| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Speckled Mountain, Durgin Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Cold Brook Trail, Evergreen Link, Red Rock Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 26, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Getting to Cold Brook isn't easy. There is USFS type sign out on the paved road, and a cruder sign at one point as the road gets rougher, but after that nothing. The road is rough and after an old structure it splits in two. I drove as far as I could (slowly, most people wouldn't do it in a car) and then we got out and ran up the "straight ahead" road but didn't see any sign of a trail. I figured that could be it but I wanted some confirmaton. I then tried the right path in a car and quit after awhile and went to Evergreen. I ran into a couple of other guys who gave up at the Y and went to Evergreen. Evergreen is unsigned, there is a new road that may have taken over its lower portion. It has a sign saying new road, hikers welcome. Take that road, then it turns into a grass old road, and eventually there is a sign off to the right for Speckled Mtn; nothing that says Evergreen. We parked on the side of the paved road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Step overs of the few small drainages; the only "tricky" one was on Cold Brook down low where fallen branches and leaves had created a bit of a pool. Pepper waded, I used the fallen branches, but there was a bridge over the brook 20' away for the snowmobilers to go to Adams Mtn. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trailheads for Cold Brook and Evergreen Link are not signed or blazed, they arent' really well blazed after that and signs to get them are insufficient. See below. There are a few step overs on Cold Brook; quite a few step overs and a handful of major walk arounds on Red Rock. Red Rock hasn't seem much foot traffic outside of the moose, and it looks like it's been awhile since it had maintenance too. Even so it's still an easy walk as the light traffic means the footbed is often nice. Evergreen & Cold Brook low have wonderful footbeds; one short stretch of mud on Cold Brook, while the ledgey areas are a bit slippery when wet on the downhike. I found the sign below Speckled Mtn where the trails meet. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Bring water. It was warm and there's a fair amount of sun exposure. There isn't much water on the trails I took and most of that is low. On Red Rock there is just a small drainage a bit below Speckled Mtn. The ledges do have some rough rock that could be tough on soft pads. Pepper missed the sippin 'n dippin spots the other trails had, but he loved chasing squeaky critters. Once again we came across a slow moving porcupine on the trail, but I saw it first and grabbed Pepper, but he wasn't all that interested in it; it didn't squeak. |
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 | Bugs: |
Some skeeters on the trails; more pesky black flies on Speckled Mtn if one stopped, but often there was a strong enough wind to keep it acceptable. I found a tick on me near the end of the hike and another in the car. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After the nice drive through Evans Notch, buying a CTA map at Bricket House and a good gravel drive on Deer Hill Rd to the paved roads on the east, we had trouble finding the trailheads. I gave up on Cold Brook, around 200' below where I would have seen a painted blaze remnant. We went back and being unsure of Evergreen's start asked for confirmation at the nearby inn. We didn't start hiking until almost 11.
It was a redline hike so after getting to Speckled we went over to Durgin but stopped a ways after that due to the time, and then on the hike back went down to where we had stopped on Cold Brook earlier, and then walked back up to Evergreen Link and then back to the car. The trails, once one is sure they are them, are relatively easy to follow, with some sections lightly used, which is nice. As on the other Speckled Mtn trails there are lots of open and semi open ledges with nice views from the peak. Durgin is fairly open ledge but not high enough to have good scenics. there's lots of moose droppings on Red Rock. Evergreen just below its junction with Cold Brook has lots of pink and some white lady's slippersand other flowers; up high shrubs are flowering. Despite the trouble finding the trails, the hikes were pleasant and Pepper was a great companion. It was a very nice summery day on the trails. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-05-26 |
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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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