| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Owl's Cliff, Mt. Tremont, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rob Brook Road, Brunel Trail, Owl's Cliff Spur, Mt. Tremont Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 27, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The Mt. Tremont Trailhead isn't easy to find (it's easy to zoom right past it on Route 302), however there is parking available on the side of Route 302. The Rob Brook Road trailhead has a sign next to the road, but the sign is facing south, so if you're approaching it from the Kanc, you'll see it easily, but if you're coming from Bartlett then it's easier to miss. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were very easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Brunel Trail could use a LOT of work. First, while the junction where it turns off of Rob Brook Road is signed, it's still fairly easy to miss if you're not paying attention, since the Brunel Trail had only a narrow footway there. However, shortly after turning onto the Brunel Trail, that footway virtually disappears. The Brunel Trail is described in the AMC White Mountains Guide as "little-used", and it shows. The lower part of the trail, and the section in the col between Owl's Cliff and Tremont, were difficult to follow, and I had to pay constant attention to the trail in order to stay on it (this is very unusual for me). The trail was very overgrown, and could use lots of brushing almost everywhere in the deciduous areas. The Brunel Trail also had countless blowdowns, but only one of them (just below the Owl's Cliff Spur junction) was a serious impediment to travel (we had to do a short but rough bushwhack through dense conifers to get around it). The Owl's Cliff Spur was in similar condition to the Brunel Trail - somewhat obscure in parts, lots of blowdowns, and very lightly used. The steep sections on the Brunel Trail going up to Owl's Cliff and Tremont required major caution due to loose gravel. By contrast, compared to the Brunel Trail, following the Mt. Tremont Trail was a piece of cake. The Mt. Tremont Trail has some serious erosion on the switchbacks, but there was also plenty of evidence of trail work done on those sections (including stabilizing the footway and cutting branches that extended into the path). Moral of the story: if you have any difficulty at all with following normal hiking trails, do NOT use the Brunel Trail, as it is fairly easy to get lost and end up miles from anywhere. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw a few dogs on the Mt. Tremont Trail. I'd strongly recommend against taking dogs on the Brunel Trail, as they could have serious difficulty with the very steep sections. |
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 | Bugs: |
Bugs were HORRIBLE on Rob Brook Road. Those of us who had head nets put them on quickly, and were very glad to have them. 10-15 minutes up the Brunel Trail, the bugs were pretty much gone, so we took our head nets off. The bugs didn't reappear until the lower part of the Mt. Tremont Trail, and even there, they weren't anywhere near as bad as they were on Rob Brook Road. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nada. |
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 | Comments: |
What an amazing hike! I was eager to hike in an area of the Whites that I hadn't hiked in before.
Rob Brook Road is wide and obvious, but having a compass and/or GPS and/or pedometer is useful when trying to find where to turn onto the Brunel Trail. There is a sign, but it could be easily missed if you're not looking for it. The Brunel Trail was quite an experience - one of the most obscure, overgrown, and hard-to-follow trails I have ever hiked. If you have navigational difficulties on normal trails, don't even try the Brunel Trail. But it was the perfect holiday weekend, away-from-the-crowds hike - we didn't see a soul until the summit of Tremont.
Views from Tremont were amazing - it was lightly cloudy, but not enough to obscure any views. Temperature was perfect as well - about 60 degrees the whole day. Going down the Mt. Tremont Trail was fine - somewhat rough footing, but that's to be expected. No snow or ice anywhere - removed my spikes from my pack as soon as I got home, and won't put them back in until November. #43 out of 52! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-05-27 |
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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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