| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Tumbledown Mountain - West Peak, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Loop Trail, Tumbledown Mountain Trail, Brook Trail, road walk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, June 11, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Note that Weld to Byron Rd is closed after its residential section November 1st through May 1st. The road is not gated but there are signs that say this on both sides of the road I believe. The road is dirt much of its way. It is a wide dirt road but can be rather bumpy. Low clearance cars should be okay with caution. One washed that you’ll need to go slow over. I was the 4th car at the Loop trailhead parking at 9:15am. There is signed parking (a loop in the road) just west of the trailhead and a smaller parking area with room for a half dozen cars opposite the trailhead that was full when I returned at 1pm. The little loop parking area that I parked in was close to overflowing at this time as well. The parking for the Brook Trail had significantly overflowed by 12:30pm as well. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easily rock hopable but I would absolutely avoid Loop Trail in high water and the crossings on Brook Trail could be sketchy when water is very high as well. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All three trails I was on were blazed in blue. I think blazing was regular and relatively frequent but there were still some spots on these trails that could be obscure. No sign at the jct of Loop and Tumbledown Mtn Trail, just paint on the ground with the trail names and arrows which could be difficult in winter. I think the signage at the jct of Loop Trail and Tumbledown Mtn Trail may have been faded. There was a delimbed but still annoying duck under blowdown on the first section of steeps on Loop Trail. There was a larger but very old and more trivial duck under blowdown earlier on the flat section of this trail as well. These are the only blowdowns that I recall. Rope and iron rings are intact in the “cave scramble” on Loop Trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Hiking dogs should be fine on Brook Trail but I would absolutely not bring them on Loop Trail |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitos down low and black flies up high. I didn’t notice the former in the morning but in the afternoon as I was headed down they seemed quite bad. I definitely recommend bug spray. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
1st Maine Redline of the day. I hiked up Loop Trail, then west to Tumbledown West Peak via Tumbledown Mtn Trail, then east along Tumbledown Mtn Trail to Tumbledown Pond, then down Brook Trail, and walked back along the road. Loop Trail begins relatively gentle with some PUDS and steeper sections but does have a bit of a warmup before the steeps. There is one very steep rocky section before it levels out on a 2200ft knob, then again gets very steep as it climbs alongside a brook, with some scrambling included as well. The most difficult scramble was where the iron rungs were (and rope) but what the guidebook does not tell you is that this is inside of a cave and it is a very narrow squeeze through. I took off my pack and pushed it forward to get through. The cave is very wet and the trail follows alongside or in the drainage at times so you should expect to get a little wet and I would obviously avoid this trail in wet weather and in high water. This trail definitely reminded me of the White Mtns and some of the trails in the northern Presidentials!
Relatively easy climb from there to the west peak of Tumbledown. A very pleasant (and downhill!) climb from there to the pond. Some minor scrambling is involved here as well. The descend down Brook Trail is steep and rough in its upper reaches even if it’s not scrambly like Loop Trail is. It becomes increasingly mellow down low. I met a lot of people hiking this compared to only a few on Loop Trail. Some places of standing water and mud, mostly down low on Loop Trail. Gaia had me at 6mi, about 2000ft of elevation, and it took me about 3.5hrs to complete. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-06-13 |
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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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