Trails Used
Welton Falls Trail, Elwell Trail
Trail Conditions
Notes
Pouring rain to start but still a beautiful walk in the woods. Same times as always: 1.5 hours. Just gorgeous woods. No views because it was socked in.
Parking
room for many cars roadside on Valley View Road in Hebron (off Hobart Hill Rd). Nobody here.
Water Crossings
minor crossings at beginning
Wildlife
none
Trails Used
Welton Falls Trail, Elwell Trail, Cardigan View Spur
Trail Conditions
Notes
always a fav - 3 miles RT, around 666 feet elev gain today. Beautiful route - this is our go-to for a good workout, then we spend the rest of the day at the town beach at foot of Newfound Lake rehydrating :)
Parking
room for many cars roadside on Valley View Road in Hebron (off Hobart Hill Rd). Nobody here.
Water Crossings
almost no water in the 2 minor crossings closest to trailhead
Wildlife
none really - although I did swallow 1 bug
Trails Used
Welton Falls Trail, Elwell Trail
Trail Conditions
Notes
Aways a favorite - I hope this trail gets enough use to keep it going. Around 3 mi RT; around 700' elev gain. Good afternoon workout - always love this trail. Just as beautiful as always!!!
Parking
room for many cars roadside on Valley View Road in Hebron (off Hobart Hill Rd). Nobody here.
Water Crossings
very low now - almost no water in them
Wildlife
none - thankfully - and not much of a breeze either
Trails Used
Logging road, bushwhack
Trail Conditions
Notes
Thanks to Snowman for the report on this Maine 3k just over the NH border. The road was a gentle grade with switchbacks and grassy center. Drivable in a truck, but nice enough to walk too. I saw a bear run by on the way down. They are fast. Also smelled the stench of something dead. Anyway, I found very good woods on the way up. Hardly any undergrowth here, even footing, old skid paths and moose lanes, but shaded so not too overgrown. No trouble following a line straight to the summit ridge. I hit one false bump and had to turn 90 degrees to go a little further to the summit, which had ledge and low scrub that offered excellent views. After signing in, I reversed compass and came back the same way. It was about 7 miles and 2,000 feet total but really not as long of a bushwhack as expected, taking about 3:15 to complete.
Parking
I parked at elevation 1240’ on the road south of the peak. The road was rough and I figured walking would be easier.
Water Crossings
I ended up crossing a deep drainage, the water crossing wasn’t difficult but the bankings were very steep.
Wildlife
Black flies at the summit, but no bugs in the woods on the way up. I did pull a lot of ticks off my pants from the grassy road.
Trails Used
Welton Falls Trail (North), Elwell Trail
Trail Conditions
Notes
Aways a favorite - I hope this trail gets enough use to keep it going. Around 3 mi RT; around 700' elev gain. Good afternoon workout - always love this trail.
Parking
room for many cars roadside on Valley View Road in Hebron (off Hobart Hill Rd). Nobody here.
Water Crossings
Crossing the minor brooks was easy; crossing the snowmo trail was nice because there were stepping stones - otherwise the mud would rip your sneakers off
Wildlife
actually, we were concerned due to the number of vernal pools and swamps along these trails. Although there were bugs in my face at times, I didn't really feel need to resort to the DEET
Trails Used
Woods roads, bushwhack, road walk
Trail Conditions
Notes
I was biking around North Danville and saw these 2400’ peaks on the map. The first one I didn’t know the name until I found the jar. (That is part of the fun of the NE 1000 highest). I parked my bike at the unmaintained part of Coles Pond Road coming from the east. At the height-of-land I found an orange gate with a state forest / No Atv sign. This road got me close to the peak I was aiming for, but beavers had flooded part of it so I got to bushwhack around through a cedar swamp with colorful blooming plants. The low areas between all these peaks were marshy, but my boots stayed dry with careful stepping. In the upper woods there is plenty of undergrowth like ferns, nettles and hobblebush but the woods were easy enough to move through quickly. All 3 summits were not hard to find, with registers with just a few pages left. Not many names going back 10+ years. There is a large dilapidated cabin on Bear Mtn, so I assume a road can be followed up there. I whacked on to Kittredge, then angled back toward the road and came out in someone’s backyard between the small ponds shown on the map.
Parking
Coles Pond Road from the east is eroded but could be passable for high enough clearance vehicles. I was on my bicycle, and parked it near the start of the unmaintained section and walked up since I was going to end my loop here.
Water Crossings
Hopped over a few small streams. Almost crossed a beaver dam but decided to go wide around the pond.
Wildlife
Not too bad today with temps in the high 50s.
Trails Used
Bushwhack
Trail Conditions
Notes
After climbing Black, Wheeler, and E Bear, I had plenty of time left in the day so I decided to revisit one of my favorite 3k bushwhacks, NW Bear. Since I was on the Sunday River side, I wanted to see about access from the logging roads from Ketchum. I drove as far as I dared with my truck before the mud got too sloppy to handle, then started up the logging roads to its terminus at a knoll between 2100-2200'. I followed the steep mountainside up through several hundred feet of old logging regrowth and copious moose scat. Above the logging regrowth was moderate red spruce woods for several hundred feet, above which was open spruce and fir woods. I popped out on the summit ridge just east of the true summit. Views from the summit ledge were incredible. Above 3000', ~10% of the ground had snow cover, mostly <6" depth. On the north side between 2600-3000', there was closer to 20% coverage, but still nothing that low gaiters won't protect against. The ground was still frozen above 3000'. This approach would work well for anybody wanting a short approach to this peak for its view as long as you have a truck with working 4x4. The logging roads are very washed out once you cross Sunday River and head up the north side of the mountains.
Trails Used
Bear Mt Trail to Elwell to summit, Cardigan View, and back
Trail Conditions
Notes
The lower section of the Bear Mt trail is loaded with yellow violets; arbutus and trillium to follow soon. The lake was like glass!
Parking
parked just above Bear Mt trailhead
Water Crossings
no issues
Wildlife
none
Trails Used
Welton Falls Trail (North), Elwell Trail
Trail Conditions
Notes
Terrific afternoon hike - so glad to get back on this trail since fall. Only a bit of snow left along the ridge - maybe a 10' section. Terrific views from outlooks and Cardigan view. Didn't see anyone - usually we don't.
Parking
plenty of parking roadside Valley View Rd
Water Crossings
no issues
Wildlife
none - YAAAAY