Trails Used

Flat Mountain Pond Trail, Guinea Pond Trail, Guinea Pond Side Path, Black Mountain Pond Trail, Mary Cary Falls Spur, Algonquin Trail, Bennett Street Trail, Gleason Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

I was very surprised to only see 4 people today! There was a nice breeze keeping it cool all day, and the visibility was excellent. Guinea Pond trail follows the site of the Beebe River Logging Railroad, so it is very straight and flat, but it goes through a lot of marshy area and has been flooded a lot. I managed to stay dry and avoid the mud, but there was a lot of wetness throughout this trail. While not dancing around the mud, it is a smooth and peaceful walk through the forest. I also enjoyed the marsh scenery, even if it was overtaking the trail in parts. Since it is so wide and flat it isn't hard to follow, expect for the flooded area. Guinea Pond Side path has flooded. Unlike the flooded section on Guinea Pond trail, there are very few logs. I got about halfway into the flooded area with some careful route finding and balancing, but with the trail under feet of water decided I had done the extent of remaining trail. Black Mountain Pond trail is amazing and an absolute hidden gem. I love that trail and it is one of my favorites, possibly even my #1 favorite trail. It is similar to Blueberry Ledge trail, but has more rock scrambles, very similar exceptional views, and Black Mountain Pond is a very pretty pond. I imagine this trail isn't used a lot, but is still relatively easy to follow. Mary Cary Falls was small, but maybe earlier in the spring with higher water levels it was larger. Bennett Street trail was in excellent shape, and appears to get more traffic than I was expecting. It was very steady and granted a pretty smooth descent.

Parking

There was one car at 8:00 and 3 at 2:00. The Bennett Street parking lot is big and doesn't seem likely to fill up. Bennett Street switches to dirt about 1 mile from the trailhead, and about a half mile out splits into the residential street and the street that goes to the trailhead. This last half mile is pretty rugged, my small SUV with 6" of ground clearance made it, but I wouldn't want to it with a lower sedan. The other cars in the lot had higher ground clearances than my car.

Water Crossings

All crossing were either easy to rock hop or shallow enough that I could walk through EXCEPT on Guinea Pond trail there is a section where the trail has been flooded about 3 miles or so from the Bennett Street trailhead. There are enough logs perfectly placed so it is possible to get across, but it requires some balancing. I managed to keep my feet dry all day.

Wildlife

I put on bug spray somewhat preemptively and they actually were not as bad as I was expecting. There were a lot flying around at the summit of Sandwich Dome, but they didn't appear to be biting.

Trails Used

Sandwich and Drake’s Brook

Trail Conditions

Notes

Fabulous hike.

Parking

Good parking

Water Crossings

Drakes Brook is swift and fast. 28 inches of water crossing it. Wading through it. Poles are a must. There is no rock hopping. But water was not cold.

Wildlife

None of any significance

Trails Used

Sandwich and Drake’s Brook

Trail Conditions

Notes

Fabulous hike.

Parking

Good parking

Water Crossings

Drakes Brook is swift and fast. 28 inches of water crossing it. Wading through it. Poles are a must. There is no rock hopping. But water was not cold.

Wildlife

None of any significance

Trails Used

Bennett Street Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

The trail was dry down low. I first encountered snow/ice on the upper portion of the logging road section at about 2900 feet. From there, patches and short stretches appeared intermittently - some just a few feet long, others as much as 20-30 yards. Some were avoidable by walking the dry edge, but some were not circumnavigable, so I carefully walked the hard-packed middle, which is still discernible for the most part. My micro-spikes stayed in the backpack. In the early going, the crossing of Pond Brook is poorly marked. You have to look for two small cairns on the FAR side of the stream. If you miss it, you'll wander up a herd path for a hundred yards before it peters out, and it dawns on you that you must have missed the crossing. Of course, you might be more perceptive than I was. In general, the trail could use a few more blue paint markers. There are a couple of ash trees in the first part of the trail that are sad examples of the infestation of the emerald ash borer. Look for the extreme 'blonding' of the bark. It was a quiet day. I saw no one all day.

Parking

Big, empty lot

Water Crossings

Streams are seasonally high, but no problems crossing.

Wildlife

A few just emerging and floating around trying to figure out what to do. No bites yet.

Trails Used

Flat Mtn Pond Trail, Bennett Street Trail, Gleason Trail, Jose's Bridge

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

There is still a lot of snow. Almost enough to wear snow shoes, but not quite. So we sank...a lot. There are many crossings, and all were doable, but in the next two weeks I suspect the flooding from the snow melt might change that. Until mid-April, do yourself a favor and hike elsewhere until the trails melt off and the water levels go down.

Parking

The final half mile or so of Bennett Street is now plowed.

Water Crossings

Crossings were signficant. I would avoid anything on this route until mid-April,since there is significant snow and the ice bridges will be non-existent