| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Shannon, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Yellow Trail, Mack Ridge Trail, Blue Trail, Red Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, July 27, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
From Route 107, take Route 140 east into Gilmanton. Take a left onto Crystal Lake Road, bearing left to stay on it (when Mountain Road goes straight). After passing Crystal Lake, the road turns into Guinea Ridge Road. Take a right onto Places Pond Road. The Griswold Hidden Valley Scout Reservation entrance will soon be on the left. During camp season, continue down the road to the parking area near Lake Eileen. Visitors need to check in/out at the Administration building during camp season. After checking in, continue on foot north along the shore of Lake Eileen. The Yellow Trail trailhead is just past the chapel. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
On Blue and Red Trails, rock hoppable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Blue Trail (heading northeast off Mt. Shannon) is a bit overgrown and could use reblazing. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Deer flies were horrendous near Mt. Shannon. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Mt. Shannon, just south of the Belknap Range.
After signing in, I took the Yellow Trail up to the Mack Ridge Trail (Orange blazes), which I took out and back to Old Stage Road. Mostly dry, well blazed, not much of note other than a bouldering area.
I then took the Yellow Trail southeast to the summit of Mt. Shannon (three viewpoints around the summit, two of which are excellent view ledges).
From there, I took the Blue-Yellow blazed trail northeast, dropping down to the Blue Trail. These sections were not well blazed and were overgrown in places with occasional mud (would be worse in wet conditions). There is also a trail that goes west at the base of the mountain that is not depicted on the BelknapRangeTrails.org or AMC maps.
The Red Trail around the east side of Mt. Shannon was decently marked and in good shape. A few nice shore views of Sunset Lake. I took this to the scout dock at the northwest corner of the lake (at that point the foot trail turns into a road), then doubled back to the Yellow Trail up the south side of Mt. Shannon. Though longer and more gradual for the most part, there was a little bit of scrambling to get back to the summit. The very top of it is not well marked (ie if one were to descend southbound from the summit), but would be pretty obvious once on it. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-07-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos/NewHampshire/mtshannon-2015-0727.php |
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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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