| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Megunticook Mountian, Zeke's Lookout, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Megunticook Trail, Ridge Trail, Zeke's Trail, Multi-use trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 22, 2011 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lots of parking at winter lot - head up road into camp ground to get to trail heads. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None of any significance |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns on Megunticook Mtn trail - easity gotten over or under, 2 blowdowns on ridge trail - one duck under the other I trimmed branches. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
An easy hike for canines in parts but deep snow in other parts might slow them down |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
An amazing day on the trails - perfectly sunny with great ocean views! Great powder all along the trails - like what I grew up tromping around in the west! A mix of trail conditions but mainly perfect for snowshoes! Mt. Megunticook trail - broken out and fairly well packed up until Adams lookout junction -snowshoe traffic headed up this trail - rest of Mt Meguntikook trail to Ocean Point only saw ski tracks - broke trail out but was pushing through powder 6 inches to a foot deep with drifts occasionally 2+ feet deep. From Ocean point to summit it was well packed by snowshoes and skiers. Beyond summit went down ridge trail - well broken out to junction with Zeke's trail beyond this only one set of snowshoe tracks - spent time breaking - trying to consolidate but pushing through a foot or more snow even with the prior tracks - went down to junction with Jack Williams trail. I was hoping to use this to loop back around but Jack Williams has seen no traffic - I went down a couple of hundred yards but was dealing with 1 to 2 feet of snow with drifts above my thigh and many blowdowns so I opted to head back and go down Zeke's trail - an interesting choice - for a couple of hundred yards broken out by 3 gentleman I spoke with but then their tracks veered off the trail, I broke trail through deep snow 1 -2 feet with deeper drifts to Zeke's Outlook spur - broke a path up to Zeke's Outlook but not sure how well I followed the trail - 1-2 feet of snow on the way up but worth the stop. When I got back to Zeke's trail one snowshoer had apparently come up breaking trail out a bit so I was only pushing through a foot of snow - alternated my steps with his/hers to pack it down a bit - heading down eventually a number of people bushwacking intersected trail and it actually became quite packed down. Multi-use trail was a XC ski snowshoe packed highway. For those who are not familiar with the Camden Hills trail system: There were a lot of bushwack paths intersecting all trails today as people went on and off the trails - so make sure to folllow the very apparent blue blazes. |
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 | Name: |
Brian from Maine |
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 | E-Mail: |
brobert1@maine.rr.com |
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 | Date Submitted: |
2011-01-23 |
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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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