| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Sentinel Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Powerline swath, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, November 22, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at a pull off by the powerline swath on the south side of Ore Hill Rd. Room for a couple cars. Ore Hill Rd is narrow and dirt but passable by any car if I recall correctly. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None but a couple marshy, wet areas between the two peaks of Sentinel to negotiate around |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
None seen but seems like a good short whack for a dog if you trust them to stay nearby on bushwhacks. I did see lots of private property signs nearby though. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lots of trash along the powerline swath unfortunately. |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 22, Peak 22. 1st hike of the day. It didn’t really rain in Piermont in the morning as predicted so things were relatively dry actually which was nice but as I began my walk back out the power lines, it started to rain/hail. Not the scary type of hail, just the tiny little pellets you often get in the mountains. Honestly probably better than rain. Temps also started higher than I anticipated in the mid 40s at 10:30am.
Anyway, I walked up the power line swath, with one obnoxious up/down and twist in the road. Some washout/erosion but easy to walk around. I turned right (west) off into the woods, just before coming to the HOL. I probably should have gone to the true HOL as I didn’t have a great line of sight and ended up walking through some nasty prickly stuff. Once in the woods, I took a bearing and headed just south of west toward the peak. The western bump has the true high point (trust CalTopo NOT Gaia) so I contoured across the base of the eastern bump and made a bee line for the bump I wanted. Good ol’ hardwoods walking. On Gaia, the western bump shows two highest contour circles: one small circle further north, and a much larger one just south. I hit the north end of the larger one that’s further south. I began looking for the high point and found myself walking south within the highest contour bump. I kept thinking that I was at the high point but nope! If you’d want to do things the quick way, aim for the central/south end of this highest contour circle. The jar was chocked full of water. I emptied it of water and took the paper out of the bags which were also soaked so unfortunately the paper was ruined and you couldn’t write on it. I didn’t have any extra paper or jar so I just wrote a note on some cardboard I had in my pack and put everything in new, dry, baggies and put it back in the jar. Hopefully things will stay dry this time. If not, means the jar has got a hole in it and someone should bring a new one next time they’re up there.
I explored the summit area a bit before heading back. I saw a small pool as I was walking south to find the high point and wanted to go back to find it though I had no such luck. I also headed east a very slight ways to where the forest changed and it looked like I might have a view. No view but the hardwood forest became a soft, carpeted bed of pine needles instead on the steep western slopes of the mountain.
I then headed east, back to the powerline cut but staying maybe 0.1mi south of my track in and going closer to the high point of the eastern bump (not actually sure if I hit the summit). I hit a marshy area in the minor col between the two bumps and a cool Little Rock/cliff formation. Then, hit some thicker stuff heading off what could have been the high point of this bump. I soon came to the powerlines again and had to make my way to them through some prickly stuff again. Came out at the actual HOL this time though maybe 0.1mi south of where I entered the woods on my way up so had a better view and hung out at a picnic table here awhile peak identifying and taking photos. From the south, and ATV route ends here so there were lots of tracks.
I made my way back to my car along the powerlines. At least two places of significant standing water along the swath here that I had to make my way around. The wind picked up and it started to rain/hail which motivated me to pick up the pace a bit as I headed back to my car. Total time for the hike was just shy of 2hr15min which involved some wandering around on the summit and checking out the viewpoint at the HOL for awhile. Could easily do this one in under 2hrs if you’re power walking up the powerlines…weird to hear the crackle of electricity as I was snapping some photos! About 850ft of gain.
343 more days and peaks to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-11-25 |
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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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