| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Northfield Mountain, Adams Mountain, Rice Mountain, Rice Mountain - North Peak, VT |
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 | Trails: |
Woods roads, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, May 12, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking for the Braintree Gap road is right on the side of North Hollow Road - just pull off on the shoulder, as the dirt road is pretty wide.
Roxbury Gap has a little pullout on the east side of the gap. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Streams all small and easily crossed. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The old road up to Braintree Gap is wet in places but is in decent walking condition. Other woods roads, mostly around Peak 2,823 south of Roxbury Gap, had a few blowdowns but otherwise were in good shape as well. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Terrain is mostly open, except mainly around Adams and Rice Mountains, so dogs would generally like this ridge. |
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 | Bugs: |
A few mosquitoes down low, plenty of black flies up high. The flies became more annoying as the day went on but were not super bitey. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Peak 3,130', Adams Mountain, Rice Mountain, Peak 2,823 (Braintree Gap-Roxbury Gap Northfield Mountains traverse)
I'd been looking forward to this traverse ever since doing the Braintree Mountain traverse last year (see May 7. 2024 trip report here). The day's conditions were more or less a carbon copy of that day - sunny and a bit on the warm side. No leaves out above 2,500 feet.
I will break the comments up into sections below.
Braintree Gap to Peak 3,130 (aka "Northfield Mountain"): From the old road in the gap, just go right up Peak 2,790 (has canister). Ridge is wonderfully open. As with the Braintrees, generally stay on the east side of the crest for smoothest travel, as the conifers are generally on the west side. Travel in this section is quite easy. The southern ridge of Peak 3,130 is very pretty and plenty of moose sign begins there - continues the rest of the way along the traverse. The summit area of Peak 3,130 has some blowdowns that are easily avoided. Its summit (with a canister) is wooded (as are all other summits on this traverse).
Peak 3,130 to Adams Mountain: The N ridge of Peak 3,130 is a bit scrappy but not difficult. The col between Peak 3,130 and Adams is broad, ill defined, and has some wet spots. Very easy travel up from there to Adams's southwest peak, then some fun begins - Adams's SW ridge is quirky geologically - lots of little ledges and conifers make for a moderate whack and some switching back and forth. Some distance beyond the saddle of the SW peak and Adams there is a large rock outcrop fin on the crest of the ridge. Follow it down to the right - there is a gorgeous ledge with fabulous views S and E. This ledge is visible from Peak 3,130 and is apparent on satellite imagery. There is one more view SE from an open area at the top of the SW ridge 5 minutes from the summit. Canister is on the ground and the jar was wet, but the paper is thankfully waterproof. A Jagermeister liquor bottle is also there: yes, it still has some alcohol. No, I didn't take a sip! :-)
Adams Mountain to Rice Mountain: A bit down Adams's north ridge is a gorgeous glade with fabulous views of the Northfield ridge plus Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield. One of the better views of the day as well. Easy travel to the Adams-Rice col, then Rice gets a bit scrappy - not as bad as Adams. Canister was also on the ground and had waterproof paper too.
Rice Mountain to Roxbury Gap: A bit of a long drag, especially when one's tired! More nice glades on Rice's N side, then a series of tedious bumps with OK cross country travel. Eventually you get to the col SW of Peak 2,823 - topo map claims there's a trail of some sort, but I found no sign of it. A bit steep (but not really thick woods) up Peak 2,823 to the wooded summit (has canister), which is in nice conifer woods. A few hundred yards north are the remains of an abandoned vehicle, and a woods road begins around there, getting better defined as it goes down Peak 2,823's north ridge. About 10 minutes down the road is a nice small cleared view west to Mount Ellen. In the next saddle are more antiquated car and shack remains. From there it looks like you have a couple different woods roads options along the side of Peak 2,707 - I chose the one that goes almost all the way to the top. Eventually, though, these roads seem to curve off to the west, so the last section to Roxbury Gap was easy bushwhacking.
It's a pretty long hike - took me almost 12 hours. Tough but satisfying to be able to do a good chunk of the Braintrees/Northfields via continuous traverses. I highly recommend early to mid-May before the leaves come out to explore the Braintrees/Northfields. Lots of beautiful little green plants and curled up ferns on the ground. |
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 | Name: |
Dan Saxton |
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 | E-Mail: |
daniel.saxton7@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-05-12 |
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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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