| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Maggie's Run, Link & Extension, West Side, whack, Saco River, Dry River Connector, Sam Willey, Pond Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, May 10, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at hiker parking for Kedron Flume at Willey House. Road work on 302 in Crawford Notch has resulted in one lane with a stop light. It is a dumb light (no sensors, just time) and it seemed long between changes. Other parking to access these trails is at the AT crossing of 302, the Pleasant Valley Picnic area and Dry River Campground. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hops. There is also a downed tree that could be used to get across Kedron Flume Brook. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Sign for Saco River heading East from Webster Cliff is down, leaning on the pole base. West Side has some avoidable blowdowns. I recall a couple of other small blowdowns, one on Saco River south of AT and one on the Dry River Connector. The sign on Rt 302 for the Maggie's Run Extension isn't easy to see from the road with its guard rails. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Easy dog trails. Pepper loved the abundance of sip n dip options. I saw a Momma Bear and cub (cubs?) on the trail as we neared the descent to Rt. 302. We stopped and after a minute or two they loped off. We also saw a couple of deer on Maggie's Run. Pepper didn't chase; he seems to have always had a healthy respect for bears, |
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 | Bugs: |
None on this hike, but the area is probably just a couple days from extensive leaf out and with that the black flies. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
See 1 Happy Hiker's report April 27 for the West Side trail details. I was hoping to find signs of a future West Side Extension but found none at the end of West Side on the AT, nor on a later whack from the end of Maggie's Run back to the AT. Sam Willey and Saco River were the usual pleasant walks in the woods, with dry trails and still open woods. Maggie's Run from the Saco River trail to the main Maggie's Run trail along the Saco is similar. The first time I came across this trail & sign while hiking Saco River I was confused, thinking Maggie's Run was across the road. The new AMC Guide clears things up; it is functionally a link. At the Dry River Campground entrance one can go up 302 just a bit to find a sign for Maggie's Run, cross the road and then use either of two very short diverging blazed paths to get to the river and the extension or mail trail. I don't know why there are two paths there. Maggie's Run and its Extension are easy walks with a nice stretch running along the Saco River, which had a nice flow today. If the West Side Extension is built it will enable a nice loop hike. The whack I did today had two open hardwood sections with a middle thicker, up and down sidehill; there were no old roads or herd paths that I could see. I was surprised to see how high the Saco River must have been last year as it ran over parts of Maggie's Run depositing lots of sand in places, and the considerable amount of rocks washed down near and just a bit onto the Sam Willey trail near the Pond Loop also, I assume, last year. The Dry River Connector had several dry channels today from prior storms overflows but they've been there at least since Irene. It was another splendid way to use "use them or lose them" vacation days with my old friend Pepper. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-05-10 |
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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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