| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Black Mountain, Sandwich Dome, Black Mountain Pond, Mary Cary Falls, Guinea Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Algonquin Trail, Sandwich Mountain Trail, Black Mountain Pond Trail, Mary Cary Falls Spur, Guinea Pond Trail, Guinea Pond Spur, Sandwich Notch Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, August 15, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the Algonquin trailhead on Sandwich Notch Road. The drive in from the Waterville side can be done by regular cars, but slow and careful driving is required. I scraped in one spot and there is one funky section with broken pavement. There is room at the trailhead for a few sensibly parked vehicles. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No problems. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several stepover and knee-high blowdowns on AT and BMPT, but these are wilderness trails. Both trails are also blazed within the wilderness boundary. The side trail to Guinea Pond looks abandoned (?). It is unsigned and overgrown and passes through a wet, grassy bog along the way. You can't actually reach the shore of the pond as the end of the trail is flooded. BMPT had running water on many of the scrambly sections, which made descent "interesting". The "temporary" relocated section of GPT where it crosses the powerlines is very overgrown, where you have to swim through chest-high brush and thorns. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Yikes, maybe if they are experienced trail dogs. Both AT and BMPT have some difficult scrambles. There is no water up on the ridge. |
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 | Bugs: |
A few. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found one bandana tied to a tree on lower BMPT, I carried it out. |
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 | Comments: |
A long day in the Sandwich Range Wilderness, picking up some redlining miles and exploring new trails. Algonquin is a real gem, a beautiful trail with lots of open ledge walking, more than I expected. And the walk along the wild and narrow SW ridge up to Sandwich is through beautiful forests. The scrambles weren't too bad, the first being the toughest, where there is exposure and a tricky move to negotiate upward.
Black Mountain Pond Trail on the other hand, was much tougher I think, especially descending. Several tricky areas, including a boulder cave section higher up and a chimney shortly before reaching the pond. Many of these sections had running water over mossy ledge, making them slick. If doing this loop, I recommend going UP this trail. It is very steep and rough and would be better for ascent. At the pond, in the middle of the tentsite area, the trail takes a hard right turn which is easy to miss (blazes continue straight, which is not correct). After the pond, the trail is MUCH easier, becoming an easy or flat walk the rest of the way. The pond itself is beautiful, I hung out here for a bit.
Mary Cary Falls had a decent flow from the recent rains. It looks like you might be able to climb up along the right side to reach the top, but I didn't.
Guinea Pond looked nice too, from what I could see (see trail notes). There's also a secluded bootleg campsite nearby.
From the pond, it was a long, flat walk back to my car via GPT and SNR. I saw one person on the summit of Sandwich and two backpackers as I was descending BMPT, very quiet on these trails. SNR had "traffic", with several vehicles headed back and forth, more than I expected for a Monday. |
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 | Name: |
KenM |
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 | E-Mail: |
kmacgray@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-08-16 |
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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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