The Landing Camp Trail. Has anyone else hiked it?

[J&J]

We hiked the short (1.9 miles) Landing Camp trail on 7-17-11. This turned out to be a fun little hike. There's lots of mud, bogs, and water but also some dry ground and neat areas. Have a look at some of the things we spotted along the trail.

Very boggy, bog bridges with more growing green on the bridges themselves rather than on the ground around the bridges.

Joe-pye-weed with winged visitors.

A representative piece of the trail we walked today.

A very surprising view of Mt. Madison and Mt. Adams with the Madison Hut roof reflecting in the col.

There were some dry spots along the trail and this was one of them.

A view of the talus slopes on Mt. Cabot from just past the end of the Landing Camp trail.

Looking across the Upper Ammonoosuc River to the Weeks.

A beautiful, wild meadow growing just past the end of the LCT. Lush, thick grasses with many moose beds and herd paths.

Really tall Joe-pye weed.

Purple Fringed Orchid.

Canada Lily with Inchworm visitor.

Canada Lily with a winged visitor.

The Landing Camp trail is a seldom hiked trail for peakbaggers though it has great views along the way, and lots of trail variety with great opportunities for wildflowers. This is a fun hike, in fact, we're thinking of a fall visit!

 

[grouseking]

Looks like my kind of trail, thanks for posting!!

 

[Lefty E]

Well depending on the number of "redliners" there may be out there, (2??) at least they have done it!! Any idea the name of the abandoned trail nearby??

 

[J&J]

Well depending on the number of "redliners" there may be out there, (2??) at least they have done it!! Any idea the name of the abandoned trail nearby??

The abandoned trail you refer to is probably the Upper Ammonoosuc trail which the Landing Camp trail intersects appoximately in the middle of the old UA trail. We followed the UA trail for a short bit to the north until it got really muddy and thick and turned back there.

 

[Lefty E]

Yes you win again like with Dr. D (though I did win 1 with him!)..if they had Hiking Trivia Pursuit you (or you both??) would be hard to beat....

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Yes you win again like with Dr. D (though I did win 1 with him!)..if they had Hiking Trivia Pursuit you (or you both??) would be hard to beat....

Oh, no; I am not even close, somewhere in the mid-triple digits for miles to go.

Great photos, as always, John. These little segments are turning out to be gems for you.

 

[RoySwkr]

I hiked all 3 segments back in the 80s on a hot day when it was nice not to have too much uphill

 

[J&J]

I hiked all 3 segments back in the 80s on a hot day when it was nice not to have too much uphill

We said the same thing yesterday, glad there's not much uphill today, as it was pretty warm and humid. Couple the heat and humidity with the everlasting bugs and a short hike without much elevation was perfect.

 

[audrey]

Looks like my kind of trail! You'd like the Rob Brook Trail that has a few how-do-I-not-sink-in-the-quagmire sections.

 

[J&J]

Looks like my kind of trail! You'd like the Rob Brook Trail that has a few how-do-I-not-sink-in-the-quagmire sections.

Audrey---- I DO like the Rob Brook trail. Hiked it mid-June this year. Having heard stories about the condition of the trail, I was pleasantly surprised by how dry it actually was (for me at least). I did not get my feet wet all day! Not much mud and it seemed there was always a log or something to get across the water crossings of which there are many and all the bridges are washed out, never to be replaced again. They are planning on closing down the Rob Brook trail along with others. Bummer.

 

[1HappyHiker]

About a year ago, Steve Smith posted a terrific Blog report about his experience trekking along the Landing Camp Trail with his brother Drew (click HERE to access his report).

 

[RoySwkr]

Brunel Trail

If you can't get enough of this stuff, you could try the old route of the Brunel Trail. Originally, after entering the Rob Brook Road it left R immediately, entered a branch road and followed it R to its end, then continued in the woods to the old railroad grade which is now the Rob Brook Trail. The Brunel Trail turned L here to reach the Rob Brook Road again, turning R on it but leaving R briefly to ford Rob Brook instead of using the bridge.

Back in the 80s I had a friend who would sometimes go to aerobics 3 times a day, and didn't mind wet as long as it was warm but disliked steep and rough. We hiked a lot of flattish trails all over including Landing Camp and Rob Brook.