Snow-Free Trails 2010

Well the calendar says it should still be pretty snowy out there but the snow is melting fast. List you snow-free (or nearly so) trails here.

The Ledges Trail up Pleasant Mountain in Bridgeton, ME is pretty much snow free as of 27 Mar. There were just a few patches of snow near the top but no snowshoes or traction were needed. Just plain summer hiking boots were the order of the day. Other hikers said that the Bald Peak Trail still had a fair bit of snow on it.
-vegematic

well, so far this spring i've only taken a couple of short walks around blue job and i can confirm that trails are now snow free.

bryan

Utsayantha in the Cats, and probably any peak sub 3000 feet right now in the Cats. There is a dusting of new snow but it will melt before the old snow melts.

Indian Head trail up Mount Pemi is, essentially, snow free. Low summit, southern exposure, open hardwoods almost to summit always make it an early snow-free trail.

Nice hike, 1.9 miles each way with 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

Pawtuckaway State Park

All the trails in Pawtuckaway are snow free and they have cleared almost all of the downed trees. Just a few on the By-Pass trail that are easily climbed over or around. (March 27)

Check out the Trip Report I just posted for Acadia NP. Forgot to mention in that TR that we saw 4-5 Mourning Cloak Butterflies flying about on those hikes.

Ann Stokes/Daniels Mtn loop now snow-free

see trail conditions report
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35349

Straightback and Mt. Major in the Belknaps (NH) are essentially free. See TR
Ken

Does anyone know about the Moat Mtn trail as far as Dianas Baths?
Heading up this w/e and need a flat, relatively snow free trail. Thanks
Sandy

Sandy, we're there three or four times a week and yesterday we spent a couple of hours sitting on top of the falls with friends. It's clear sailing. No snow, minimal ice. Nothing needed whatsoever to the falls.

Tom & Atticus said:

Sandy, we're there three or four times a week ...

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Tom,

Any idea about the other end of the trail, up South Moat?

It is a south facing trail at low elevation, so it clears out early. I wonder whether it is clear (like the Indian Head Trail) or still snow covered.

Thanks!!

Mohamed, click here and your question will be answered.

Thanks, Tom. I should be checking that site more often.

The bottom line, for those who do not want to click on Tom's link, is:

Typical spring hike, bare slopes down low changing over to boilerplate snow near the top. I barebooted but others wore stabilicers. The woods are bare until about 1/2 way up. Give it a couple of weeks and this could be snow free, given the current conditions. A big plus is that the soil and grade condtions makes this a relatively mud free route.

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For those not familiar with that trail, it climbs from 650 to 2,770 feet over 2.9 miles, with almost as much vertical gain as the Mount Tecumseh trail. Excellent views from the summit, disappointing views from the many ledges, almost all of which have nearby trees obstructing the views.

Trails to Mounts Percival and Morgan are almost clear, ridge not yet: Morgan Percival Loop.

I will be on the Wapack trail Sunday and will report my findings here. Hope its clear.

FARMER said:

I will be on the Wapack trail Sunday and will report my findings here. Hope its clear.

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Great! I'm thinking about hiking that next weekend.

FARMER said:

I will be on the Wapack trail Sunday and will report my findings here. Hope its clear.

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By Sunday it might have a chance. The S. Pack auto road which faces mostly south is almost clear as of today. 7 or so spots of 5-20 ft long areas that have up to 1' deep. The woods at the top still had 1'+ is spots. Another hiker said that the Wapack up S. Pack had a fair amount of icy, snowy areas. This is second hand info as I didn't have time to descend that way today. The north facing parts of the Wapack from S. Pack to Mountain rd. should still have fair amounts of snow from what I saw today, and the N. Slopes of Temple also was still showing fair amounts of whiteness. I'll update on Friday if I have a chance. One thing for sure, it will still be wet!

I was on Peaked Mtn. in North Conway last weekend. The route to the top involves only a little bit of snow and ice via the southern, Middle Mtn. Trail / Connector route. It is not truly, 100% snow-free, but it is close and certainly barebootable now. The Peaked Mtn. Trail, the northern half of the loop, has more melting to do.

The Tuckerman Ravine trail re-opened today.

mirabela said:

I was on Peaked Mtn. in North Conway last weekend. The route to the top involves only a little bit of snow and ice via the southern, Middle Mtn. Trail / Connector route. It is not truly, 100% snow-free, but it is close and certainly barebootable now. The Peaked Mtn. Trail, the northern half of the loop, has more melting to do.

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Thanks. Atticus and I were up there today because of you. Not much snow left at all. Fantastic day up there.