| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mowglis Mountain, Oregon Mountain, Bear Mountain, Sugarloaf, Little Sugarloaf, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Manning Trail, Back 80 Trail, Elwell Trail, Oregon Mountain Trail, Carter Gibbs Trail, old/abandoned Welton Falls North Trail (not the new, recently opened one), road walk, unknown trails/roads, Sugarloaf Rest Area/Vista Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, December 22, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We spotted a car at the parking area off of West Shore Rd at 6:30am. We were the only car there. Room for more than a dozen I think. Similar at Cardigan Mtn Lodge at 7:15am I think. One car when we returned around 5:30pm. Still the only one on West Shore Rd at 5:15pm. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I was a little worried about what the crossings would be like on Back 80 but they were readily rock hopable. Some ice on the rocks but very manageable yesterday. No flooding around the beaver ponds either. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I’d be careful with them on the ice but these trails are mostly very good for dogs. That one small section of Carter Gibbs Trail with the scramble could be a challenge. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Back 80 Trail is blazed in yellow. I don’t recall how frequently but not too hard to follow. Elwell Trail is blazed in yellow. Some old yellow wood markings on trails. The blazing is often frequent and much needed to due to the path being very obscure. Oregon Mtn Trail and Carter Gibbs Trail were both blazed in yellow. The former had pretty fresh and frequent blazing I think; the latter not so much (for the short section we were on anyhow). Welton Falls Trail seems to no longer technically exist so don’t expect blazing. Rest Area/Vista Loop was blazed in red. I don’t recall how frequently but I think it was regular and easy enough to follow. The trails around the Sugarloafs also have reflectors on the trees to help one navigate in the dark. About 45min into Back 80 Trail where you first come close to a beaver pond, there’s a decent pile of debris blocking the trail as if to say “Don’t go this way!” but there’s a double yellow blaze here and the trail does indeed continue behind the debris. 10min later we came across a partially delimbed stepover/straddler. Small widowmaker about 5min after the first view ledge on Elwell east of its jct with Back 80. A mid-large sized leaner/duck under was found 15min after. This was just 5-10min west of the summit of Mowglis. Some small blowdowns/debris around the jct of Elwell and Prefon Mtn Trail just east of the summit. Lots of insignificant blowdowns along Oregon Mtn Trail between here and it’s jct with Carter Gibbs Trail. Most wouldn’t of don’t need to be taken care of but two more significant were larger but delimbed stepover/straddles about 10min after Mowglis and the other 10min before reaching Carter Gibbs. Similar story between here and the trail’s eastern jct with Elwell Trail. Many small-mid sized blowdowns but nothing very hinder some or likely to get taken care of. One or two straddles that you can’t just stepover just before reaching Elwell Trail. Elwell between here and Carter Gibbs had far fewer blowdowns and what there was was also easy going. The small section of Carter Gibbs Trail we were on had just an insufficient stepover or two and leaner/duck under. About 10min east of Elwell’s eastern jct with Oregon, there’s a major blowdown I believe and some other debris shortly thereafter. Note that the old sign for the northern section of Welton Falls Trail is still up despite it being abandoned. Several leaners, widow makers, and stepovers on Elwell Trail east of here bud I don’t remember any real significant ones.
Soooo good to finally get out for a full-day and longer hike again! Beautiful weather, trails, and company made this quite a lovely day :)
Found what looked like a gardening glove down low on Back 80 Trail. Don’t recall exactly location but maybe within a 1/2mi-1mi of the lodge.
From the lodge we hiked up the Back 80 to Elwell which we took east to Mowglis Mtn. From the summit, we took Oregon Mtn Trail to its eastern jct with Elwell Trail, then took Elwell Trail west to Carter Gibbs Trail which we followed north to Oregon Mtn Trail which we followed east again to its eastern jct with Elwell Trail. This loop was for redlining. Back 80 Trail was gradual and straightforward. The water crossings were easy and there was no flooding by the beaver ponds which I bet are lovely in the summer. Some frozen runoff and all but we never used spikes. Some nice viewpoints and such between Back 80 and Mowglis Mtn along Elwell but the really great woods are primarily between Mowglis Mtn and Carter Gibbs Trail along Oregon Mtn Trail. The loop we then made had very nice sections of woods along Oregon and Elwell too. Less so on Carter Gibbs which featured some steep climbing and a scramble with some ice but that’s currently doable (no spikes). Do note that the rope that’s here has torn.
Do note that there is one large blowdown somewhere on Elwell (I forget where sorry) that does obscure the trail.
Some more beautiful woods and great viewpoints east of here along Elwell Trail but this is also where the trail can be very obscure at times. This is also just a very long section of trail even if it’s easy. We made an attempt at following the now non-existent (property issues) Welton Falls Trail (the northern section; the southern section was already considered abandoned) as I have a friend that lives on Valley View Rd. Feel free to reach out to my email if you have any questions about this but for now it suffices to say that the trail ought to be considered no longer needed for redlining. That being said, it’s been replaced by a new trail by the same name that also begins on Valley View Rd (but about a 1/2mi east) and hits the ridge about 1/3mi NW of Bear Mtn just east of the small saddle. My stats below include the mileage, elevation, and time including our long detour in trying to follow that trail.
Anyway, once we were finally done with that nonsense, we continued on to Bear Mtn with my friend. Coming off Bear Mtn is steep as the contour lines indicate. Some sidehilling and lots of leaves too. The climb up Sugarloaf was most unwelcome at the end of a long day and the various spurs around here and Little Sugarloaf were a pain too as it got dark and the headlamps came out. Little reflectors on the trees help though. We basically stuck to Elwell Trail though with the exception of Rest Area/Vista Loop. We took this and then did an OAB on the missing section of Elwell. All other spurs I’ll get another time when I come back to finish redlining this area.
Surprisingly, we didn’t use spikes all day. Just not consistent enough ice/snow to use them. It would still be prudent to bring them though and some may choose to use them. Beat up old rock spikes probably won’t do you too much good though, fyi. Need something a little sharper if you do decide to use them. If you don’t use them like is, just be prepared to slow down a bit and use caution in many places. The most consistent snow we saw was on the summit of Mowglis. Something vaguely resembling a snow pack could be seen on the north side of the ridge here but that was it for snowpack. Lots of frozen water but also some breakable ice with puddles, mud, etc.
Gaia had us at 16.25mi, 2800-2900ft of gain (I think this is at least a few hundred feet too low), and 9hr45min. |
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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: |
2023-12-24 |
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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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