Date: June 11, 2014
Trails Conditions: York Pond Trail is a little muddy in spots along the brook, but nothing major. Kilkenny Ridge Trail has major issues with blowdowns. The worst area has crawl under and climb over trees just after the trail heads south from the York Pond Trail. This is in an area thick with small growth, so there is no easy way to avoid it. Otherwise, the south side of North Weeks and the north side of South Weeks are the other areas with large numbers of blowdowns. However, the woods are more open here and a number of paths around the blowdowns have developed. There is one spot where the Kilkenny Ridge Trail is easy to lose located about a minute or two up Middle Weeks from the col between it and North Weeks (GPS N 44 27.2491 W 71 22.7334). The trail makes a very sharp turn, going from ENE to SSW (as you head up toward Middle Weeks) in an area of numerous blowdowns and moose paths. There are 3 strips of orange flagging (before, at turn, and after) and someone has made a diligent effort to brush in the false path continuing straight ahead, but it appears the moose prefer to go straight.
Special Equipment Required: Work gloves and a saw. It is obvious someone is trying to maintain this very challenging stretch of trail (Thanks!), but it is also obviously a formidable project. I spent an hour or so clearing parts of the trail near South Weeks, but I would encourage anyone doing this trail to consider spending a few minutes helping clear the trail, too. Unfortunately, the blowdowns near the York Pond Trail were too big for the hand pruning saw I carry; perhaps a Sven saw would be adequate to get the job done.
Comment: While short on views, this is a very pleasant woods walk. Of note, the climbs are all nicely laid out with well graded switchbacks. Lots of moose signs all along the route and I did see one disappearing into the brush in the col between North and Middle Weeks. There were very few bugs; a pleasant surprise! I rode my bike from the fish hatchery gate to the trailhead, which is quite an easy ride, that allowed me not to worry about the gate closing time. However, when I came out at 5:30 PM the gate was still open so it's not clear when/if it is closed.
Jay Baxter
[email protected]
Trails Conditions: York Pond Trail is a little muddy in spots along the brook, but nothing major. Kilkenny Ridge Trail has major issues with blowdowns. The worst area has crawl under and climb over trees just after the trail heads south from the York Pond Trail. This is in an area thick with small growth, so there is no easy way to avoid it. Otherwise, the south side of North Weeks and the north side of South Weeks are the other areas with large numbers of blowdowns. However, the woods are more open here and a number of paths around the blowdowns have developed. There is one spot where the Kilkenny Ridge Trail is easy to lose located about a minute or two up Middle Weeks from the col between it and North Weeks (GPS N 44 27.2491 W 71 22.7334). The trail makes a very sharp turn, going from ENE to SSW (as you head up toward Middle Weeks) in an area of numerous blowdowns and moose paths. There are 3 strips of orange flagging (before, at turn, and after) and someone has made a diligent effort to brush in the false path continuing straight ahead, but it appears the moose prefer to go straight.
Special Equipment Required: Work gloves and a saw. It is obvious someone is trying to maintain this very challenging stretch of trail (Thanks!), but it is also obviously a formidable project. I spent an hour or so clearing parts of the trail near South Weeks, but I would encourage anyone doing this trail to consider spending a few minutes helping clear the trail, too. Unfortunately, the blowdowns near the York Pond Trail were too big for the hand pruning saw I carry; perhaps a Sven saw would be adequate to get the job done.
Comment: While short on views, this is a very pleasant woods walk. Of note, the climbs are all nicely laid out with well graded switchbacks. Lots of moose signs all along the route and I did see one disappearing into the brush in the col between North and Middle Weeks. There were very few bugs; a pleasant surprise! I rode my bike from the fish hatchery gate to the trailhead, which is quite an easy ride, that allowed me not to worry about the gate closing time. However, when I came out at 5:30 PM the gate was still open so it's not clear when/if it is closed.
Jay Baxter
[email protected]
