| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Number Five Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Number Five Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 15, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I did not follow the guidebooks directions but rather continued on down Beaudry Rd from where I parked to hike Kibby Mtn. The road in between the two is wide and generally speaking *should* be okay for low clearance cars but given how long the road is it’s no surprise that there were some rough parts in between, particularly given all the weather events we’ve had. In particular, there are 2-3 washed out sections of road, all relatively close together, a little more than halfway from Kibby to Number Five. Awhile after that (maybe 3/4 of the way there) you’ll cross a large puddle, and two spots that are nearly level with a beaver/marshy area that’s beginning to flood (there was some damming to prevent the water from flowing over the road too much). Passable with mid clearance but I’d certainly expect these two spots to now be flooding. Getting between the two trailheads took a little more than a half hour. Getting to Kibby alone took maybe 20min or so, so heading out, it took me almost an hour to get back to a paved road. Lastly, the spur road to the start of Number Five Mtn was rougher (much narrower, a bit of a grassy centerline, as rockier/rougher) and likely would pose a proble for low clearance cars. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I don’t think there were any. If so, they were very small. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail could be trimmed back at its start where it’s very grassy. There’s an awkward blowdown within a 1/2mi of the start just after turning right off the road and onto the footpath. 10min after that, I came across another blowdown that I think was a stepover/straddled that was a bit of a pain. I think there was one other similar blowdown around this as one as well. Overall, not bad at all, but a few things that could be taken care of. There’s a kiosk at the start. The trail is blazed with some older light blue blazes and some newer, dark blue blazes. Overall, the blazing is relatively regular and frequent but it’s not blazed or marked with cairns along the short section of ledge it travels along near the summit. Luckily, there’s not too many different ways to go here so it’s fairly obvious which way you should head even on the descent. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
Oh yeah. No ticks though. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
3rd and final hike of the day after West Kennebago and Kibby Mtn. This hike is a delight! It starts out grassy and overgrown and you need to squeeze through some boulders, but the trail soon becomes quite pleasant. It goes through some varied terrain, beautiful forest, generally good footing, and a VERY pleasant grade most of the time which trail runners will likely love! Not hard to follow but not very eroded or over-travelled either. Some spots of deep mud and such of course. Nice bog bridges through two meadows. Note that the trail has been rerouted in some areas and does not exactly match the trail shown on Gaia and does not match the distance in the guidebook (2.9mi) but instead is closer to 2.5-2.75mi. Gaia had me at 5.5mi, 1100ft of gain, 2hrs. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-18 |
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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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