| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
West Kennebago Mountain - South Peak, West Kennebago Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
West Kennebago Mountain Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 15, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road in was in fine shape and should be passable by low clearance cars. It would be easy enough to drive by the parking area which is just a grassy but decently trodden area just before the start of the trail. I think just a small sign pointed to the trail which would’ve easy to drive by. |
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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: |
The small stream was high but still easily rock hopable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail is blazed in red. Maybe a bit faded but still very visible and, if I recall correctly, somewhat frequent/regular. There are a couple of trivial stepover blwodowns in the first 15min or so of the hike. There’s a small but a little awkward duck under on the 100yd spur path to the spring at 1.2mi by the old camp. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
Yes. Bad day to not have the bug spray. I didn’t pick up any ticks that I know of. I think they’re pretty rare this far north. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
1st redline of the day. The trail starts of gradual then becomes moderate and steep with some flat sections in between the climbing pitches the rest of the way to the col. From the col to the summit of south peak is more gradual. Some rough, rocky, bouldery footing but no scrambling and I found the trail nice enough. When you come into a clearing, there’s a bed spring or something like that behind you on the right, the trail continuing ahead, as the spring spur on your left which may look rather overgrown in this grassy area but isn’t really hard to follow and becomes well defined in the woods as you duck under a blowdowns. Oddly enough, the guidebook described the spring spur but not the spur to the remains of the old fire cabin just above this open, grassy area. It is close to the trail though and unlikely you wouldn’t notice it.
Unfortunately, the summit was mostly in cloud when I arrived, somewhat to my surprise. Lots of moose poop along the way. I returned to the col, the started my whack to the true high point of West Kennebago. The woods started were pretty open and it was a nice and gentle whack to the small knob in between the south peak and main peak. Coming off this knob, the woods remain open for a bit but you’ll very soon find yourself in some spruce unless you pick your way carefully through the ferns. In any event, the spruce band soon ends and you’ll again find yourself in very nice woods. The woods changed and became a bit thicker on the ascent up to the main peak but again I let the woods take me their own way and it wasn’t that thick at all really. Following the path of least resistance, I took a less direct line but followed the true ridge which bends NE to the summit. The woods did become more genuinely thick around the summit.
I did not find it too difficult to locate the register. There is lots of flagging around it to help it stand out. Some of it was on the ground and I carried out. There is a glass jar register and a red water bottle with a blue cap. The water bottle had write in the rain paper with just a couple of sign-ins on it. The glass jar with all the other sign ins was sort of mangled so I signed in on the write in the rain paper and threw it in the glass jar but left the water bottle. There is an open area right next to this with some views.
I took a more direct line off the summit, but it is very steep on its SE side and would’ve easy to fall off your line and descend much too quickly off the ridge. I also found thicker woods and essentially had to contour back to the true ridge. So I recommend following the true ridge which is negligibly longer than a straight line anyway. As I headed back up the small knob on my return trip, I saw the wall of spruce and was able to negotiate my way through it in ferns more easily than on my way in. Grades were very gradual around the knob and maybe moderate heading up the main peak.
I intersected the trail just below the col and returned to the trailhead running into a moose drinking from the water running down the trail at one point. Started me down for a bit but as I cautiously moved a little closer and made noise, it got out of my way. Trail was muddy at times and had some minor/moderate running water down it at a point but I got the sense that this may usually be the case in this one section. Overall, nothing excessive given conditions. Gaia had me at 5.5mi, 1950ft of gain, just shy of 3.5hrs. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-17 |
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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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