| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Amos Mountain , ME |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, Rogers Family Trail, Heritage Loop Trail, Amos Mountain Trail, road walk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 25, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The signed parking lot west of the summit was not plowed but there is a large, wide pullout less than a quarter mile north at the cemetery. I parked there. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing that doesn’t have a footbridge I believe. Of course these narrow footbridges are not ideal for crossing with snowshoes on which may unnerve some folk. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trails are marked with colored diamonds. The color of the Diamond corresponds to the color of the trail shown on the map linked below. Rogers Family Trail is in blue, Heritage Loop is in orange, and Amos Mtn Trail is in red. They’re well marked. The names I give correspond with the names shown on the maps not the names that are given at some trail jcts on tiny little trail signs/arrows. Note that many trails have been renamed/rerouted in a “remodel” in 2017 and the description in the Maine Mtn guidebook no longer matches the trails as they are now. More on that below. I don’t recall any blowdowns. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Third and final hike of the day after Flat Hill and Whitting Hill before I had to head back home. Before the hike, I noted that the trails on Gaia did not seem to match the description in the guidebook (apart from the fact all the trails in the reserve are just labeled as “Heald Bradley Ponds Reserve Trails”) so was interested to see what I’d find.
From the pullout by the cemetery, I threw on my snowshoes and whacked alongside the woods toward the parking area, intersecting Rogers Family Trail (marked with blue diamonds not white markers with red dots). I found a sharp right turn as described in the guidebook. Shortly thereafter, a snowshoe track crossed this trail perpendicularly. No signage or markers but it looked as if it could be a trail so perhaps this is where the Orange Trail diverged right from the Blue Trail as described in the guidebook (no trails shown on Gaia here though). Wasn’t quite 0.35mi in though, so I continued on to where an orange marked trail (Heritage Loop Trail) diverged right. A small sign called it “Southwest View Trail”. This was more than 0.35mi beyond the trailhead though and was above the cliff so clearly not the Orange Trail the 11th Ed of the guidebook describes. Gaia shows this was the second trail diverging right from the one that starts at the parking lot as shown as Gaia. I didn’t note the first Trail shown though; maybe that was the old orange trail.
In any case, from here on it was pretty clear that the loop as described in the guidebook no longer existed. I saw signs for El Pupito Rock but again it didn’t jive with what the guidebook described. I later found out the trails were redone in 2017 which explains it all. Trail breaking was easy in just a couple inches of powder and some were broken. Amos Mtn Trail north of the summit is a snowmobile trail. No view from the summit but nice view over toward the Baldfaces and the peaks of Evans Notch from the top of the cliffs along the SW View Trail (Heritage Loop).
Gaia had me at just under 2.5mi with about 550ft of gain. Took me about 1.5hrs to complete with lots of time trying to understand the departure from reality and the guidebook description. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-02-28 |
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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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