| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Duck Pond Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ethan Pond Trail, Shoal Pond Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail, Nancy Pond Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 7, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All rock hoppable at current levels. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Took out some blowdowns on Shoal Pond Trail, but it is in progressively worse shape the further toward Stillwater you get from the pond. Plenty of blowdowns (most stepover), but also very, very brushy near Stillwater - essentially no airway. Plenty of evidence on the the listed trails of where the lack of blazing results in further propogation of herd paths, as there can be junctions were 2 or 3 different routes look like the right way. A simple blaze (cardinal sin in the wilderness) would work wonders. Carrigain Notch section we used was very nicely maintained. One part of the Nancy Pond Trail, between the cascades and mill remains, standing high above the brook, is undermined and could be potentially dangerous. The dirt around some of the retaining/stepping stones is giving way and only some smaller tree rootballs are holding things up (downclimbed a bit to verify this). It'd be a few dozen vertical foot fall if it gives way. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
A few deer flies on Ethan Pond Trail. Bugs suddenly were terrible about 2 miles into the Shoal Pond Trail - mix of types, but a whole bunch of gnats of some sort. Continued like that until approaching Norcross Pond. Bearable thereafter. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trails were generally dry. It's a darned shame seeing how the Shoal Pond Trail is being let go. We took out some blowdowns, but quickly ran out of time (and later patience due to the bugs). From Ethan Pond to Norcross Pond, pretty good footing made the miles go by quickly.
From just East of Nancy Pond, we hopped in the woods and headed to Duck Pond Mountain. Initially thick, but we found a route that provided pretty good going thereafter. Eventually crossed the bootleg trail, but found it of no use, as it was running perpendicular to our route (we eventually were going due south to the recognized summit). Terrain is fairly flat up high, but the summit sort of stood out as it was on sort of a rock crag.
Dropped back down, checked out the bootleg path briefly, but it was holding elevation and not going in a direction of benefit, so we roughly followed our course back.
Upper Nancy Pond Trail on the way out was a bit rough on the legs, but not as bad after the cascades. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21 at franklinwebpublishing dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-07-07 |
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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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