| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Stub Hill, North Stub Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Second Connecticut Lake, bushwhack, Corridor 5, Corridor 20, Corridor 143, snowmobile trails, bushwhacks |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 21, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plowed parking at the Second Connecticut Lake dam off US 3. Room for maybe half a dozen cars. Magalloway Road was not plowed (active snowmobile corridor), but it appears there is room to park at its junction with US 3. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Cross outflow of lake on the footbridge over the dam. Otherwise, lake was frozen over (moose and snowmobile traffic). Watch out for crevasses near shore from where the water level dropped. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Probably not a good idea to bring hounds unless on a short leash due to significant snowmobile traffic. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After seeing Magalloway Road was not driveable, we proceeded to what was Plan A anyway - crossing Second Connecticut Lake. After crossing the footbridge and bushwhacking around the outflow, we hugged the southern shore for awhile (but crossed north of the swampy area), then did a short bushwhack (maybe 2 feet of snowpack down low) above the east shore to Corridor 5. We then took this south to Corridor 20 (aka Smith Brook Road), then headed north on it for a little while. We then turned south onto Corridor 143 and followed this to where the road to the Stub Hill col departs left (east). Up to this point, all corridors were groomed and pretty heavily used by snowmobiles.
Luckily for us, there appears to be pretty regular snowombile traffic (though no grooming) up the logging road to the col between Stub Hill and North Stub Hill. In fact, it appears there's regular traffic right over the pond (the trail departs from the logging road at the height of land; multiple snowmobile groups came through here while we were in the vicinity). Quite a gift.
From the pond, we did the short bushwhack in open woods to the summit of Stub Hill, from where we had great views of the Rangeley area, Grafton Notch, and Presidentials. Snow depth up top was probably 3-4 feet.
Returning to the logging road, we descended it on it east briefly (sled traffic here as well), then bushwhacked north (sort of diagonally) on an old skid road to within 100 vertical feet of the summit, then turned and slabbed diagonally sort of west to the highpoint. Maybe 4-5 feet of firm snow on the otherwise blowdown laden ridge, making for quick work of it.
We then retraced our tracks and did the long snowshoe out. Frankly, the only steep part of the day was the last 100 vertical feet up to North Stub Hill. I think pretty much the whole thing could be done via skis.
Below zero (single digits below was much nicer than the readings on teh drive up; -23F!) but sunny to start...snowing with cloud skies and temperatures in the teens at the end. Route including bushwhacks clocked in at about 16.1 miles round trip. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-02-21 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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