| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Black Crescent, Black Crescent - South Peak, Black Crescent - North Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, herd path, road walk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, June 5, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the pullout next to the Landing Camp Trailhead on Bog Dam Road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossed drainages on my descent, all of which were very east o get across. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
Mix of black flies and mosquitos but many more of the latter. Not too bad other than at the summits. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 217, Peaks 204, 205, & 206.
I made a loop, heading north to south along the ridge. I’d consider going the other direction and getting the nasty sort done and out of the way first though if I were doing it again. I headed into the woods, roughly opposite Landing Camp Trail, and headed generally east just north of a drainage in good woods. Easy grades for awhile, then become more moderate/steep maybe about halfway up. Not too long after, I hit an area of younger growth. Now I’d seen clear cuts on Gaia on the north side of the mountain but I didn’t think I’d run into any this far south. Guess I was wrong. Nothing awful but unpleasant for a ways. I think this was around 2800ft. I’d try to avoid it if you can. Probably could by staying closer to the drainage a bit further south. I made my way back into the woods again and continued moderately/steeply up to the summit in decent woods.
I hit the summit ridge a couple hundred feet north of the highpoint in a blowdown area which some views. I walked the ridge, partially on an old skidder road (had this area been cut too?), to the summit. The register was a bit further along than I thought but shouldn’t be too hard to find. From here to main peak was a breeze. One of the nicest bushwhack ridges I’ve been on. A nice herd path coming off north peak too. Felt like it was taking me too far south but I mostly followed it. Even when you aren’t on it though, the woods were great and the ridge was usually quite easy to follow once off of north peak. A very gradual ascent up the ridge to main peak; my kind of a walk in the woods! Register on main peak was east to find. From main peak to south, as anticipated, was not so nice.
I decided to try and follow the red blazing of the Ice Gulch Town Forest boundary. Blazing is frequent but not always facing you and goes into blowdown patches and such so didn’t prove as easy as I’d hoped. Of course it’s much longer than a straight line of following the ridge too but I figured it might take me around some of the nasty stuff too. I feel like all in all, I followed it when I shouldn’t have, and didn’t follow it when I should have :/ Woods weren’t tight coming off of main peak but some blowdown patches between here and the halfway point (col between main peak and small bump along ridge). I got turned to and fro in this col, actually making a semi-circle between blowdowns, some thicker stuff, etc. I crossed the forest boundary but didn’t note the blaze. I was right in the col but saw very steep almost boulder field heading up this small peak, so had to walk NW in the col to the north side. I then walked along the north side of the bump, just touching the 2800ft contour on Gaia.
The second half of this “ridge walk” between main and south peak was very hobblebushy. I try not to complain about hobblebush too much as it’s better than thick sprice and I feel like it’s often avoidable or not that bad but around south Black Crescent it’s worth complaining about a little ;P I stayed just to the north of the next small bump on the ridge, then made my way to the base of south peak in some unpleasant woods mostly due to hobblebush. I climbed up the ridge to the summit ridge of south peak expecting the woods to be better on top. They weren’t. Thick and narrow ridge and I got pushed from side to side a bit. Some more blowdowns too. Not hard to find register though. I found the old glade register on the ground in two pieces and I carried it out.
To descend, I generally headed NW of the summit. I followed the summit ridge for a bit, looking for a good place to drop off. It may have been better to drop off more quickly but I found okay going maybe a tenth of a mile NW of the peak too. The descent was very steep but not scrambly for a ways and I of course hit some more hobblebush. The hobblebush soon turned more ferny though which I like. Grades eased significantly and I crossed a drainage roughly in between two clear cuts shown on Gaia though I didn’t see any clear cuts around me. This was around 2300ft. From here down to Pond of Safety Rd was a bit of a pain. Open woods and easy grades but I always felt like I was in some minor drainage as there was lots of wet, muddy footing. No clear drainage, ridge, etc. to follow either, just my bearing. I crossed Pond of Safety Rd, then Bog Dam Rd very quickly thereafter. 1/2mi road walk back to my car.
6.5mi, about 1900ft of gain, and 5.5hrs. 148 more days and 159 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-06-06 |
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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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