Also on this trip

Trails Used

Skyland Trail, West Ridge Trail, Ranger Cabin Trail, South Ridge Trail, Hurricane Gap Trail, Spring Spur, Clark Trail, Woodland Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Skyland Trail is an amazing trail. The flat and gradual sections have mostly good footing with lots of dirt and pine needles, the ups and downs are never too long or too strenuous, the ridgeline sections and ledgy sections are beautiful, and it has some amazing outlooks. Some sections of the trail were wet today, with some slippery ledges and pools of standing water on the trail, but nothing that wasn't too difficult to get around. Its length and difficult parking situation, and the resulting low levels of usage, have really kept it in very good condition (even if the section after Orange Mountain is somewhat rougher) - we didn't see a single other hiker until reaching Rimrock. The contrast to West Ridge Trail couldn't have been clearer - the short section of West Ridge Trail we were on was nothing but a mass of wet, slippery bedrock. The trail has really fallen victim to heavy use and is very eroded. The junction with Ranger Cabin Trail is at a large cairn, and there's a small sign on a tree saying that it leads to South Ridge Trail, but the sign is very difficult to see for ascending hikers. Ranger Cabin Trail was mostly more slabs, some of which had water running down them. We considered heading up South Ridge Trail to tag the summit of Cardigan, but ultimately decided against it because it was a little later than we expected and we'd both already summitted Cardigan several times. Hurricane Gap Trail was very eroded, with water running down it in many spots. Clark Trail down to the junction with Holt-Clark Cutoff was also quite rocky and eroded. However, as soon as we continued down Clark Trail past that point, it got a lot smoother and more pleasant. Even the steep section below the junction with Vistamont was in good shape, and there was a section where log steps had been constructed to prevent erosion. This was a fast-moving section of trail. Woodland was also pretty fast-moving, since it started out as an old road. Be careful not to go blithely down the road and miss the spot where Woodland Trail turns left onto a footpath, though. The heavy rain last night meant that the pond right next to the Cardigan Lodge was overflowing onto Woodland Trail for a few yards. This was a very enjoyable hike, and thank you Jim for joining me!

Parking

Very limited parking at the start of Skyland Trail at Alexandria Four Corners. My friend parked his car in a small area just off one of the four roads at the junction. There's no sign for Skyland Trail there - you have to walk up Knowles Hill Road, then bear left onto another dirt road with an open gate, walk up that road, and watch carefully for a small sign where the trail turns left off the road. Washburn Road leading to Alexandria Four Corners is dirt for most of the distance, but it's in good condition. Cardigan Lodge had parking spaces available at 8:30 AM.

Water Crossings

All legitimate water crossings had bridges, though several trail sections were like rivers, with running water down them.

Wildlife

Not an issue today.

Trails Used

Washburn Road, Knowles Hill Road, Church Hill Road, Skyland Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Today's Plan A was a loop over Orange Mtn. from the AMC Cardigan Lodge. However, when I arrived shortly before 8 am, the parking was already full and made worse by People Parking Poorly. So, Plan B was to drive around to Alexandria Four Corners and approach Orange from the south via Skyland Trail. This was fine as it was a chance to revisit a favorite trail, and compared to the crowds that must have been on Cardigan, I saw zero people on this route. Always a joy to hike this quiet and remote trail, which becomes more and more ledgy as you get further in, especially once you reach Crane. Super views from all the open ledges today. I only went as far as Orange but could hear people over on Cardigan. Based on the busy parking lot at the lodge, I wasn't surprised. Another beautiful day in the Cardigan backcountry!

Parking

Parking is always tricky for Skyland Trail. I used a small pull off near the top of Washburn Rd., 0.15 mi. from Four Corners and did the half mile road walk to the trailhead.

Wildlife

Hardly any. Have we turned a corner? Also no ticks found yet.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Orange Road, Knowles Hill Road, Church Hill Road, Skyland Trail, West Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

I wanted to check out the longer, more difficult approach to Cardigan and Skyland definitely fit the bill. After the short road walk up Knowles Hill Road, turn onto Church Hill. There is a gate with a "Private Turnaround" sign on it, but hikers are ok. After a steep little climb past the camps along Church Hill Road, you will see a sign on a tree for Skyland Trail, which leaves the road going left. Even being pretty remote and lightly used, the trail is very well blazed with white paint and cairns on the open ridges. There is very little undergrowth and for the most part you are moving through fairly open woods. There is plenty of moose droppings along the trail and I woke up a cow on the backside of Grafton Knob on my way in. The area was clearly farmed and you cross stone walls and cellar holes - including on that still has it's front steps. The views across the open summits of Crane and Orange get progressively more beautiful. There are some slabby sections along the way covered in pine needles, which are a little slippery. Take care especially on the back side of Orange, where the trail is right along a 20'+ cliff. I did not see anyone until Cardigan Rimrock and then more people once I hit the West Ridge trail. Views from the summit were excellent, being able to see all the way to Washington. After that I followed Skyland back to my car, for a 10 mile round trip.

Parking

Parking is probably the trickiest part of the hike. Per the AMC guide, I parked in Alexandria Four Corners. There is just enough room on the side of Orange Road, before the first driveway on the right, to get 2 maybe 3 cars. These are the coordinates of where I parked: 43.60827753976946, -71.87922105774295. You have to pull pretty far into the ditch to be off the road. The edge is fairly flat though, so you should not get stuck, but might be harder with a low-clearance vehicle. There is a big turn around further up Knowles Hill Road (43.61195066312928, -71.87768818298541) which also looked possible, but there were "No Trespassing" signs across the street, so didn't want to risk it.

Water Crossings

Only one is the tiny footbridge on the West Ridge Trail

Wildlife

ALL of them were out, but was moving fast enough to avoid most of them.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Road walk, West Ridge Trail, South Ridge Trail, Skyland Trail, Clark Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Awesome hike today-Orange is such an overlooked mountain with Cardigan stealing all the glory. The Skyland trail is a real gem and the summit ledges of Orange have a magnificent view of the entire 18-mile “superloop” hike that is an annual pilgrimage. We encountered minimal snow/ice all day. Didn’t carry traction and wouldn’t have thought to use it if we did. Saw a few early Trout Lily’s getting ready to bloom:) Five minutes up from the summer lot two older gentlemen descending asked if they were almost at the AMC lodge. These two bozos had no packs, no map or map phone app, and had descended the entire mountain the wrong direction. They also ascended the notorious Holt trail with no traction. They reported the entire steep part was covered in ice and they had to bear crawl and bushwhack through the trees to make it up. When I asked the guy if he knew what he was getting into today he replied he has hiked the Holt trail at least ten times?! I went over the map with them in detail and texted them Gaia screenshots and they were still acting clueless. It was a textbook case of being wildly unprepared and making repeated poor decisions. Saw multiple hikers later in sneakers with no packs and bluejeans. I thought the short bus didn’t start dropping people off until summer time but I guess it’s open season on Cardigan!!!

Parking

Gate still closed. Road walk adds .6 miles and 250’ vert.

Wildlife

Nope