| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cranberry Peak , ME |
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 | Trails: |
Bigelow Range Trail, Cave Spur, Appalachian Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 30, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Spotted a car at the AT trailhead on Rt 27 around 12:15pm, then drove over to Currie St (turns to dirt, is narrow, and has some big bumps in it, low clearance should probably exercise caution). The AT lot has room for well over a dozen cars but was mostly full when we arrived and we took some of the more “creative” spots. Currie St has room for about a dozen cars and was mostly full when we arrived around 12:30pm. Short drive between the two trailheads. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I was happy to see that all crossings on both the AT and Bigelow Range Trail were easily rock hopable :) |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Bigelow Range is blazed in blue. I think it was sometimes rather old and faded. I don’t recall how frequent it was but I doubt it was terribly frequent but the trail is well travelled and easy to follow. There’s a sign for the Cave Spur and all other signage was intact. There’s a small and easy duck under leaner at the start of the Cave Spur. A mid-sized broken tree that’s easily ducked under is about 20-30min beyond the spur. 15-20min east of Cranberry Peak there’s a mid-sized trivial stepover. A couple minutes later there’s another easy stepover that’s smaller, and then a leaner/widowmaker that’s easily gone under shortly thereafter. A small-mod sized stepover/straddled about 5-10min later. There’s also a large blowdown parallel and over top of the trail totally obscuring it about shortly thereafter in a bouldery area. I think there was likely more than one blowdown here but they’d likely take a lot of work to get rid of. There’s a sort of awkward bouldery herd path around but it could unnerve and confuse beginners for sure. A small-mid-sized stepover/straddled as you approach Cranberry Pond. A widow maker/large hanging branch dangles over the AT at its jct with the view spur as you head toward The Horns. The AT is of course blazed in white and some blazes are very faded. I don’t think the blazing was terribly frequent but it’s of course we’ll travelled and not too hard to follow. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw a couple. All well behaved. |
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 | Bugs: |
Didn’t notice them until the evening really at which point the mosquitos got e annoying. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
A great traverse (of sorts) up Bigelow Range Trail up and over Cranberry Peak, then an OAB from the eastern end of Bigelow Range Trail to Horns Pond Trail, then down the AT to the south to Rt 27. The only spur really needed for redlining along these trails is the cave spur along the Bigelow Range Trail which was signed and easy to spot (not too long after hitting the ridge). The cave was quite impressive!! I guess you should also visit Cranberry Stream Tentsite which is signed and obvious but much smaller than the others nearby.
Definitely some steep and rough parts getting up to the summit ridge of Cranberry Peak. Not too bad along the ridge and any scrambling I think was pretty easy but then some rougher sections along the AT getting up on the ridge to head toward Horns Pond and maybe coming down the east side of Cranberry Peak as well. Coming down the AT toward Cranberry Stream Tentsite was steeper and rougher up top for a bit but generally much gentler than the AT and soon became much nicer down low until all the PUDS down low as you near Stratton Brook and the roads.
Fantastic views from Cranberry Peak, and some viewpoints along the way. Cranberry Pond is also a new favorite. Very scenic. Needless to say, there was deep mud in many spots. Gaia had us at 11mi, 3400ft of gain, just over 7.5hrs. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney and the CCC |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-31 |
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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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