Trails Used

Bushwhack, skidder path

Trail Conditions

Notes

From my parking spot where the road levels out I could see several bumps on the ridge but couldn't be sure which one was the summit from that angle. (It's the one straight ahead.) I made a mistake and walked the road east before turning up through insanely thick weeds and then saplings. The woods up higher improved as they usually do, however I realized I was already almost at the wrong bump so I ended up walking the ferny ridge until hitting the higher summit, with the jar and moose skull. Along the way I had a look way back at the east bump, which I could see had a large talus field on it's south side. The main peak also has one which I could see from Smart the next day. Anyway, it was very quick to get down from Moose. When I came to the top of the big clearcut I could see my truck way down below, and a good skidder path took me straight down to it. It took 1.5 hours for my loop with 1000' of gain.

Parking

Lowelltown road was in great shape, better than Goldbrook / Beaudry. I drove up the logging road to the north of the peak and parked at 2000'.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Moose Mountain Trail, Fred Harris Trail, Nat Thompson Trail, Moose Mountain Shelter Loop

Trail Conditions

Notes

Exploring some western parts of AT today, and I was not disappointed! The most difficult section to navigate was the Fred Harris trail, since there is a ski trail called the Harris trail which overlaps, so it is possible to get mixed up. The Fred Harris trail for Redlining starts at the junction with Moose Mountain trail and ends at the DOC Class of 66 Cabin. The trail itself was a bit muddy but wide and easy to follow. The Nat Thompson trail is a little bit hidden behind the cabin, but if you stay to the left side of the cabin you'll see the trail start and the sign will be back in the woods. Discovered the "Matt Dustin stopped here abruptly - Feb 2001" sign and after some brief research I learned that Matt Dustin was a ski guide in the area for nearly 30 years, and one day was going too fast and had quite the crash into the tree. Luckily he lived to tell the tale, but did indeed stop abruptly.

Parking

As noted above, a log has fallen across the parking area, making parking limited to only one, maybe two cars. I was the only one there at 8:00, and there was another car at 12:00, but the other car was partially blocking the start or Holts Ledge trail.

Water Crossings

Very small and easy to rock hop or bridged

Wildlife

Very few flying bugs but I found one tick so make sure to check!