| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Mountain (East Haven), VT |
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 | Trails: |
Radar Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 9, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Drove in from Gallup Mills from Victory via "Moccasin Mill Road" aka the south branch of "Radar Road" on some maps. Road was in great shape to where the East & West Branches of the Moose River begin and "Radar Road" trifurcates (the road branch that ends in Burke is supposedly posted). Beyond and toward the summit, the uphill side of Radar Road is washed out here and there. With care and no problems, I was able to drive in to the base camp on the downhill (west) side of the road with my Honda Fit (a good rain or spring melt-off could foreclose on what's left of the road at any time). Just beyond the base camp the road is blocked at a small pond, via boulders and a huge metal tank, but while I was there two high-clearance pickups circumvented it by driving through the edge of the pond, thence all the way to the summit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The paved part of Radar Road from the old base camp to the summit is in outstanding shape. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This hike has a creepy Chernobyl-esque feel to it, the kind of place that would make a good setting for a horror movie about radiation mutants. Wouldn't catch me spending the night there. The abandoned and gutted buildings at the base camp and the summit are thoroughly vandalized and busy rotting away. There are several towers at the summit that are all climbable via metal staircases and/or ladders to get to the roofs, but I can't say I recommend the largest tower which has what appears to be exposed and crumbling asbestos insulation in it. A headlamp and good ventilator mask are good to have if you plan on going up. Best not to linger inside longer than you need to to get to the roof and down, and to shake out your clothing when you get out. I stuck entirely to the staircases and ladder, which seemed sound, not trusting the upper level flooring. The catwalks at the upper rim of the towers are in really bad shape with rotting wooden boards--did not risk it and no need to: views from the roof at the top of the ladder were truly phenomenal--Whites, Greens, Suttons in Canada, all visible in a sweeping panorama. The mountain seems to get a lot of traffic by 4WD trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, and hikers, and isn't posted against trespass (yet). Lots of non-habituated gray jays on the way up and bear crap on the road. |
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 | Name: |
Barefoot Paul |
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 | E-Mail: |
paulwgagnon@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-11-10 |
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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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