| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Big Bickford Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Skookumchuck Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 5, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the trailhead for the Skookumchuck Trail which is also the lot for the northern end of the Franconia Notch Recreation Path. One other car there when I arrived at 7:15am. Maybe a half dozen when I returned at 11:15am. The lot can hold over a dozen cars and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it overflow. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I jumped across Jordan Brook a few times. Not entirely frozen over (especially after todays weather) but difficult to find my way across. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Skookumchuck Trail is blazed in blue (connects with the AT) and is easy to follow. I don’t recall any blowdowns along the short section of it that I was on. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 125, Peak 105. 1st hike of the day. Not a terribly cold morning which was nice and the sun was out and stayed out much longer than predicted :) Beautiful day!
I hiked for 1/2mi along Skookumchuck Trail until it was about to descend to cross Jordan Brook. Here I turned left and started bushwhacking west. Skookumchuck Trail was well packed and even showed some bare ground. I wore snowshoes though they weren’t really practical. I found good woods to bushwhack in well above the brook. Unfortunately, I guess I was a little too far above the brook, because I eventually realized that I was following another tributary that would take me closer to Scarface than it would Big Bickford. Oops! I seem to always have a problem following the right drainage… I followed another minor ridge up between two drainages briefly before crossing this drainage as well. At this point I was finally pretty close to Jordan Brook again. And, if I followed it, it seemed that it would take me to the minor SW ridge of the peak. Most people don’t seem to do that but either go up from the col or straight up the grade but this seemed easiest. Glad I decided to do this as THIS is where the gorgeous birch glades are. When I started my whack and got pulled off course, the woods were nice and open but here they were BEAUTIFUL and OPEN! I followed the birch glade up to the ridge where I got a nice view of North Lafayette through the trees. Grades up to this point were moderate. Trail breaking was easy.
From here I ascended more steeply up this ridge to the peak. At first, it looked like I might hit some thicker woods, but I circled back to my right (I actually wasn’t even on the ridge yet so this helped me to get on it) and found better woods. I hit semi-thick patches but really nothing bad and every so often another beautiful birch glade would pop up :D As the woods opened again closer to the summit the snow base diminished making snowshoes not all that practical at times. At one point, it even felt like I was on a trail! Not hard to find the canister. Unfortunately, I was not able to open it. There is a marvelous view toward North Lafayette, Garfield Ridge, Garfield, and North and South Twin right next to the highpoint in another birch glade. I could’ve sat there for hours!! I even got a view of the bushwhack I did of the abandoned North Twin Loop Trail from here. I loved it!
I returned down the ridge, followed my tracks down through the birch glade, then, rather than cross a brook and another drainage or two with some PUDS in between to follow my tracks that I took in, I continued to followed the drainage back down to the trail. Once I got lower, I more or less was in the drainage which wasn’t the nicest walking but one would still probably choose to follow these tracks rather than the tracks I made on my ascent if looking to take advantage of my tracks before the next snow. If I were doing this again, I would start my bushwhack shortly AFTER the crossing of Jordan Brook, then start looking for a good spot to the south of the drainage and we’ll above it to work up toward the peak towards.
The hike was about 4mi with 1550ft of gain taking me just under 3hrs. I LOVED this hike. One of my favorite bushwhacks or hikes ever I think :) Highly recommend. 240 more days and 260 more 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: |
2022-03-06 |
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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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