| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bear Mountain, Bartlett Haystack, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, road walk, Forest Road XB443, woods road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 10, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
i parked at the height of land on bear notch road right at the intersection of xb443 (bartlett experimental forest road) which is still closed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
black flies were obnoxious down in the notch when packing up, but didn't bother me in the woods or on the summits.
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
plan was to head right up the ridge on bear and possibly follow the old bear mountain trail if it was still discernible in spots. woods were a mix and though pretty open early there were a fair number of blowdowns navigate. noted some pretty extensive flagging that i thought was part of some official survey, etc. until it reappeared sporadically later on well up the ridge. the blowdown relented and after some thicker going i dropped a bit east off the ridge into some nice woods then hopped back on the crest where the woods remained decent with what i believe to be the old trail becoming more prominent in places. a clear footbed (the old trail) led up the final pitch to the summit and looked to continue beyond (i believe the trail used to run down to the table mountain trail and another fork branched off to the kanc).
i retraced my steps back down the ridge until i was back in one of the messier sections then dropped east into a drainage that quickly opened up. once into hardwoods i slabbed back to the north reaching bear notch road a few minutes walk from where i parked. a quick water bottle switch and i started down the forest road soon turning left onto an old woods road that is heavily flagged (quite sure this is for official reasons) and followed it until it petered out then headed straight up bartlett haystack with nice open hardwoods to start passing through some interesting "experimental"areas. the going got steep higher up weaving around a few small cliffs before popping out on the summit. the view from the nearby cliff was real nice especially to the carrigain notch area. back down on roughly the same route. only a few small patches of snow seen all day.
i was excited to see bear notch road had opened as i had been looking forward to this hike. the weather ended up much nicer then i had hoped and the woods were not too wet. as muggy as it was it would have been hard to tell the difference anyway as i was dripping with sweat most of the day. lots of interesting woods and it was particularly neat to see the old trail up on bear. bartlett haystack did not disappoint either with the views from near the summit. great to be out.
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-05-10 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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