| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Round Top, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Round Top Trail, Round Top Spur Trail, bushwhack, Kennebec Highlands Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, November 28, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The parking lot is decent sized and has no snow. I’d tend to think it probably gets plowed in winter given that it seems relatively well used but I don’t know. I believe there was one other car there both when I arrived and left. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Round Top Trail and Spur are well blazed in blue. I don’t recall any blowdowns. I don’t recall how Kennebec Highlands Trail was marked but it’s a road in this section so trivial to follow and the intersections with the Round Top Trail were obvious. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
I forgot to post in my report for the A Trail that I packed out a gardening glove on that trail and there’s a bent pole hung on a tree where the hiking trail 0.2mi long rejoins A Trail. |
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 | Comments: |
I had one more day to hike in the area and used it to finish up the trails in the Kennebec Highlands area. I hiked A Trail the day before and was curious to see how this compared. With the evening before the trails were wet and had virtually no snow/ice on them. I hiked the loop counter-clockwise as described in the guidebook. Well blazed and easy to follow. From the end of the Round Top Spur, I whacked up the ridge and walked it back to Round Top Trail. Easy, open woods. I found a small pond, and wood tacked to a tree that at first I thought was the highpoint or near it (seemed very hard to determine as the summit area was very flat) but then found a higher point on the southern end of the highest contour that was marked by a small cairn. Old skidder roads through here. I do wonder about what the wood tacked to the tree was though…certainly looked like a sign. Perhaps an old summit sign incorrectly placed?
0.15mi NE of the spur, there are some ledges (shown as discolored on Gaia). I heard some water, was curious and whacked down to it. Water was seeping out underneath these little bouldery cliffs. Cool little spot. A little bit of caution was needed getting to it. Not far at all from the trail but without recent water, your probably wouldn’t hear anything from the trail. Including my whacks, Gaia had me at 5mi with almost 900ft of gain. I’m pretty sure the guidebook underestimates the distance (and likely elevation) on this hike. The kiosk at the trailhead says the complete loop is 4.7mi. Took me 2hr15min to complete. Easy grades and hike with a decent view. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-12-02 |
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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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