd path. It's better than a bushwhack, and is really only to difficult to follow in one part |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found a trowel and some sunglasses |
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 | Comments: |
We knew there wasn't any chance of views today, so we headed north of Rangeley to knock off one of the Hundred Highest. Snow Mountain is an officially trailless peak, but it has a pretty well established herd path which we followed. Parking is at the end of the Snow Mountain Road (as labeled on the Delorme), which is off the Wiggle Brook Road. The roads are in excellent shape the whole way in, and are passable by any vehicle.
The route starts by following the old grassy logging road, before turning left in about 0.3 mile on another old road marked by a cairn. It follows this road uphill for about 0.7 mile. It passes through two intersections which you just follow the cairns and footbed through. These sections on old roads are very grassy, but there is an established footbed most of the way below the grass.
At the end of the second logging road, the route jogs right (cairn here) for about 100 feet, before turning left into the woods on a herd path (marked by an arrow and rocks). The first 100 yards or so of the herd path are the most difficult to follow. The path takes a few sharp turns which are not obvious, and then passes through a very brushy area. With care, you should be able to pick up the path again before too long if you drift off of it by following a GPS track and looking for occasional orange ribbons. After passing through this brushy area, the herd path is relatively easy to follow all the way to the summit. Along the way, it passes through some very beautiful spruce-fir forest.
On today's hike, the wind, rain, and temperatures in the low 40s made for quite a chilly hike. Because of all the wet vegetation we passed through, we were all completely soaked from the waist down. However, it was still an enjoyable hike, and the lighting and clouds really brought out the greens in the forest. Even without views, hikes like this are still very beautiful and fun! |
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 | Name: |
Sam Shirley |
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 | E-Mail: |
newenglandskier13@aol.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-06-18 |
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 | Link: |
 https://m.facebook.com/groups/100highest/permalink/3946000392290802/ |
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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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