| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Passadumkeag Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Passadumkeag Mountain Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, June 19, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
It is a very long drive in but it’s really not a very scary drive. The road is pretty wide and in good shape. Some minor rocks sticking up and such which may give low clearance cars pause but they should easily be able to avoid and still make it. Very easy drive with mid clearance. With all of the rain, the road was a little soft and slightly muddy so I needed to go extra slow so as not to lose control of the car, but again, it was totally doable. I met a guy who’d been working on the wind turbines with a crew while driving in; he was very kind and told me to just not park right in front of the gate; I parked along the side of the road where there’s room for one or two cars. Make sure not to drive by it as there is not sign; it’s the first side road on the left with a gate. The road is about 3-3.5mi E/NE of where the road is shown as stopping on Gaia. |
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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: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail is a road and is not blazed. I don’t think there were any blowdowns. The last 0.2mi described in the guidebook, in part, is totally overgrown. It used to be a grassy road it seems but now the grass has significantly grown up. The trail is not signed at its base. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
Because of my “buswhack” and likely the very overgrown grassy road at the very end too, I picked up almost a dozen ticks. I used 25% DEET and I don’t remember other bugs being very annoying. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
First hike of the day on my way up to stay a few days in Old Town and redline. From my car, I began along the road/trail behind the gate. The road is shown as “21-2-28 Road” on Gaia but starts a little further south of where it’s shown as starting on Gaia. It also diverges left from this road shown on Gaia shortly before it crossed the eastern ridge of the mountain to hit the ridge a little west of where the road on Gaia is shown as intersecting the ridge.
The road was not overgrown and began very gradually but was actually very steep and incredibly eroded up higher. It felt like I was on a slide at times. You won’t notice the pond and old cabin on your way up; it’s all overgrown. The cabin at 1.9mi is more obvious. You won’t see the old tower unless you go behind it. From here, as the guidebook says, you’ll pass a tower on your right, then one on your left. From here, the guidebook says the road changes to grass…but I saw the road bending right and continuing down, its usual eroded self. I took it and it led me down to the wind turbine road which I took left to gently ascend. I wasn’t seeing much of a view and had already determined that this was clearly not what the guidebook had described. I noted a clearing to my left at the top of small cliffs blasted into the mountain in creating the road. I scrambled up this man-made little cliff band in a place where it was small, then whacked through brush a short ways to get to the clearing. I picked up a LOT of ticks I doing this. It’s all young growth and unpleasant however short it is. Upon reaching the clearing, I DO think this is the one the guidebook described as a 180 degree view. That said, I don’t think you could see Washington. From there, I walked back along a very overgrown grassy road back to the road and came out behind the second tower that was on my left earlier where I’d decided to continue right down the eroded road earlier.
So, in short, when you reach the second tower, on your left, not long after the old cabin, go RIGHT behind it on a road which might not be obvious at first and which is very overgrown. Expect to pick up some ticks. This will lead you to the 180 degree view. Considering the overgrown nature of this old road that leads to the view, personally, I’d find this one a good candidate for exclusion in the next edition of the guidebook coming out soon. Additionally, the unpleasant eroded nature of the road down low isn’t great.
The road overall wasn’t terribly muddy but did have some standing water from all the recent rain. Gaia had me at 4.5mi, 1100ft of elevation, taking me just over 2hrs. Some of that distance is me trying to find the path the guidebook described though. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooey |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-06-23 |
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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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