| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
The Nubble, Peak Above the Nubble, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Herd path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 18, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Only ones at the parking spot ;) |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easy enough. Watch for black ice. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Well none of this was on an official trail, but the unofficial trail to The Nubble was in good shape. A few blowdowns, but easy enough to follow and get through. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The slide was pretty icy, may not be great for a pup right now. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
One of our party lost a el-cheapo pair of safety glasses on the way up to the slide. Oops. Please carry them out if you find them. |
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 | Comments: |
I've wanted to do this approach to PAtN since before I reached the summit the first time a few years ago from FR304A. We took the Gale River Road extension and the unofficial, but lightly maintained herd path to The Nubble/Haystack Mountain (whichever is the "real" name). Tremendous views from the rocky top, what a great spot worthy of a hike all on its own.
From the col, we headed for the slide, briefly on the herd path until crossing to the West side of the stream. We headed up about 200 feet to the side of the stream/ravine, frequently on an old woods road, and overall in nice open woods until about 2900'. We stuck to the woods a few hundred feet more until they got too thick, then into the slide we went. Lots of ice, but none super thick or hard in general. We were able to avoid the worst and pick our way up with care, zig-zagging our way up the whole time. Once at the top of the left fork, there was a short push of thick stuff to the right before the woods opened up a little and we walked right up to the summit. We must have just missed a couple of people that came up from FR304A, as there were fresh (today, since it snowed overnight) footprints, though they never opened the canister. There was a crew up yesterday too according to the log. After checking out the view to the East, signing in, pictures, and food, we headed back down, following our tracks. We picked our way carefully down the slide, and stuck to it a little further down than where we came in until we hit a steep, icy ledge. So we cut back into the woods on the West, but we were now low enough that only a few dozen yards of moderately thick stuff were encountered before getting back into the open woods. We took the old woods road most of the way down before cutting back over to the unofficial trail just above its final crossing of the stream, and took that back out. I wonder if the road would have simply intersected the trail a little further down?
All in all a wonderful and interesting way to revisit this peak. Such a more interesting and rewarding approach than the FR304A side. I'll be back to visit The Nubble again. |
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 | Name: |
madmattd |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-10-18 |
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 | Link: |
 https://mattshikes.blogspot.com |
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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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