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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Black Mountain (Wentworths Location), NH
Trails
Trails: Bushwhack, herd path, road walk
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, September 25, 2022
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: From Rt 26, head north on Coarser Brook Rd for a little more than 2mi. Turn right into a road that heads toward Black and NW Black (and soon forks, each fork allowing access to the previously mentioned peaks). BE WARNED: the bridge which this road uses to cross the drainage has a huge hole in its center. If your wheel hit it, you’d be in deep doo-doo. I’m not sure how but I didn’t notice this on the way in. Just a loud thud in my car. Can’t imagine my car caused it as I thick I would’ve been stuck or took the bridge down with me but maybe I’m wrong. In any case I saw it on my way back out and was damn careful to avoid it. Still a nice loud thud though. I obviously wouldn’t pass over this bridge again until it’s repaired. After 1/3mi the road forks. Go right for the main peak. These roads were very overgrown and mid-clearance minimum is needed to clear the grassy centerline. I parked just before the end of the road as shown on Gaia which you can’t actually drive to anyway as it’s blocked by rocks at the drainage. