| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Sugarloaf Mountain, Spaulding Mountain, Mt. Abraham, ME |
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 | Trails: |
West Mountain ski trail, Timberline ski trails, Sugarloaf Side Trail, Appalachian Trail, Spaulding Side Trail, Mt. Abraham Side Trail, bushwhack, Caribou Valley Road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Sugarloaf golf course (lot plowed and a bit icy) plenty of parking available. Noted spot for several cars at Caribou Valley Road pull off, AT lot on 16/27 not plowed. Sugarloaf policy requires $10 uphill access pass to climb ski slopes. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only encountered water crossings on bushwhack and upper logging roads, all passable with care |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Many blow downs and lots of debris all along AT and Abraham side trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs not permitted on ski slopes. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing |
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 | Comments: |
Got an early start (bought our uphill passes the prior afternoon). Saw a few ski patrol on our hike up the ski slopes but they just waved, no one asked to see our passes. Started in bare boots and switched to snowshoes once slopes got steep. Side trail can be tricky to find off sugarloaf summit, ignore the cairns, head back toward Timberline ski slope (western most slope) staying in front of utility building with chain link fence, cut left into the trees about 30-50 ft after building ( but before you get to ski slopes). Once on the side trail , corridor was easy to follow. A little steep and icy. Once on the AT, corridor was pretty easy to follow to Spaulding, though a few spots were tight and some blow downs to contend with. Most of the time, we didn't sink in as we were on top of consolidated snow, but lots of ice chunks and debris from trees made the trail a bit rough. Occasionally we'd find some sections of powder and nice snowshoeing. Nice views from lookout just past Spaulding summit. Trail was pretty clear until the leanto, after that, we hit many more blow downs and lost the trail a few times. Some impressively deep moose post holes on the start of the Abraham side trail and more blow downs... Summit cone was pretty icy - mountaineering snowshoes were sufficient but some may prefer crampons. From side trail/ AT junction, we bushwhacked down to CVR through open woods, clear cuts and some logging roads. The CVR was hard packed by snow mobiles and we bare booted the rest of the way. Shortly after the 3 mile marker, we ducked into the woods, bushwhacking east toward the golf course. Popped out at the tee for hole 11 and walked the golf cart trail back to our car. Snow in lower woods was firm enough to bareboot. |
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 | Name: |
Jeff & Karine |
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 | E-Mail: |
Klossner.jeffrey (at) gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-12-30 |
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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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