| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moosilauke, Mt. Moosilauke - South Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Tunnel Brook Trail, road walk, Benton Trail, Carriage Road, South Peak Spur, Hurricane Trail, Glencliff Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 11, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
2nd car in the Glencliff lot at 8:20. It's a small lot and it overflowed a little bit during the day, pay attention to all the "No Parking" signs.
Long Pond Road is gated at the Southern end, just before the Town Line Trail. Looks like active logging might be going on in the area.
Tunnel Brook Road is still closed, so expect a road walk for the Benton Trail or the Northern end of the Tunnel Brook Trail. The road between these 2 trailheads is in great shape, if/when the lower road re-opens, a couple blowdowns will need to be chainsawed out to allow cars to pass, but otherwise it is good to go. Even the bridge near the Tunnel Brook Trailhead looked to be solid. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Mostly trivial. A few of the small crossings on the Tunnel Brook Trail through the ponds took some creativity. One of them halfway through had no logs, no rocks, and was about a foot deep. I ended up splashing through in my boots, thankfully the gaiters held out the water. A small footbridge here would be really nice. The crossing at the start of the Benton Trail was rock-hoppable, though a few rocks were pretty slick. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
See Comments for trail notes. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Hot and somewhat humid day, but lots of sip-and-dip opportunities on the Tunnel Brook Trail. Not much water on the rest of this loop. No major dog concerns otherwise. |
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 | Bugs: |
Some skeeters in the low elevations on all trails, but nothing above treeline thanks to a nice breeze. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The Tunnel Brook Trail was wide and easy to follow from the South end up to the height-of-land and first ponds. Evidence of some recent light water bar work on the way up. Through the ponds the trail was occasionally hard to follow, though I only lost it once, when I missed a turn near a pond (backtracked and found it). Beavers have washed out a section of trail, though a well-established bypass gets around this spot without the need for swimming. One of the pond outlet crossings needs some stepping stones or a small footbridge, see water crossing notes. The North end of the trail was mostly easy to follow, though a little overgrown in places.
No real issues on the Benton Trail, though the trailhead register has gotten wet somewhere along the line and is currently rotting away. Maybe if the road reopens this will get fixed? I think there was a 6-inch blowdown blocking part of the trail half-way up, but that may have been on another trail...
Above treeline is sadly abused, with several paths through the vegitation instead of staying on-trail, and a ridiculous number of those stacked-rock-towers that seem to be the current rage all over the summit. Even a rather large rock arch. Folks, leave the scree wall and cairns in place please, instead of taking those rocks to build these silly structures...
An 8-inch blowdown over the Carriage Road about 1/4-mile below the Snapper Trail. Otherwise in good shape.
The Hurricane Trail is currently getting a lot of trail work done on it. I saw many new water bars and other excellent work heading up to the height-of-land. About 2/3 of the way up I came across the crew taking a break just off the trail, where I thanked them for their excellent work. They cautioned me that it got rougher just ahead, which it did, but it looked like more work was coming judging by all the temporary flagging. Decending from the height-of-land there were some pretty impressive mud pits and some rough footing, as warned in the White Mountain Guide, but not as bad as I was led to expect.
The summit was mobbed as expected. Quite warm (lower 70s up top) and hazy (could just barely make out Mt. Washington through the haze, even Franconia Ridge was a bit faint. But there was a nice breeze, measured in the lower teens with gusts into the lower 20s. This was a fun loop hike, I didn't see anyone from the car until 1/4 mile from the Benton/Beaver Brook Junction where a group was heading down on a mini-traverse (looks like it was Beth Zimmer and co.). Found a few rocks to take a nap up top, had South Peak to myself for a short break, and after the Snapper Junction I didn't see anyone except the trail crew until reaching my car. A productive day of red-lining, getting 11 miles of new red ink on a 16.5-mile loop. I wish I had noticed during planning that the Hurricane Trail gains nearly 1000 feet passing over Hurricane Mountain, and not the 500 feet I had thought, but oh well. First hike in NH in July in several years, I don't miss the crowds, but most of the day was nice and quiet. |
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 | Name: |
madmattd |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-07-12 |
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 | Link: |
 https://mattshikes.blogspot.com |
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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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