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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Peak Above The Nubble (attempt), NH
Trails
Trails: Forest Road 304A, Double Trouble Nubble Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, June 20, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parked at the three boulders at the end of FR 304A where it meets Haystack Road. There's room here for a few cars. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Numerous, but all small and easy stepped over. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: FR 304A is very brushy most of the way, but the path is obvious. DTNT is not an official trail, so don't expect any formal maintenance, but there was some happening on this day (see comments). 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Dogs would be OK on the lower sections, but the tough and very steep upper sections might be problematic. There's also no water up high. 
Bugs
Bugs: Lots, but not really biting, just annoying. Several monarch butterflies were flying around near the sand hill. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Found the guy who built the DTNT. ;) 
 
Comments
Comments: This was a double attempt to climb Peak Above The Nubble via the infamous "Double Trouble Nubble Trail", an unofficial route to the summit cut in 1991.

About a mile in along FR 304A, I spotted the DTNT, which is obvious, and marked with a rock. It was easy enough to follow at first, except for one obscure section where I lost it at a drainage. Backtracking, I picked it up again. It pretty much climbs straight up the slope with no real significant turns. I eventually ended up at a large, very cool cave, where the trail seemed to dead-end at some cliffs. I poked around for a bit to see if it skirted around the cliffs, but it just seemed to stop there.

At that point, I decided to backtrack out and do my Plan B hike. As I got back to FR 304A, I ran into the person who actually built the trail in 1991 (now 74 years old) who was with a friend. What are the odds? They were were going to head up the trail a bit to check on conditions and do a little maintenance. After chatting for a while, I asked if I could tag along. They said sure, so I turned around and headed back up the DTNT with them. It turns out there is a bypass around the cave/cliffs, but it's nearly invisible and very difficult to see. The junction is marked with a small cairn. The footway on this bypass is super obscure and very easy to lose. I lost it several times on the return. At the top of this bypass is a homemade ladder which was built by these guys, which climbs a nasty wet mossy ledge. This is where the steeper climbing begins.

Above the ladder, the trail is more defined and easier to follow, but gets very steep as it pretty much climbs in a straight-ish line up the side of the ridge. In the words of the trail builder, "I pretty much just built it in the shortest direction I could. I only went around things if I had to." There are several challenging scrambles along the way and footing is rough and eroded is many places.

At around 2900', they went as far as they were going to go, so I expressed my appreciation for the guidance and continued to head on up. The trail got steeper and rougher. It was also wetter and mossier, with sections of slick ledge. At around 3300', I encountered a 10-foot high ledge that didn't really have any way up except for grabbing onto roots. It was nearly 4pm at this point (I got a late - for me - start), and knowing I still had a way to go to reach the top of the ridge, I decided to call it and head back down. I was already losing daylight on this side of the mountain and I didn't want to risk coming down all this in the dark. I think I may have been close to the one section of the trail which has a rope assist up and down a 20 foot ledge, but I'm not sure.

Coming down the steeps was challenging, as the footing was rough, mossy and wet. But I got back down to the ladder where the terrain got easier. The cave/cliffs bypass took some time, as I kept losing the trail. I eventually found my way back to the main trail and followed that back down to FR 304A. from there, it was an easy walk back to my car.

I'd like to attempt this again, but it's clear to me now that this is an all day hike, despite the 5-ish mile distance. This is a beast of a route, and was more difficult than I expected even after thoroughly researching it. Thanks to R and B for their guidance, I wouldn't have made it as far as I did without them!  
Name
Name: KenM 
E-Mail
E-Mail: kmacgray@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-06-21 
Link
Link: https:// 
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