| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mill Mountain (Milan/Stark), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Bushwhack |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, November 23, 2021 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Sooo…in looking at trail reports, I wondered why no one approached this peak from Pucci Rd. I assumed it was private or very rough or something. I mostly resigned to the normal approach from partway up Mill Brook Rd but my curiousity got the better of me and I continued down the road to Pucci Rd. It wasn’t signed and was narrow but looked doable for my FWD CR-V with mid-clearance (9in??). I headed up. I probably shouldn’t have. I make it up and back just okay but my undercarriage got scraped a couple times my large protruding rocks in the road. Definitely felt a bit sketchy. High clearance and AWD recommended though mid-clearance and FWD will probably do. Clearance is more important than AWD on this road. That said, there were only tiny patches of ice on the road when I did it. Now, if there’s snow on it, I sure as shit wouldn’t do it with just FWD. in summary, the road is narrow, bumpy, and has rocks protruding bud is not very steep. Mill
Brook Rd was in good shape and passable by any car. I parked at the southernmost point in the road at a spot where I could pull in perpendicular to the road. There aren’t many pull offs but there were some places where I could (should) have earlier. If my memory serves me correctly, it’s beyond the first residence (or after the last..?) that the road becomes rougher with rocks. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
N/A |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Another very late trail report. This was Day 23, Peak 24. 1st hike of the day. Though it wasn’t really supposed to be snowing, the snow flurries/squalls just seemed to follow my car and my body wherever I went. Is it summer yet?
From the southernmost point on Pucci Rd, that I’m guessing is roughly 0.5mi from Mill Brook Rd, I entered the woods and took a bearing toward a clearing shown on Gaia at about 2000ft. This was NE of where I was parked. I ascended through very easy grades at first, then more moderate ones as I approached the clearing, through a hardwood forest. I believe there was some young growth but it wasn’t bad. Just to the west of where I parked, there was some whippy stuff that I avoided on my ascent bud walked through a short ways on my descent. When I reached the clearing, I took a second bearing toward the peak and headed NW. This meant slabbing up to the peak/ridge, and, if I did it right, I shouldn’t ever be going up too steeply. And, even if I did go up too much, this approach, based on the contour lines, would almost definitely avoid any cliffs bands.
I headed NW on my bearing, slabbing, contouring, going up, and of course managed to go up a bit too much and hit the ridge 0.1-0.2mi southeast of the peak. No problem. Love a good ridge walk. The forest transitioned as I made this ascent. Not great woods bud not and either. As I neared the ridge though, there were a good deal of blowdowns. Everything was dead so they weren’t terribly cumbersome but still a pain. This was pretty short lived as they disappeared shortly after I actually hit the ridge and began walking toward the peak.
I came to the old cabin and such in quick order and found the jar which is right by the fire tower foundations very easily. Went out to a little ledge view that’s very close by as well. Cool summit area. Saw no moose but a decent amount of moose signs. I departed the summit ridge more or less immediately on my bearing and slabbed down (so was more true to the line I wanted on the way up). No problems with this. Hit some hardwoods sooner. I crossed my line on the way up just within 0.1mi north of the clearing. I went a bit east of this to where I thought there may be a view but there was none. I took a S/SW bearing and soon hit the clearing at 2000ft again and headed back down to my car just west of the line I took up.
The hike took about 2hrs and was not rushed so this seems to be a much easier approach than from
Mill Brook Rd. I recommend it. Just be cautious of the road. My parking spot was at about 1625-1650ft so elevation gain was 850ft or so. 342 more days and 341 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2021-11-28 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
