| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Oak Mountain - Northwest Peak (Ossipee), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Snowmobile trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at a small pull off area on Bayle Mtn road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easy stepovers or wooden-bridged, which is good, because there's some current now. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Snowmobile trail is wide open and clear. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Bought my first compass. Emboldened, I resumed exploring a snowmobile trail on the Trail Bandit Map of the Ossipees. From Bayle Mtn road, took the snowmobile trail (Corridor 15?) North, passed over an unnamed 1318' hill (NW of Oak Mtn)and kept going North until I hit Gilman Valley Road, a half mile or so shy of Rt 25. Returned, completing one loop (the snowmobile trail runs parallel to Gilman Valley road making one loop), then attempted to redline a second loop which includes a little pond that feeds Stony Brook. Had to turn back on that one before I got to the little pond as I could no longer tell the real trail from other overgrown partial logging trails. I was glad to have the compass and the map, but I wasn't about to dive into the woods and tackle that particular terrain as darkness approached. It was simpler, and safer (solo hiker), to simply return another day and start this loop from the other end. The loop WAS interesting to study from a topographical POV; the loop sort of rides the sides of a bowl formed by the bottoms of other surrounding mountains. Something I didn't realize at all until I studied the map, while hiking at the same time. "If I go straight up the side of one of these things, will I end up on Bald Mtn, or Bayle Mtn? Can I walk along the ridge line up there? Can I take a logging trail fragment part way, and bushwhack the rest?" These are the kind of things that never occurred to me on well signed and blazed trails with their carefully laid in rock steps.
As I stopped for one last pit stop at the end of the day, I heard a little 'tick' sound. Anyone who's dropped a tree knows that sound. Just a few feet away, I located the suspect tree, probably 40' tall stump, a prior-snapped off rotted pine. I could see it wasn't going to hit me when it fell, and just as I was making sure of that, without a hint of wind, it ticked twice more and then crashed down, exploding into a cloud of rot dust and pieces. That's gotta be an omen. Now to see if it comes in threes. |
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 | Name: |
Steve Marion |
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 | E-Mail: |
swamp_fox@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-11-07 |
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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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