| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Crocker Mountain, North Crocker Mountain, Mt. Redington, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Caribou Valley Road, Appalachian Trail, bushwhack, logging roads |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 25, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Caribou Valley Road is getting plowed this winter for logging operations - it ends at about 3.5 miles in a big open field (about 0.8 miles from the summer parking/gate). When I was there last month there were logging operations there, now nothing. Just parked out of the ay just in case. There are several side roads along the way that are all getting plowed so there are several junctions. |
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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: |
Any crossings were covered. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One or two blowdowns that were easily bypassed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Didn’t see any dogs out there today. |
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 | Bugs: |
No bugs out there today. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing lost or found. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Did this one solo - there was a couple in the “parking lot†but I have no idea what they did because I never saw anyone all day. The route to the Appalachian Trail was fairly solid, as was most of the AT. There were a handful of spots that were drifted and blown in. It looked like a single pair of snowshoes went to the Crockers on Friday.
At South Crocker there was no evidence that anyone had done the bushwhack to Redington in a long time - our track from three weeks ago was long gone. I entered the woods on the right just before the summit, took a hard left, located the frozen ribbon that marks the start, and started on my way. Within a hundred yards I merged with that lone set of snowshoe prints. They must have gone over the summit and worked their way to tha path.
Being a bigger guy I appreciate any help on breaking trail, even if it’s from the day before. I still sink in (calf/knee) just not as much (knee/thigh). The trail was spot on for about 0.4 miles but then it went too far right. I tried to fix it twice but quickly returned after sinking hip deep - an “easier†route that was wrong was better than a “harder†route that was right. It was heading to the logging road so I just kept going. Ended up going “below†the opening and came out on the logging road about 0.2 miles to the east of the normal spot.
The route up from the logging road (well packed by snowmobiles) also had only been visited by this lone hiker. Very soft - sunk knee deep a lot. Eventually it joined up with the “workers trail†which had been packed well by snowmobiles. Got to the summit and made my way to the canister. Had to pack it out so no one had been there in a while. Frozen solid. Instead of whacking back to South Crocker went the longer way back on the logging roads. Snowmobile traffic ended about 0.3 miles from CVR but there was a semi-solid snowshoe track. Looks like people are doing Redington by itself via this route.
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/ErAiA1kG3nwPFrNjncxq7hzd |
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 | Name: |
Michael and Monica |
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 | E-Mail: |
michaelfblair@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-01-26 |
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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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