NeoAkela
Active member
Date of Hike: 05/22/2010
Trail Conditions: Great Gulf Trail from parking area to The Bluff in excellent condition. The Bluff to Chandler Brook Trail intersection increasingly muddy. Chandler Brook to Six Husbands cutoff filled with blowdowns, snow patches, and more mud. Beyond the Six Husbands cutoff, the snow, mud, and blowdowns get worse. At the top of the big waterfall ledges, rotted snow 2-3' deep covers the remnants of trail. Trail vanishes entirely around Sphinx intersection - postholing footprints scatter in all directions. West Branch is a mass of tributaries hollowing out under several feet of snow and blowdowns up to Weetamoo Falls.
Special Equipment Required: Barebooted most of the way - switched to snowshoes (essential) after the big rock slabs below the Sphinx intersection. Eye shields and waders would have helped after that if they could have fit over snowshoes.
Comments: Absolutely beautiful, warm day. It's always a pleasure to stroll in the Great Gulf in any season. West Branch was simply boiling! Hoped to make it to Spaulding Lake, but trail seemed to vanish entirely with a mile and a half to go. Met several folks heading back having given up on finding the trail. Bushwhacked over trees and soft, deep snow alongside the river with snowshoes for a half mile until I reached a wild, churning Weetamoo falls. No footprints at all here. After a break for lunch, I figured 'whacking another mile up the river would get me to the lake. The river had branched out into many small unseen tributaries under the snow - after about a quarter mile of rough bushwhacking, the bottom dropped out from under me and I was standing knee deep in water in a chest-deep hole. That was enough for me! Back to sunny rocks on the river and The Bluff to bask in the sun. Spaulding Lake will wait for another day. Still a great day to be out in the wild!
Your name: NeoAkela
Trail Conditions: Great Gulf Trail from parking area to The Bluff in excellent condition. The Bluff to Chandler Brook Trail intersection increasingly muddy. Chandler Brook to Six Husbands cutoff filled with blowdowns, snow patches, and more mud. Beyond the Six Husbands cutoff, the snow, mud, and blowdowns get worse. At the top of the big waterfall ledges, rotted snow 2-3' deep covers the remnants of trail. Trail vanishes entirely around Sphinx intersection - postholing footprints scatter in all directions. West Branch is a mass of tributaries hollowing out under several feet of snow and blowdowns up to Weetamoo Falls.
Special Equipment Required: Barebooted most of the way - switched to snowshoes (essential) after the big rock slabs below the Sphinx intersection. Eye shields and waders would have helped after that if they could have fit over snowshoes.
Comments: Absolutely beautiful, warm day. It's always a pleasure to stroll in the Great Gulf in any season. West Branch was simply boiling! Hoped to make it to Spaulding Lake, but trail seemed to vanish entirely with a mile and a half to go. Met several folks heading back having given up on finding the trail. Bushwhacked over trees and soft, deep snow alongside the river with snowshoes for a half mile until I reached a wild, churning Weetamoo falls. No footprints at all here. After a break for lunch, I figured 'whacking another mile up the river would get me to the lake. The river had branched out into many small unseen tributaries under the snow - after about a quarter mile of rough bushwhacking, the bottom dropped out from under me and I was standing knee deep in water in a chest-deep hole. That was enough for me! Back to sunny rocks on the river and The Bluff to bask in the sun. Spaulding Lake will wait for another day. Still a great day to be out in the wild!
Your name: NeoAkela
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