| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cooley Hill, Cole Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Jericho Road Trail, Yellow Trail, unnamed trail, Blue Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, April 22, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No sign for hiker parking or anything so you’ve got to be looking for the gravel road turnoff. Parked my car along the road instead of on small stones. One other car there at 11. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only one little one on Jericho Road Trail. It was no problem. There was another small one but it was trickier as the water was both deeper and movingly faster at the very beginning of the left branch of blue loop trail. I tried rock hopping it but I ended up getting my boot a little wet. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All in all, not bad. Jeffrey Carter’s post (click on Facebook link) does a fantastic job of cataloguing the blowdowns (one section that’s doable but a pain in the middle of Jericho Road Trail, a duck under near the top of Cooley, and some more minor things on the Cooley-Jericho Community Forest side) and what work needs to be done.
Even though the yellow blazed Jericho Road Trail is blazed infrequently and the blazes are sometimes faded, I actually found this to be the easiest trail to follow today. The Yellow Trail is mostly easy to follow but shortly after it starts on Cooley Hill, the blazes disappear until the jct with the red/unnamed trail (on my way up Cole I did not see the yellow trail diverging right although on my way back I noted it’s fairly obvious). This was still mostly easy to follow but there was one right turn coming down off of Cooley Hill that I missed. In the switchback section of the Yellow Trail the switchbacks are usually very well marked but when they’re not it’s sometimss easy to just continue straight as the switchbacks aren’t particularly obvious without signage. The red/ unnamed trail to the top of Cooley Hill was like this but much worse. You’d be headed in one direction, hit a blaze and then the trail would totally turn in a different direction. It’s well blazed but still a pain to follow. It was blazed in red and flagged in red, pink, and orange bows. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I think they’d do fine although there didn’t seem to be a lot of water on the trails. |
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 | Bugs: |
They’re out! I don’t think that any bit me but I was getting swarmed by the big flies that are attracted to swear (deer flies??). I also caught a tick on me as I was getting into my car. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Jericho Road Trail, Yellow Trail (mtn bike trail),, unnamed trail (red trail), Blue Trail
Virtually no snow to be seen anywhere! Some very small sections between Jericho and Cooley that will be gone soon.
The mud wasn’t as bad as I thought. A bit worse on the north side of the mountains but not by much. I managed to keep my feet dry until coming down Jericho Road Trail and hitting a soft dirt/muddy section. I very trepidaciously went one section like this and was fine so I just plowed through a similar looking section right after it and I plunged into dirt/mud up past my boot; I was not a fan. If you’re looking for a hike without water crossing and with manageable mud though, this is a good bet right now!!
Nice weather today! So glad I got out there :) Hiked shirtless for most of the hike which is a first for 2019. Had a very nice conversation with a fellow hiker on top of Cooley |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-04-22 |
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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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