I ran into an old trail report from Keith. Sounds like there are washouts https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/me/viewreport.php?entryid=72204
Success Pond Road Status 2024
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DayTrip
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I went up yesterday morning and came home today. The road is in excellent shape all the way up to Goose Eye Trailhead parking. I parked at Success Pond Road Trailhead but wound up coming down Goose Eye so I walked the road back to Success.
I was able to comfortably drive 20-30 mph for most of it in my CrossTrek. The only issue of any kind is about 3/4 mile past Success Pond Trailhead. There is a washout, mostly to the side of the road but it is deep and there is a dip across the road, I'm guessing from an undermined pipe. Nothing was visible and it felt solid when I walked over it.. It seemed doable for a car with reasonable clearance and about 10 minutes later a guy drove by towing a 20 ft bass boat so I'm guessing it is indeed fine, at least for now. Otherwise, minor sections of washboard and pot holes with a handful of rocks starting to stick out. The road is so wide though that most everything can be easily avoided. By forest road standards it was pretty good.
DayTrip
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Does he do other trails in that area? Success Pond to the outlook and Goose Eye had all of its water bars recently and very thoroughly cleared and really no blowdowns to speak of. Was kind of suprised at the level of the work. The Mahoosuc Trail, on the other hand, was a different story. But I expected that...
(It actually was not all that bad either on the blowdown front. Just one large one laying over the trail at a scramble a bit South of Carlo.Keith is the trails coordinator for that area. In theory individuals volunteer to maintain each trail but Keith tends to do a lot of maintenance as I do not know how many of the trails are adopted.
When James River owned the land and the road and was actively maintaining it, road speeds were a lot higher. There were several large gravel pits off the road that were used to regrade the road frequently. More than a few company employees tended to use the drive fast approach over the washboard. I used to buy used trucks from the mill and ended up with a wood foremans truck. The frame was cracked in half in two places. I welded it up and got several more years out of it. Best used mill truck I ever bought as it never got in the mill chemicals.
I do wish the ATC would let the Shelburne trail club reestablish the trail from the south to the plane site. It was built after the crash to salvage some components from the plane soon after it crashed and reportedly used by local hikers for some period before it grew in. After Mead bought the land on the south slope of the ridge from James RIver, they pulled a lot of wood out of those slopes which would have wiped out any trace of the old route. Bayroot (who bought the land from Mead also tended to harvest that area hard prior to selling large amounts for conservation easements.
One of them just over the Maine line is up for sale https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.land...s/11328/USwY--ME2428__Lary-Brook-Brochure.pdf
When James River owned the land and the road and was actively maintaining it, road speeds were a lot higher. There were several large gravel pits off the road that were used to regrade the road frequently. More than a few company employees tended to use the drive fast approach over the washboard. I used to buy used trucks from the mill and ended up with a wood foremans truck. The frame was cracked in half in two places. I welded it up and got several more years out of it. Best used mill truck I ever bought as it never got in the mill chemicals.
I do wish the ATC would let the Shelburne trail club reestablish the trail from the south to the plane site. It was built after the crash to salvage some components from the plane soon after it crashed and reportedly used by local hikers for some period before it grew in. After Mead bought the land on the south slope of the ridge from James RIver, they pulled a lot of wood out of those slopes which would have wiped out any trace of the old route. Bayroot (who bought the land from Mead also tended to harvest that area hard prior to selling large amounts for conservation easements.
One of them just over the Maine line is up for sale https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.land...s/11328/USwY--ME2428__Lary-Brook-Brochure.pdf
