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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Fulling Mill Mountain, Goose Eye Mountain, NH
Trails
Trails: Notch Trail, Mahoosuc Trail, bushwhack, Wright Trail, Goose Eye Trail, logging roads, road walk
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, July 10, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Some work is being done on culverts on Success Pond Rd. I ran into an excavator but they kindly moved over for me. From what I understand, the road will sometimes be blocked and you will need to find an alternate way of entry/exit. Success Pond Road will make your cars wheels cry. I’ve seen low clearance vehicles on it but you’d have to be VERY careful and take it absurdly slow to make sure you avoid some of the taller rocks jutting out so as not to scrap tour undercarriage. Personally I’d want at least a mid-clearance vehicle. The first mile or two of the road is the toughest but expect a bumpy ride the entire way. Shelter Brook Rd is very narrow and I wouldn’t want to run into another car on it (you’d likely be backing up a long ways) but is in fine condition. The first bridge is fine to go over...the second one not so much and that is where you park. I was the only car there at my arrival at 10:30am and return at 7:30pm. One other car parked just before the bridge. If parking at the Success Trail trailhead please pull in perpendicular to the road so that more cars may fit.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Nothing more than your average rock hop.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Notch Trail, Goose Eye Trail, and Wright Trail are all blazed in blue since they connect with the AT. I didn’t notice any blaze on Notch Trail until more than a half mile in. It seemed more consistent after that point though, and in any case, wasn’t hard to follow. I don’t recall how well Goose Eye Trail was blazed. I think there’s some blazes guiding you above tree line but note that it can be hard to see how to descend from the top if you didn’t come up that way. The trail seems to just drop off a cliff. Mahoosuc Trail is blazed in white for the AT but not at all frequently. Some markings above tree line on this section was nice but also lots of new(ish) reroutes you watch out for. Bog bridges were mostly intact and actually looked pretty new on this section of the Mahoosuc Trail but some do need replaced as they’ve disappeared beneath the mud. All trails were clear of blowdowns as far as I recall. Really quite impressive! Some recent work on a monstrosity on the lower portion of Goose Eye which was cool to see. Some leaners that have gotten partially uprooted on Mahoosuc Trail but they’re still to high up to need to duck under.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: I didn’t see any and I wouldn’t recommend it due to the lack of water on the ridge and the very challenging scrambles.  
Bugs
Bugs: Not bad at the car but that changed by the time I got to the end of Notch Trail and I resigned to put on bug spray. They were awful on the road walk back too. Note that the shortcut I took involved going on overgrown logging roads that were likely infested with ticks. Somehow I didn’t find any on me though!!  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: Fulling Mill Mtn (main and south peaks), Goose Eye Mtn (north, east, and west peaks)

A hot and muggy redline in the Mahoosucs. It was 81F when I started at 10:30am and I believe 71F when I returned at 7:30pm. Since Goose Eye isn’t a bad descent, most of the ladders/iron rungs were ascended if heading south on the AT, and I always like to ascend the easy way, I decided to go up the Notch Trail. Nice grades, some beautiful water features, and some varied scenery. I enjoyed that trail. I then headed south on the AT. More elevation gain this way unfortunately. I bushwhacked to the summit of Fulling Mill Mtn which is about a quarter mile each way with nice grades and descent woods. Easy bushwhack. The ascent to where I started my bushwhack was steep and rough as was most of the Mahoosuc Trail in this section but there were also some more nicely graded sections. I also absolutely loved all the alpine meadows on the south peak of Fulling Mill and especially on the north peak of Goose Eye. Definitely my kind of spot! I then did an out-and-back on Wright Trail to where it descends below tree line for good as I had to turn around there this past winter. From there I climbed to Goose Eye and then descended down to 0.4mi within the start of the trail where it exits the woods and comes to an old road. The trail turns left but I headed right, to an intersection, then left on another road back to Success Pond Road to cut off some mileage. The hike in total was about 14mi including the road walk with around 3750ft of elevation gain.

Lots of the usual slick, wet ledge on the Mahoosuc Trail. One spot above tree line where there was a major unavoidable mud pit. The bog bridges have fallen beneath the mud. You MUST poke around for them with your piles and find them though. That way, you’ll only sink an inch or two in the mud. Otherwise, it’ll be feet. My pole easily submerged (unintentionally) almost its entire length so likely close to 3ft. A note was left from one thru hiker to another at the Full Goose Shelter about sinking into mud several feet which I’m sure was at this same spot. I’d hate to go through that spot after all this rain... no rain yesterday but very hazy and the clouds looked only a little dark at times. The winds, however, were MUCH stronger than predicted. Definitely able to hike in them but strong enough that I wasn’t going to stay at the top and take my pack off. The gusts at the top of Goose Eye toward the end of my day had to be over 40mph minimum.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-07-11 
Link
Link: https:// 
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