Trail and road conditions in Maine?

[entirelynutz]

Hi,

We're hoping to do two weeks of slackpacking in Maine the last two weeks of September. We checked the post storm trail reports on the ATC but were wondering if there are any other roads or trails we should avoid. We shuttle around with a motor home and scooter. There is no specific area that we need to hike so we can avoid any problems. We've never had the opportunity to hike any of the AT in Maine so we're hoping we don't need to change plans.

Thanks for any info or advice.

[Slo-go'en]

Maine was spared the brunt of both Irene and Lee, so there was little to no damage to either roads or trails. A little flooding here and there and stream crossings were difficult to impossible for a couple of days, but everything is back to normal now. Streams might still be running a bit higher than normal for middle/late September, but shouldn't be too bad.

Even Vermont which was the hardest hit is starting to get back to normal.

[peakbagger]

If you stick to numbered highways and paved roads you are in good shape. Some of dirt roads may be sketchy. The Caribou Valley Road which is between Crocker and Sugarloaf is definitely not recomended (it was in rough shape pre Irene). I would check with Maine Huts and Trails before taking the dirt road between Carabasset and Long Falls Dam Road. East B Hill Road that accesses the AT in Western Me was reported to be closed.

[Slo-go'en]

Yeah, keep the motor home on the paved roads. Depending on big it is, you'd probably would have wanted to keep it off the dirt roads anyway, even if they were in thier normal, semi-beat up shape.

But remember, it can be a very, very long way around by road to get from one road crossing to another which are only 20 miles apart by trail. Not sure I'd want to do a 70 mile or longer trip on a scooter - and at night to boot, seeing how early it gets dark now. Now that I realise what you plan to do, I'm not sure how practical an idea it is. Would have worked better in the middle of summer with the longer days. Oh well, I guess you'll find out one way or the other.

[entirelynutz]

Thanks all for your replies. They are greatly appreciated.

Slo-go'en - There aren't any day hikes that don't require a long shuttle?

[Slo-go'en]

Thanks all for your replies. They are greatly appreciated.

Slo-go'en - There aren't any day hikes that don't require a long shuttle?

There are a few which aren't too bad, but not having the dirt road access to some of the trail crossings will eliminate others or turn it into an overnight or two trip. For the most part the AT in Maine is seriously difficut, even as slack packs, so don't underestimate how long it will take to do them and make sure you have headlamps.

I manged to slack pack from Grafton Notch to the north end of Saddleback (about 75 miles), but this was using local drivers who knew all the back roads and short cuts and weren't afraid to drive on them. Some of which were pretty scarry and don't show up on road maps. It cost a lot of money between the suttles and the stay at the hostles, but it was worth it not to have to carry a full pack over some of those hills!

The East B hill road being closed is a real bummer.

The next available section would be South Arm rd (dirt) to Rt 17, a 13 mile hike, which would be one heck of an introduction to Maine (a really stiff climb to start, but not too bad after that). It looks to be about 30 miles by road between trail crossings.

The next section, RT 17 to RT4 is a pretty easy 13 miles and not too bad to loop around by road, maybe 25 miles, going up through Rangley.

There is a way to get to the north end of the Saddleback range, but that is definately a 4WD road when it was in good shape! You'd have to do that section as a very difficult 3 night, 4 day trip.

Then north of RT17/26 you start to get into the really long road loops between road crossings. So, it looks like you only have two reasonable point to point hikes available. Of course, get out your maps and see what you might consider reasonable to do.

In and out hikes will be a good option in areas a through hike might not be practical. You could do pleanty of those. I'm sure you can find pleanty of ways to enjoy your 2 weeks in Maine, even if it isn't hiking all that time.

[Chaco Taco]

How is Success Pond Road in late October??