| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Lowell, Mt. Anderson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Signal Ridge Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, November 22, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Sawyer River Road was open. Plenty of space at 6am in the Signal Ridge Trail parking lot. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Blue, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easy crossings on Signal Ridge Trail at 1.8mi and 2.1mi. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No dogs. No people. Lotta moose and bear scat. We were making the devil's own racket coming through the woods; I doubt there was anything within 20 miles of us. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Left Carrigain Notch Trail about 0.2 mi from the intersection with Signal Ridge Trail and headed towards the spine running up the south side of Lowell. Beautiful open woods to start, coulda hung out there all day. The woods thickened up significantly once on the spine, but mostly hardwood and still navigable without too much difficulty. The last 3/4 mile to the summit alternated between very thick spruce you had to will yourself through and more open but still thick hardwood with a lot of blowdown. We ran into a couple 50-60 foot cliffs, but found clefts in the cliffs we could climb up through. You might or might not encounter those depending on your route. Summit cone of Lowell is very steep but the spruce thinned out and you were happy for what trees there were to pull yourself up.
Off the summit of Lowell we headed N-NW towards Anderson. We strayed a little bit N and encountered some cliff bands. We could drop through, carefully, picking our spots, but thankfully it wasn't very icy. Better to avoid them entirely. Corrected and headed a little more NW for the rest of the descent from the cone, then straight N towards Anderson.
There is an absolutely beautiful lea in the col between Lowell and Anderson. Another place you could hang out all day. You're at most a mile or two from Carrigain Notch Trail, but you might as well be in the middle of Saskatchewan. Take a few minutes and chill.
Just went straight up Anderson from the col. Spruce was very thick, even on the steep part of the cone. So much work. It was a struggle until about 150 yards from the top, then it was just a tree to tree ladder.
Off the summit of Anderson we headed N to follow the spine past the very steepest parts of the W side of the hill. After a little less than a mile we broke W straight towards Carrigain Notch Trail. Popped out a little less than a mile from the height of land heading back towards Signal Ridge Trail.
We were looking forward to being the only ones through there in the last half year. There was a party there 3 days before. It's a crowd.
These were fall conditions not winter. Traction was pretty much not a problem. |
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 | Name: |
Muench |
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 | E-Mail: |
erik.coder@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-11-23 |
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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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