| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Barker Mountain - Southeast Peak, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Farm Loop, Chickadee, Barred Owl, Raven Ridge, unnamed trails, skid road, bushwhack, Valley View, Flying Squirrel, Eagle |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 15, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking area was plowed |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Most unbridged crossings were easy to step over. Some damaged bridges required care to cross. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are officially abandoned, but many of the lower trails near Red House Village are still being maintained to some degree |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Good hike for dogs |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Today's objective was to explore what remains of the Sunday River Outdoor Center snowshoe trails. I really had no expectations for what I would find, but I knew that the trails had officially been abandoned more than 5 years ago and that at least a small portion of the trail network has been maintained near Red House Village. On a previous visit, I had scouted out the trailhead location, which is just south of the entrance to Red House Village.
Upon arriving, I was happy to see that the trailhead parking had been plowed and the trail appeared to be well packed down. I donned my snowshoes and started by checking out the flat trails looping around the village area. These trails were all relatively clear and seemed to be pretty well used by people walking their dogs.
All of the former crossings of Barkers Brook had been washed away by the storms of 2023, but a substantial new bridge has been built over the brook which opened this past summer. After crossing the bridge, I started up what I hoped to be the old Raven Ridge Trail. There was very little signage left and some of the old trails are no longer maintained, so the old map of the trails is only moderately helpful. After crossing power lines, I spotted an old sign giving confirmation that I was on the right route.
After gaining a bit of elevation and passing a few trail junctions, it appeared that I was out beyond the currently maintained trails. The faded trail markers led into a brushy logged area and I decided to reevaluate my plan. Leaving the old markers behind, I instead followed an unmarked, but clear, old woods road uphill to the south. After a steep climb, I reached an active skid road and logging operation.
At this point, I was nearing the summit of Locke Mountain, which is further east than I expected the old snowshoe trails to go. I followed the skid road west until it took a sharp turn south. From here, I continue to bushwhack through open hardwoods due west into the saddle between Barker and Locke Mountains. At the low point of the saddle, I came across a snowmobile trail which is to be the future route of the Community Access Trail. By chance, I reached the trail directly across from an old sign reading "Snowshoe Trail."
I crossed the snowmobile trail and headed into the woods, following faded occasional markers uphill. I came across another sign which told me that I had successfully found the Raven Ridge Trail again! However, the trail was now covered in blowdowns and quite difficult to follow. The yellow markers had mostly faded to white, so the markers which remained were not easy to spot in the snowy woods. The trail climbed very steeply up the east slope of Barker Mountain. I eventually got to a point where I could no longer find any more markers and there was no obvious trail corridor. I decided to continue through the woods, bushwhacking towards the highpoint on Barker Mountain's southeast summit. Near the summit, I came across a small cleared area above a small ledge with a sign reading "Moot Point." Although now mostly overgrown, I assumed that it had been a viewpoint on the Raven Ridge Trail, possibly at the end of the trail. It didn't help that this part of the trail was off the edge of the already not very helpful old map. Does anyone know if the Raven Ridge Trail continued beyond Moot Point? A line of flagging tape suggested that the spot would be on our near the route of the future Whitecap Cliffs Trail.
Despite there being a smaller cleared area at Moot Point, I could not find the trail leading to it, so I bushwhacked back to the spot where I had seen the last trail marker previously. From here, I returned to the snowmobile trail, which the Raven Ridge Trail followed downhill. Where the Raven Ridge Trail turned off into the upper part of the logged area, I continued on the snowmobile trail. After a short spur to the Moonstruck ski trail, which intersected with the active network of hiking trails, I followed a variety of old snowmobile and snowshoe trails downhill, even passing another hiker along the way. Below the spur to Moonstruck, I seemed to reenter the realm of semi-maintained trails. I eventually made my way back to the bridge over Barkers Brook and the trailhead near Red House Village.
It was a fun exploration and a perfect day for snowshoeing. I look forward to seeing the area from a different perspective after the trails from Bethel Community Forest are built. |
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 | Name: |
Sam Shirley |
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 | E-Mail: |
newenglandskier13@aol.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-12-15 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/activity-december-15-2024-37693cf-3?p=-1&sh=qriocr |
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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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