Goose Eye & Success Pond Road 4-11-15

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rvfvftt

New member
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Goose Eye & Success Pond Rd April 11, 2015

Anyone interested in hiking Goose Eye Mountain will be happy to know that a trail is broken all the way to the top.
Just getting to the trail head 8 miles down Success pond road was sketchy but I had a 4 wheel drive pickup with high clearance so it was not too bad.
I would not recommend this without a high clearance 4x4 vehicle.

Deb and I hiked it yesterday Saturday April 11. She had tried the prior Saturday and had to turn around close to the summit. We hit the trail at 8:45 AM temp 34F. It was pretty easy hiking most of the way however Snow was still very deep. (Snowshoes required) Moose tracks and droppings littered the trail. The trail blazes were 2 to three feet above the snow at the base but as our elevation increased the blazes got closer and closer to the snow. When we were within striking distance of the summit it got very very steep and the snow was chest deep in some palaces. We could not tell if we were on the trail as the blazes were gone, not sure if we were off trail or the blazes were just buried. The result was almost a bushwhack, we were so high the spruce was everywhere (eye protection mandatory). We hit thick brush at 3650 and had to turn back move laterally then we got to 3760 and hit another solid wall of spruce. At this point we were tired and getting frustrated and the wind was howling above out heads. Then Deb found a hole and screamed to me who’s you’re Hero. I moved to her location and we could see the summit cone. (It took us an hour and half to negotiate that last ¼ of a mile)
Now just 100 yards of scrambling to the prize. We took off our snow shoes and barefooted it to the summit (12:25 PM temp 22F) But now a new challenge the wind was ferocious. It was not possible to stand. We spent less than a minute on the summit then we had to crawl back to our snow shoes at the tree line seeking protection from that beast.

It was an awesome day in the mountains

The drive out on Success pond road was exciting as we twisted and turned through the mud and snow. It was a cloudy day so there was not a lot of melting but I would not recommend driving this road it unless you are prepared and in the correct vehicle.

Rich Farrell
 
A quick reminder, just because Success Pond Road is open today, it may not be tomorrow. At some point it will be shut down for mud season. The loggers try to stay in the woods as long as possible but at some point, possibly in the next two weeks given the forecast, the snowpack could rapidly degrade and Success Pond road rapidly turns into a mudpit. When this happens, they block the road off at both ends and don't reopen it until it dries out.
 
Fyi, I got my rope and am calling off the APB and search parties. It was a scary and exciting summit and I think I spent about 3 seconds on it, got knocked on my butt and stayed down! Scooted off the summit on my fanny. It was a fantastic view up there!
 
Top