| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Crocker Mountain, North Crocker Mountain, Mt. Redington, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, Caribou Valley Road, Appalachian Trail, bushwhack, snowmobile trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 28, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Sugarloaf Golf Club |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Took the golf course bridge to cross the river, but all the smaller creek crossings were frozen over/buried in snow. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Back to the Carrabassett Valley yesterday to tackle three more of my winter 67 - North and South Crocker and Redington.
I came in via the "golf course bushwhack", taking the small bridge across the river, before heading up the hill. The bushwhack up towards Caribou Valley Road is pretty strightforward - heads uphill just behind the 11th tee. Keep the creek bed/drainage to your left and keep going. You'll get to Caribou Valley Road in about a mile.
There had been one person out there a couple days before me so the trail wasn't completely unbroken, but there had been about 6 inches of heavy, wet snow overnight, which was still hanging in the trees. I was the only person out there all day.
After hitting the AT, I headed uphill towards the Crockers. The snow here was in pretty good shape for snowshoeing but I'd forgotten just how steep the climb is. Even though there was low cloud and undercast all day, I did have some nice views out across the valley and some cool views of the surrounding peaks coming out of the undercast.
Once I had hit South Crocker and done the quick out and back to North Crocker, it was time to dive into the woods for the bushwhack towards Redington. When I had first done it, the trek out to Redington hardly seemed like a bushwhack, with a well-established herd path, but with the heavy snow things were completely different. Luckily I had my old GPS track to follow or it would have taken much longer. Even with full rain gear on, I was pretty wet by the time I got to Redington after pushing through all the snowy branches.
Rather than slogging back through that mess to go back the way I came, I decided to take the longer - but easier and drier - snowmobile trails back down to Caribou Valley Road. Stupidly, I started off by going downhill the wrong way for about half a mile. Once I got going in the right direction, after six miles of snowmobile trail waking, I connected back up with the final bushwhack back down to the golf course.
Definitely a Type 2 fun day, but three more winter 67s in the bag! |
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 | Name: |
Graham |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-29 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=15.9/-70.3809/45.0304&pubLink=bLx6QUrWALOlfKNIlHr1ZNgA&trackId=4cb249e5763742d6af9c8bc730080fe6 |
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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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