| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Pine Hill, Lord Hill, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Conant Trail, Mine Loop, Mine Loop Connector |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 27, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Deer Hill Road is plowed until maybe a half-mile from Route 113, requiring a road walk of roughly a mile to the trailhead of Conant Trail. The drivable portion of Deer Hill Road is fairly dry, with only one muddy section, but has a lot of potholes - take them slow and carefully. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of Bradley Brook on Conant Trail was a rock hop. With the snow in that area, it wasn't entirely clear where the trail continued on the other side, but just climb the bank going away from the stream and you should see it. A few other easy step-overs. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns, but the only one that was a major impediment was on Deer Hills Road between the trailheads of Conant Trail and Deer Hills Trail. Several wet areas on the trails, but that's to be expected this time of year. All signs were in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one. I don't see why not. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None. |
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 | Comments: |
This was an enjoyable hike despite the varied conditions. From the parking area on Deer Hill Road, the mile-long road walk featured alternating sections of soft ice and spring snow with bare, dry sections. There is a trail sign at the start of Conant Trail, and it calls the trail "Conant Trail" (this is mentioned as uncertain in the WMG). The first 0.4 miles of Conant Trail, as well as the next 0.6 miles on the right fork are snowmobile trails, and the snow was in various states of meltage. Only a few short icy sections that were at all difficult. A few sections of ice are undermined, but that was nowhere near as bad as the Moosilauke hike last weekend. The climb up to Pine Hill is mostly dry, particularly on the steeper sections (though those sections did have some slippery leaves). Still a few areas of snow near the summit, but it was never deep and walking straight through it was easy. The steep descent down the other side was mostly dry, though as the brook got closer, there got to be more snow, and snow cover was mostly complete near the brook.
The climb up Lord Hill on Conant Trail was mostly gradual and fine, but the final steep ledgy part was still mostly covered in snow, and the rocks that were uncovered were wet, so that needed to be taken carefully. The descent down the north side of Lord Hill was mostly snow-covered, but it wasn't too deep, and if you have waterproof boots and gaiters, you should be able to walk straight through it (as I did). This continued past the junction with Horseshoe Pond Trail (which was snow-covered, but had some bootprints), and around Harndon Hill.
When I reached the junction with Mine Loop, I decided to redline it too. The western half-mile is almost entirely snow-covered, and was untouched, so I barebooted through about 6" of snow on that part. The eastern half-mile has less snow. Mine Loop Connector had some snow, but it was also quite wet in places. The descent down the north branch was mostly dry on the steeper parts and still had some ice and snow on the more gradual parts.
I saw a grand total of one other person on the trails today, and three others right at the end of the hike who had hiked Deer Hill. I also want to note that the Redlining Spreadsheet has an incorrect mileage for Conant Trail - it claims that the trail is only 3 miles long, but if you look at the map or read the trail description, it's clearly quite a bit longer. My best estimate, based on those sources, is 4.8 miles. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.meetup.com/young-redliners-hiking-group/ |
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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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