| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bear Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bear Mountain Trail, Elwell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 25, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking for a couple of vehicles near the trailhead, just south of it, on the Old Alexandria-Hebron Turnpike, where the road widens a bit and a gated logging road heads east (left). The turnpike is a bit rough and rutty down low, near Bear Mountain Road and Panorama Lane, but not in bad shape as one drives higher up, because of improvements made when a couple of parcels were logged a few years ago. We were able to make it up in a small passenger car, with some careful skirting of the occasional road boulder. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Not an issue -- especially with the re-route of the Bear Mountain Trail a few years back; it now avoids a particularly muddy/wet creek crossing by crossing the creek higher up, where it's a quick rock hop. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails in good shape. Elwell Trail was recently brushed and blowdowns removed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
A few eye flies -- nothing else. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We always like the Bear Mountain Trail, especially the steep section near the top that gains about 350-400 feet in a couple of tenths of a mile. There's also a craggy/scrambly section of the trail that's reminiscent of The Link (between Caps Ridge and the Castle Trail); you don't have to be in the White Mountains to get that experience. Nice views of Newfound Lake from the upper section of the trail, as well as the ledges just past the intersection (west) with the Elwell Trail.
Initial section of the trail is growing back in rapidly post-logging from a few years back; couple of areas of deep, oily mud and standing water, obscured by grasses -- much less an issue than a year or two ago, when it was a sea of rutted mud. Blackberry canes in this section are full of ripe berries right now.
Section of Elwell Trail from intersection with Bear Mountain Trail to Bear Mountain summit is now blowdown-free, and Elwell Trail heading down from Bear Mountain much easier now, with the blowdown removal and brushing. |
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 | Name: |
Pancks and Tesco Heaney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-08-26 |
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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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