| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mansell Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Long Pond Trail, Great Notch Trail, Razorback Trail, Mansell Mountain Trail, Perpendicular Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 22, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Park at the end of Long Pond Rd at the boat lunch. Room for maybe close to a dozen cars before the lot would overflow and you've got to park higher up along the road. There's a no parking sign by the start of the Long Pond Trail but beyond that you seem to be able to park along the road. There were a number of boaters parked here as well so I could see the lot very easily overflowing in summer though there were only a handful here on this day. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Easy stepover blowdown 1-1.5mi into the Long Pond Trail (probably closer to 1.5), another easy stepover 5-10min later, and a number of blowdowns along Great Notch Trail, mostly close to its jct with Long Pond Trail, and another two right next to each other very close to Great Notch itself that were a stepover and stradller I believe. Some of these were a pain and/or difficult to get around. All trail signs were intact. I don't recall if Long Pond Trail was blazed or not but I would presume it would be in blue. In any case, it's very easy to follow as it follows right alongside the water. Great Notch Trail was blazed in blue. I think its blazing may have been less frequent and/or more faded than most trails I've been on in Acadia. Razorback Trail was blazed in blue. I'm pretty sure Mansell Mtn Trail and Perpendicular Trail were blazed in blue. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
There's a bit of scrambling on Razorback, Mansell Mtn, and Perpendicular trails but most hiking dogs could probably handle it. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Second hike of the day right across the street from my first hike of Beech Mtn. I decided to ascend the long and easy way and descend the short and steep way. Perpendicular Trail isn't so steep/scrambly so as to be a bad choice for descent unless you've got bad knees. Long Pond Trail is named Great Pond Trail on Gaia. It gets awkwardly close to to the pond at times and there was some water along the trail near its start. Beyond that, it was mostly dry though. I hiked a long but easy OAB on the western section of Great Notch Trail. The trail was clearly lesser travelled than the others in this section and had a much more wild and remote feel to it almost like the lesser traveled portions of Hancock Notch Trail in the White Mtns. In particular, there were a number of blowdowns in a section and it was very wet and muddy in some spots. I enjoyed it though. Razorback and Mansell Mtn Trail had some steep parts and were blazed but one had a section where you traversed along the base of a wet ledge rather than continue up and it personally took me a second to see where the trail went here. Some very rocky, eroded, and steep pitches through here with a little bit of scrambling as well. Nice views from the ledges. There's a spur signed "Lookout Point" that's not shown on Gaia or mentioned in the guidebook; this is not far from the wooded highpoint. The spur on Perpendicular Trail is shown on Gaia and signed. Very nice spot here! You begin the amazing stone step descent after this and while it'd be a real butt-kicker coming up, it's really not all that steep or scrambly. The ladders/iron rungs are very short and you could go around them if you wished as well.
Other than the more severe mud on the western section of Great Notch Trail, trails were relatively dry overall, especially for this time of year. Gaia had me at just over 7mi with about 1200ft of gain, taking me almost 3hr15min to complete. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-04-27 |
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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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