| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Shaw, Black Snoot, Big Ball Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Shaw Trail, Black Snout Trail, Banana Trail, Tate Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 11, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked across the street from the lot on Sodom Road, due to the parking lot at the trailhead being full when we arrived at 10:30am. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one water crossing on Mount Shaw Trail was OK to get around - just had to examine best rock stepping route |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Be forewarned: this whole loop is in dire need of some trail maintenance. Blazes were hard to find in MANY places (sometimes on the rocks on the ground and buried by leaves... other times they were completely worn off the trees). Numerous other hikers commented on the lack of prominent trail markings. At times we came to junctions with no indication of trail names or blazes.. Used the All Trails app to help make sure we were on the right trail. There were also large blowdowns on these trails that look like they’ve been there for a while (and some of these down trees had the blazes on them). There is also no trailhead sign that we noticed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few not having any issues |
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 | Bugs: |
Some black flies when you stop. Ticks were out in force... pulled 5 off us. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We did this loop counterclockwise going up to Mount Shaw first.
Going up to Mount Shaw, we followed the red blazes on the Mount Shaw Trail. Black Snout Trail was blazed in white. Coming down from the Black Snout summit (I believe this is the Big Ball Mountain Trail), we followed blue blazes over to the Italian Trail. Italian Trail was red blazed (however these were placed over old green blazes).
Aside from these comments about trail maintenance, the views from Mount Shaw were lovely with views of Washington. Black Snout views were nice too, but not as beautiful as Shaw. Some mud and wet leaves along the way, but nothing too crazy. The loop ends up being close to 8 miles. |
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 | Name: |
LG |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-05-12 |
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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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