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Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Cotton Mountain, Mt. Livermore, Mt. Webster, Mt. Morgan, Sawtooth, Mt. Percival, Mt. Squam, West Doublehead, East Doublehead, NH
Trails
Trails: Cotton Mountain Trail, Crawford-Ridgepole Trail, herd path, Mt. Morgan summit spur, bushwhack, Doublehead Trail, Old Highway
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 5, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: No others @ Cotton Mtn. or Old Highway trailheads in the morning or the afternoon. SLA just reopened there entire trail system and the major lots yesterday by the way. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Small Patches 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: No major crossings on this route. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: There are felled trees throughout. From Cotton to Webster they are all clean, easy step-overs. From Webster to Morgan there are a couple which will need some attention. Then from Percival to W Doublehead there are one or two between each peak that will also need some clean up. The upper portion of Doublehead Trail has a few nasty ones as well. During my entire trek I pulled, tossed, flicked and kicked limbs and branches aside to help with spring cleaning. All that said the trails are by and large in pretty good shape as all the problems areas are spread out.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: While eating lunch on Morgan's summit three dogs made a minor nuisance of themselves. Rather than control their dogs the owners chose to just keep on apologizing. I could get on the soapbox about this but I'm tired so I'll save that for another day. 
Bugs
Bugs: A few flies here and there but nothing troublesome. I found a tick on my shoelace while I was unlocking my bike @ the Old Highway TH so I'm guessing I got it there. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Found: lots of solitude :) 
 
Comments
Comments: The Just Say No To Snow Tour rolled into Holderness for a Squam Range traverse. If I had to guess at the amount of dry vs. wet I'd put the number at 90% dry. There are some small stretches of trail where there is running water, other stretches with various levels of mud and even one section of maybe 30' long just below Morgan going toward Percival where there is some snow hanging onto the sides of the trail (running water in the middle). Starting @ Cotton and all the way to Percival there are yellow plastic diamonds nailed to the trees on top of/replacing most of the familiar yellow painted blazes. Those plastic markers disappeared beyond Percival and painted blazes became few and far between. However there are occasional cairns made of either rocks or moose poop to help although the foot path is almost always obvious. Once onto Doublehead Trail the plastic markers re-appeared.

For this one I spotted a bike @ Old Highway then drove to the Cotton Mtn. TH to start northward. It has been many years since I've been on a few of these peaks and I had forgotten just how nice this area is. I almost missed the herd path to Webster's high point and later on I visited Sawtooth. The many views of Squam Lake and beyond were crisp and never got old. The N view from Morgan is just about grown in but there are some excellent ones to be had just N of Squam. The bike ride back was overall downhill but I still had to ride the 113 roller coaster back to the car. Had someone actually beep at me...really?

I only encountered three others in the Mt. Webster area and maybe 10 @ Morgan around noon - I was expecting many more. Once beyond Morgan I didn't see a soul the rest of the day. Lots of sun, views and peace made for an excellent trek.  
Name
Name: HMJ 
E-Mail
E-Mail: trailsntrees(at)gmail(dot)com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-05-05 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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