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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks None, NH
Trails
Trails: Wild River Trail, Highwater Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Thursday, August 6, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: We spotted a car at the northern trailhead for Highwater Trail at Hastings (only car there around 10am) and then drove down Wild River Rd to Wild River Campground where the Wild River Trail starts. Maybe a dozen cars there and we took one of a few spots left probably. It’s a $5 fee area. Wild River Rd is in good shape and not very bumpy. Slow down over a little bridge though about halfway as there are some larger bumps there.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Some were rock hopable, others were not. Nothing dangerous though. Water was on the higher side due to the storm on Tuesday but the Wild River was only discharging at about 100cfs so we thought we should be okay. The most significant crossing was of the Wild River where the Spider Bridge used to be. Not dangerous but certainly not rock hopable and there wasn’t a really shallow place to cross. Personally, whenever I give up on rock hopping and wade across, I tend to walk along the bottom and not attempt to rock hop below water as everything is so slippery. I’m about 5’10” and with this strategy it was hard to keep the water below my knees. If you’re willing to step on larger rocks and below the surface as my friend did, you could probably do better. The next most significant crossing is a nasty new one that has recently (not mentioned in the 30th edition guidebook) been created by washout/flood. If following the guidebook, it’s between the 5mi (“...second relocation, at 5.0mi...”) and the 5.3mi marker (where the trail meets Shelburne Trail). The Wild River seems to fork here now and water comes gushing out of the river and into a narrow channel (brook size but fairly high) that you must cross over to debris on the other side. The trail could be VERY confusing here. I’ll describe it in detail below. I mention it here because it was absolutely not rock hopable. It was a somewhat shallow wade, part way up the shin. If I remember correctly, Moriah Brook was pretty wide for a brook, but was just barely rock hopable. I don’t recall much about Cypress Brook but I believe that was one of the easier crossings. Bull Brook we got confused around due to an arrow and such (more on that below) but was also rock hopable with a bit of difficulty. The last crossing of the day was Martins Brook and that although pretty shallow, did not have many rocks to hop on so we reluctantly took off our shoes and waded across (shallow) yet again. Of course I fell and had to balance myself with my shoes I was carrying across so it was a lost cause. I recommend bringing poles for the water crossings! Don’t be like me and forget them in your car. My friend was kind enough to let me use one of his which I was very grateful for :) So all in all, with the Wild River discharging ya about 100cfs, we had to wade on 3/7 major crossings (one of which is NOT mentioned in the guidebook).  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Yeah the Highwater Trail could use some work I’d say 😂😂 Lots of new, fresh, and frequent blaze would solve the problem. Or surveyors tape. There was surveyors tape at one point that sort of just disappeared shortly after appearing to lead in two different directions (one, just uphill away from the river, and the other along the river where the trail was washed out). Sometimes there are reroutes around washed out sections of trail and other times there are not. Other times, it’s unclear if it’s just a reroute or a herd path. In any case, the trail should be rerouted in the areas it’s been washed out. Don’t expect to see a lot of blaze. I don’t think there was any in the wilderness area which isn’t surprising. There was a nice looking yellow one as soon as we exited but then they were few and far between after that. I don’t recall many blowdowns on Wild River Trail. There were several on Highwater Trail, mostly on the northern end. Some are large and obscure the trail and can be difficult to get through or around. Hopefully they will get taken care of soon. I think most of all of them were outside the wilderness area.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: I would be concerned doing this hike with a dog due to the potentially dangerous water crossings and it’s ability to handle steep, sidehilled/washed out trail and such. Know your dogs limits! They worn go thirsty though haha!  
Bugs
Bugs: We didn’t stop to put bug spray on until the last hour or so of the hike when the mosquitos got bad. All in all, they weren’t bad.  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: I lost my glasses with my prescription sunglasses in them. My new hiking buddy was kind enough to go back with me a short ways to look for them and we found them though! Yay :D  
 
Comments
Comments: This was a hike to redline the remaining portion of Wild River Trail I need and the entirety of the Highwater Trail. 12.5mi with 950ft of gain. With this complete, I only have one hike left to complete the tab :) I was very happy to have the company of a fellow redliner for this hike as the navigational challenges were quite tricky and the water crossings a pain in the ass. Great conversation is always a bonus too! Unfortunately, this led me to me taking less photos than usual, forgetting to start Gaia, and just generally paying less attention than usual, thus my memory and descriptions of these trails will be subpar which is really too bad since Highwater is very tricky to navigate at times. The trails were mostly dry with occasional real muddy spots on Highwater Trail.

