| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Sugarloaf (Shin Pond), ME |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Sugarloaf Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, July 7, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Yikes. So being my usual self, I tried to come in a different way. Approaching on Wapati Rd will leave you with a roughly 1.5mi road walk to Grondin Rd as there’s a gate near the NE end of Grondin Pond. Then you’d have an additional 3/4mi road walk along Grondin Rd to the trailhead. This is what I tried first (and should have stuck with…). Next, I tried the unnamed road that circles around the peak to the north and the east that leaves Grand Lake Rd about 2.6mi north of the village of Shin Pond. This was a grassy centerline road and was very slow going but doable for a mid clearance car for a ways but I eventually turned around once I saw some washout. Besides, the drive in this way takes forever and the grassy centerline was at least a few feet high at times. Lastly, I finally approached the way the guidebook describes…only to find that the bridge over Ragged Brook was out and closed. I ran into a contracted and he said they were hoping to have it fixed this upcoming Monday (now yesterday). Beyond that, the road was in fine condition even for low clearance cars I believe. I then had to turn back and drove Sucker Brook Rd (not bad, definitely doable for mid clearance and maybe low clearance as well) north to Bucks Trail which I took west. Unfortunately, Bucks Trail soon turned to a woods road more than a road road and I parked at its jct with Camp Fairview Ln as shown on Gaia. Note that the road names I think were slightly different on the ground though. |
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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: |
Mid-sized couple of leaners clumped together maybe 0.6 or 0.7mi into the trail. Easy enough to duck under. The trail doesn’t have much flagging left on it anymore. Just a handful of pieces higher up and some on the ground which I carried out. None for the first half mile or so at least. That said, the trail isn’t hard to follow. No other markings that I recall other than a very small and easy to miss sign at the start that could soon become invisible with the growth of the trees. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The scrambling up top may be tricky for some. |
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 | Bugs: |
Yup. Especially ferocious after the downpour. At least there aren’t ticks this far north. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
My 3rd full day in Houlton was not ideal. Another very hit and humid day but this time with severe thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon as well. What’s more, an early start wasn’t in the works after a late night. By the time I tried all the different routes to the parking area and finally just parked my car at the jct of what’s shown as Bucks Trail and Campe Fairview Ln on Gaia, it was 12:45pm and you could already hear some thunder. What’s more, I now had a nearly 3mi road walk to reach the trail.
Bucks Trail (called something else on the ground) was very wet and muddy in spots. It eventually merged with another road. Following it to the left, it’s still show as Bucks Trail to the left but whatever it was to the right is not shown on Gaia. May be another point of access. I took this to Grondin Rd, then followed Grondin Rd the rest of the way to the trailhead. The last 3/4mi along Grondin Rd beyond its jct with Watapi Rd is rougher and would only be suitable for high and maybe mid-clearance cars. Other than that first very wet part along Bucks Trail, the road walking was fine.
The start of the trail is only marked by a very small sign almost not visible due to the trees. After an initial steep pitch, the trail is actually quite gentle for a ways before the final very steep section before the summit where there’s some below treeline scrambling. I had views from the summit but they were very hazy due to the thunderstorms. I was lucky that the rain mostly held off beyond some light showers on my ascent. On my return trip, I got caught in an absolute downpour that for a minute or two felt like a minor hurricane along the road. Consequently, I missed my turn off of Grondin Rd and wound up making a long road walk even longer.
What can be just a 1.8mi hike turned into a 9mi hike with 1150ft of gain, taking 3.5hrs. I’d planned on hiking Owls Head “nearby” too but after all the road issues, the late start, getting absolutely drenched, and not being interested in getting caught in another thunderstorm, I heard back to Houlton. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-11 |
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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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