Success Pond Road

[Road runner]

Does anyone know if Success Pond Road is open? I plan to hike up to Success Mt. this weekend via the Success Trail.

[Slo-go'en]

It's open. I drove by it the other day and at least the entrance looked freshly grated. But after a weekend of intensive ATV use, who knows how rough it is now. Those ATV's really chew up the road - and look out for them as they are out in large numbers on that road on weekends. The trail head is about 8 miles in if I remember correctly. 15-20 mph max on that road if driving a typical sedan. Maybe a little faster with a truck or high clearance SUV. It's rough, bumpy road.


The trail head access road is a little hard to find, it is only marked with a small white sign. You pass a lot of logging tote roads heading up into the woods and you have to check out each one to find the right road. Depending on the vehicle and conditions, the actual trail head parking is about 1/4 from the Success loop road on a rutted, single track, closely grown in with brush. There is a small pull-off you can park at if you can't go any farther.

I would expect the trail to still be a bit soggy and the trail to the summit crosses boggy areas on planks, which maybe under water. The mud can be knee deep off the sides of the bog bridges, so be careful where you step. There is also a section of steep and slippery ledge to climb over on the way from the road.

The Mt Success trail actually goes to a col, turn right on the AT to go to Success summit. There is the remains of a DC-3 up there a bit past the summit and down along the boundary trail, but the access trail isn't marked and you have to know exactly where to turn off the AT to find the wreck.

The view from the "Out Look" is pretty nice.

[peakbagger]

FYI, Plan on taking a lot longer driving the road than you would expect. It can get washboarded and with small cars, sometimes 20 MPH is about all you can do. Its a lot easier to find the entrance to the road these days. Head up to Berlin on RT 16 past the Walmart and car dealers. Once you are in Berlin take the bypass over the river just past the Irving gas station. Then go through the lights past the power plant and follow the main road around the plant. You will see a sign for OHRV parking. Take this turn onto a dirt road and then read your odometer and start driving.