| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Sugarloaf, Sugarloaf, Bear Mountain, Oregon Mountain, Mowglis Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Elwell Trail, Oregon Mountain Trail, Carter-Gibbs Trail, Elwell Trail, Back 80 Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 15, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Good parking lot just north of Wellington State Park. State asks for a donation and a warning this lot is for day hikers only. We dropped a car at the AMC Cardigan Lodge and there is plenty of parking in their lots and along the road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
rock hop-able |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The blazing for the Elwell Trail is good but crossing the powerline after Bear Mountain following the trail was difficult---the grass and brush are hiding the sticks with the painted yellow tops, the blaze on the rock in the jeep road is confusing because it is pointing down the powerline instead of pointing to the hard left the trail makes crossing the powerline. At the intersection of the Elwell and Welton Falls Trail it is in the cut area and there are blowdowns and missing blazes and no distinguishing footbed here... we hunted around to find the trail. Near the viewpoint past Mowglis Mt and before Back 80 the brush in the open areas is overgrown filling the trail in places. The trails were wonderful and as I said before the blazing was excellent overall. The Back 80 is a gem of a trail with some newish bog bridges and nice foot bed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
why not! |
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 | Bugs: |
a few but not too vexing |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The Elwell is a great trail! Too bad we were stuck in the clouds over the Sugarloafs and Bear Mountain but at least it cleared up and we had nice views back at what we had traveled and afar. On Bear Mountain we scrambled up the bump that we thought might be the true highpoint and we discovered that the trail used to go over this ledgy steep pointy bump since the old Mowglis Trail signs were still intact. (What is the deal that the old Mowglis trail signs were painted over with the yellow blaze paint all the way on the Elwell Trail next to new yellow blazes???). We were amused by a runner that had passed us before the powerline crossing but he too had continued down the powerline but instead of a couple dozen feet like us he went a full mile! We met the runner again at the Elwell/Welton Falls intersection and we hunted the trail down together. After hitting Oregon Mountain we went down the Carter Gibbs Trail, super steep, to get back on the Elwell Trail. Back 80 was a super trail with nice views and forests. Terrific day the AMC Cardigan Ski Reservation, oops they don't call it that anymore but it is a great place to ski! This point to point trek was fun. |
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 | Name: |
Nordic Gal, bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
amybike@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-07-17 |
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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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