Wild River Trail, while washed out in some parts is pretty straightforward as it’s not AS washed out as Highwater Trail, there don’t appear to be any new washouts, and the trail has been rerouted over most of them. Nice grades and views of the river too. We then crossed the river to the other side. The crossing had to be waded (see above). The first 3mi or so of the Highwater Trail from this direction is pretty straightforward. It can be a little overgrown and I did lose the trail here two years ago but it was also getting dark at the time. Today, no problem at all :) There were a lot more ups and downs and short steep pitches than either of us anticipated. There may have been a few washouts along this section as you near Moriah Brook Trail but if there were they paled in comparison to what was to come as I’ve forgotten them. In any case, things were fairly straightforward along this section of trail.

Between Moriah Brook Trail and about a mile or so past (north of) Shelburne Trail, Highwater Trail is...really something!! Namely, between Moriah Brook and Shelburne the trail was washed into the river in many places. Sometimes there are official looking rerouted around, other times things that look more like herd paths, and other times, more or less nothing. My general advice is when you come to a place where the trail appears to disappear or have been washed into the river, first look for a reroute. If there is one, take it. If not, bushwhack along the edge. If you’re unsure and are concerned about truly redlining it, do both! Often we could find a reroute around things and just followed that (occasionally faint and hard to follow) but at times when there didn’t seem to be one, we just bushwhacked near the edge. Sometimes it took going back and forth a couple times until we felt like we got it “right for redlining”. I wouldn’t want to have done this when I was short on time.

Two sections in particular to look out for. One, there’s a spot with some pink surveyors tape. I don’t recall if you can follow it for a bit, but there had to be at least a half dozen pieces if not more in this area. I think they began as you neared a wash out. Assuming it was a reroute we tried to follow them. Soon, they seemed to disappear and lead to nothingness (quite literally I think as if I recall correctly it led to where the trail had been washed away). Looking behind us, we noticed some pink surveyors tape set slightly back that led a bit uphill and away from the river. This was confusing as it then seemed the taped path was going in two different directions, but we followed the one uphill and to the left that appeared to be a reroute. We immediately saw this led to nothing too...oof. So don’t take that pink tape too seriously. Not sure why it’s there. Perhaps marking the start of a new potential reroute? Anyway, there wasn’t much of a trail anywhere there so I think we just bushwhacked along the edge. You’ll eventually come to a spot where you can look back a ways and see where the trail used to be. It was a pretty cool find by the guy I was hiking with :) The second spot, not too long after I think, was what was likely a reroute where the trail makes the most obscure turn I’ve ever seen. In short, if you’re continuing in a straight line a ways after that pink tape and the trail seems to slowly disappear and you get to a real mucky section, backtrack a short ways, and look for a very obscure turn to the right. My friend found it and I thought he was crazy for claiming it was the trail but after I walked a few yards down it, it looked more trail like ahead and he was clearly right. Very impressive!

The crossing of Bull Brook is also tricky. Coming from the way we did, you’ll pass an arrow facing the other way. We made the mistake of looking at it and following it which took us much too far left of the trail. Instead, when you come to open area and the crossing, head for the big pile of debris in the middle. Cross onto that, then cross onto the other side. Also, my buddy noted that the dry brook bed described right before the crossing in the guidebook is no longer.

After we reached Shelburne Trail on the other side of Bull Brook we expected the tricky parts to be over. Boy were we wrong. Maybe a quarter mile or so north of the jct with Shelburne Trail came the biggest surprise of the day. We were following along fairly close to the river when the trail slowly seemed to disappear. The river also split and a brook was veered off to the left. We figured the trail followed if a ways, then crossed. But no sign of trail alongside this brook and no sign of the trail crossing it where it diverges from the river either. We were stumped. And we became downright bewildered when there was no mention of a water crossing here in the guidebook (between the 5mi marker and 5.3mi marker as described in the guidebook). I came to the conclusion that this must be a new washout since the time the book was written and the trail used to cross where this new brook raged off the river. Big pile of debris on the other side. I eventually convinced my fellow hiker and we waded across, finagled our way through a huge pile of debris, and found the trail :) If headed from the other direction, an old tire on the trail that you walk over roughly marks the beginning of the hard to follow parts.

Don’t attempt this trail if you’re not experienced at route finding. This could be very scary if you’re out there by yourself and don’t know what you’re doing. If you’ve got the experience and are with a fun group, this cane be a fun challenge though :D We chose to hike the loop clockwise because it was slightly less gain. I did expect, at times, that trail finding would be slightly easier in the other direction. My friend disagreed. Pick your poison, I guess 🙃  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-08-09 
Link
Link: https:// 
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