Dix Range, June 16
My wife and I hiked a counterclockwise loop of Macomb, South Dix, Grace, back to South Dix, and Hough on Monday, June 16. (We hiked Dix itself from Round Pond last October, so we orphaned it this time.) Conditions going up Macomb and on to South Dix were great. The out-and-back to Grace was muddy and reminiscent of the Esther Trail.
The route up Hough was not too bad either, but the Lillian Brook Trail going down was in horrible shape. The upper half mile or so is extremely steep but that's not the main issue. The real problem is the extensive blow down over the entire trail that really slows progress, no matter how fit you are. Several times I had to get down on the muddy ground and butt-slide to pass under downed trees. We got back to the car with very muddy pants and boots. We almost wished we had gone on to Dix just to avoid Lillian Brook.
The bugs annoyed us only when we stopped on the summits. Really, not so bad forthis time of year. My wife used a bug net on the summits. Neither of us used bug spray.
Overall good conditions except for the Lillian Brook Trail.