East and West Goose Eye via the "not recommended" route 8/30

[brobichaud]

Unstrung and myself were finally able to get our schedules coordinated and get out to do a hike. Goose Eye was the choice, she suggested it, and I still "needed" it, so it made plenty of sense.

We checked out the north fork of the Wright Trail, and all in all, I've seen trails in worse shape than that. There were definitely muddy patches, a lot of blowdowns to negotiate (for people of all sizes), but I never saw the "erosion" that had made MBPL close the trail in the first place. A lot of the trail structures are in need of replacing, wooden steps and bog bridging are sketchy at best, and rotted away at worst. With some maintenance, replacement of trail structures, and some hardening in spots, this beautiful trail can be utilized more frequently.

Here's the full report! Thanks for an awesome day!

Cheers,

Bill

*Also, #59/100*

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Not recommended? Eh, I'll recommend it. Bam! Spectacular hike. The not-recently-maintained branch of trail was pretty easy to follow, steep and delightful, but the other branch had even more awesome ridgey goodness. Both worth checking out.

 

[MichaelJ]

I've only done the ledgy southern branch, in the fog and rain. I've always wondered what the other branch was like. Thanks for checking it out!

 

[J&J]

I did the north branch (and the south branch) of the Wright trail last year and I found nothing major wrong with it. A few rotting steps and bog bridges here and there but it's still better than probably a lot of the trails in the Whites! I'm glad you went for it!

 

[Daniel Eagan]

Aiming for this next week and want to convince my wife it's okay to do both north and south trails. The AMC Maine Mountain Guide says the north trail was closed for safety and erosion reasons, and it was removed from the new maps.

Would you say it's better to go up the north trail and descend the south? Are the intersections brushed out?

Thanks.

Sorry, I just looked at your blog posting and saw the answers. I should have checked earlier.