Wright Trail/Goose Eye Mountain - Winter beta please!

[MindlessMariachi]

Hi
Long-time lurker here, finally getting in on the posting:

I've never done the Wright Trail up to Goose Eye Mountain. In fact, the only time I'm ever been on Goose Eye was on a summer thru-hike six years ago, so my memory of it is hazy. My question for this well-informed community is this: what's the terrain like on the Wright Trail/Goose Eye in winter? The AMC map shows the top of Goose Eye at something like 4 miles up the Wright Trail. But is this one of those "you're-crazy-if-you-do-this-in-winter" trails (like, say, Mahoosuc Notch) or is it a "sure,-just-bring-snowshoes-crampons-good-sense-and-all-the-the-other-requisite-winter-gear-and-have-fun" kind of a trail? I ask because I'd like to try to peak bag the summit via the Wright Trail, perhaps with an overnight at the tent site (which is also shown on the AMC map.)

From my thru hike, I recall the terrain on the AT getting instantly alot more difficult the instant I stepped across the NH/Maine border, but it's been a while since I was on that stretch of trail, and, like I said, I've never been there in winter. The goal here is to have a pleasant overnight trip, take in the views from one of the less popular open peaks, and to not kill myself with excruciating effort. (I ask these questions with full knowledge of all customary warnings about winter hiking). Comments welcome!!!!

 

[MindlessMariachi]

oh

and one other thing - I suspect this trail isn't hiked that commonly. I assume I should expect to break trail on this one. (Feel free to tell me that Cub Scout troops are tramping up and down this trail every weekend)....

 

[peakbagger]

The road to the trailhead is usually not plowed from the river crossing unless there is active logging in the area, so add a few miles of road walk to your planning. Most of the land in the area is now state land or covered by conservation easements, so its far less likely to be plowed. There is a distince possiblity that the road is not even plowed up to the bridges. Then again Sunday river has some ownership on the other side fo the bridge so they may have an interest in keeping it open?

 

[MindlessMariachi]

hmm - do you know roughly how many miles that 'few' miles is?

 

[RoySwkr]

I climbed it from the other side which may also have road plowing issues, most of that trail is easy except for one troublesome cliff near the summit which I had to circle.

But take note - that day the summit itself was very windy! I made it up OK but couldn't walk into it and had to crawl back to treeline, and my companions then decided not to do that short distance at all. So watch the forecast and be prepared if it will be windy.

 

[vegematic]

The Sunday River Road has typically been plowed up to Twin Bridges but not usually beyond. From the Bridges it's about an hour of brisk snowshoeing to the trailhead if I recall correctly. It would be an easy ski even for a non-expert like me.

I haven't used that trail in a few years but here's what I remember: The trail climbs easily up to the campsite where the trail splits. It is close to the stream much of the way. From there it's uppity-up-up whichever way you go. I've not hiked it in winter but it should be quite doable with snowshoes that have good crampons. The north fork is steeper than the south fork but the south has more exposure up high. I won't recommend descending the north fork.

The trail had a work crew on it this summer. I'd heard that the campsite was out of commission, at least for a time, but in winter who cares? You should plan on breaking trail the whole way.
-vegematic

 

[cushetunk]

Goose Eye is one of my favorite peaks, and I've been on the Wright Trail in winter. It shouldn't be a big deal, certainly nothing like Mahoosuc Notch.

If the road is plowed to the twin bridges, it will add two miles of pretty much flat road walking to the trailhead. That makes it a long hike (6 miles one way, I think), but no longer than say, the Bigelow peaks. We used the trail up the cirque (the north fork) both up and down, and in good conditions you won't need anything but snowshoes. Having descended the north fork twice in snowy conditions, I would disagree (respectfully) with Veggie and say it's probably not worse than many other trails. We camped at the campsite, but mostly just to camp... the effort of cooking dinner and camping and carrying a heavy pack is not much worse than walking four more flat miles with a lighter pack. (Especially when there is a brew pub at the first road junction out!)

Anyway, route finding can be a bit difficult near the ridge at the Mahoosuc Trail junction. For the top, I think I carried crampons and an ice axe, but didn't need either. The last bit to the summit is steep and exposed, but it's not mountaineering.

I'd imagine that the south fork of the Wright Trail, down the subsidiary ridge, could be challenging because of the exposure.

Finally, while I would still plan on trailbreaking, I've found this trail broken out, and hear about it being used fairly regularly* in winter. So there may be a chance it will be tracked. You never know.

Hope you have a good trip!

*Edited: as in, every now and then

 

[peakbagger]

I wil respectfuly disagree with a winter descent down the steep side of the trail which I believe is what is called the North fork (which would be taking a right at the junction instead of a left. The reason for this is that I remember when hiking years ago, that there was definitely some avalanche runout damage to the trees along the "north" fork. This would imply that at some points during the winter, this area may have an unstable snow field, and most folks avoid slide potential. The south fork slabbed the ridge and would not have similiar exposure (but would have wind exposure higher up).

 

[cushetunk]

Peakbagger, do you remember where that was on the trail? I remember things being pretty densely forested the whole way up, until the last few hundred feet on the Mahoosuc trail, but my memory could be wrong... never a good thing when it comes to avalanches.

 

[peakbagger]

Been a long time so I cant give any specifics but thing like that tend to go in my somewhat flawed memory bank.

 

[MindlessMariachi]

finally!

More than a year after I initially posted this, I fnially want to do the trip (likely in the next two weeks). Can I ask a few more questions?

1) to drive to the trailhead, it's 26North, then left at the SR Brewing Company, and then it's a right off the Sunday River access road, correct? Do I just take that road until the plowing ends?

2) Once the plowing ends and we do the road walk - is this a road that's used by snowmobilers (and therefore packed down)? Or might we be breaking trail on the road? After the road walk, is the trail head clearly marked? (I'd feel like a numbskull if I wound up wandering around on some closed dirt road).

3) The game plan is probably to hike two thirds of the way up or so, then camp (because winter camping is fun!), and tag the summit and come back down the next day. Sound reasonable? I'm thinking that "south fork" of the trail split is the way to go - sounds like trail conditions would be less technical, even if it's windier.

4) Mindful that it might force us to turn around near the summit, I was thinking of saving weight by not bringing crampons. Is that a near guarantee that I won't safely hit the summit? What are the odds that this trip can be safely done with just snowshoes and microspikes? Feel free to scold me.

5) Building on the last question, Does anyone have any info on trail conditions? (e.g., anyone broken it in since the big snowfall last weekend?)

Mariachi

 

[Waumbek]

I haven't hiked the Wright Tr since June 1995, when it was new, so this is an archive post, not current info. My personal TR notes say that we found the new trail without too much problem. The first part is gradual and follows Goose Eye Brook with gorges and beautiful waterfalls. Then the first loop goes up sharply with some rock scrambling and leads up the East Peak of Goose Eye with 360* views. Return loop was longer but much more scenic than the book described. Lots of open rocks. Great hike. End of notes. I'll put it on my return-to list.