| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Crocker Mountain, Crocker Mountain, Mt. Redington , ME |
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 | Trails: |
Golf cart track, bushwhack, Caribou Valley Road, Appalachian Trail, bushwhack, herd path, logging roads |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Sugarloaf golf course, near green pump house by bridge to Tee 11. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Golfcourse bridge over S branch of Carrabassett River, river crossing on golf course bushwhack passable on icy rocks |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Typical winter blowdowns between south Crocker and Crocker. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
This bushwhack may not be enjoyable for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Parked at sugarloaf golf course. Took the plowed road behind the clubhouse down the hill to park our car at the green pump house by the golf cart bridge over the river, leading to tee 11 where we started the bushwhack.
From the tee for hole 11, we headed into the woods with a generally west bearing toward CVR. Snow firm enough in woods that we started in microspikes. Small open river crossing with icy rocks near start. (Passable by rock hopping with spikes). With these cold temps it may finish freezing over soon. Kept going until we hit CVR at mile marker 3. CVR is well packed by snowmobiles. AT crossing at 4.4 miles, about 1/2 mile after gate/bridge. Easy to miss, but currently marked with orange & pink flagging.
Kept spikes on for first mile of AT until the Crockers cirque camp site. Snow was pretty firm down low. Nice trail to start - not many blowdowns and easy to follow.
Above the cirque campsite, we opted for snowshoes as there were a few inches on unpacked powder with breakable crust. The steep open section was tricky and requires extra care in these conditions - especially if you plan on descending this way. Trail was difficult to find through an open area where no blazes or cairns were visible. We traversed across the bottom of the open area and picked up the AT again. Rest of way to S Crocker and Crocker was straightforward with a few blowdowns and leaning trees.
From S Crocker to Redington, no visible herd path from summit and we immediately found ourselves in very thick woods. Once we passed the boundary line, the woods opened a bit and our track seemed to hit occasional flagging in the woods.
After crossing the clear cut and the snowmobile road to the col, the woods got pretty thick again climbing Redington, but we were able to discern some corridors here and there and our track continued to hit flagging occasionally. While the bushwhack was difficult at times, the firm snow conditions were pretty good.
Near the top we intersected some tracks from the herd path from CVR/logging roads. Got the summit canister open with some effort. On the descent, we took the herd paths to the logging roads/CVR. The final section of the herd path before the logging road was a frustrating obstacle course with so many lean-over frozen trees. Smooth sailing back on the logging roads/CVR,we opted for bare boots. They were also fine for the golf course bushwhack back to our car. Nice way to wrap up 2014, visiting peaks we don't get to often... |
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 | Name: |
Jeff & Karine |
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 | E-Mail: |
Klossner.jeffrey (at) gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-12-31 |
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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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