Smarts Mountain

Trails Used

Daniel Doan Trail, J Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

North-facing slopes still have snowpack; South-facing slopes are clear upto the Mousey Brooks crossing. Benefited from freezing temps as the muddy areas were spongey at worst. Bare boots to the Mousey Brook crossing on Doan Trail, then snowshoes. Televators were a big help in steep sections. The snowpack was frozen/ granular, spots of blue ice were mostly avoidable. Fire tower was open. Fantastic views! J Trail seems to get less winter traffic than Doan. Great snowshoe conditions. I lost the trail a couple times through hardwood glades where snowpack hid signs of the trail, white blazes were sparse. Gaia app was a big help. Back to bear boots below ~1800ft on J Trail.

Parking

Quintown Rd was frozen in the AM, an a little bit muddy on the drive out. Parked at the intersection of Mousey Brook Rd and Quintown Rd. Good spot to split up the road walk.

Water Crossings

Easy rock-hopping across Mousey Brook.

Wildlife

None

Trails Used

Lambert Ridge Tr (AT)

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Making it to the summit is extremely challenging right now. From roughly 2400 ft all the way to the summit is a solid sheet of ice (flowing ice up to a foot+ thick). It covers the sides of the trail too, so even trying to bushwhack around it is a challenge. We didn't try Ranger Trail, but at the trail intersection it was also solid ice as far down as we could see. The rest of the trail from the parking lot, over the ledges, into the dip and up to 2200-2300 ft has largely melted dry and no traction needed (with the shaded areas still holding onto its snow and minor ice here and there). Even with the warmer weather and rain coming this week, this trail will probably be a challenging one for quite some time.

Parking

Good parking for 8-10 cars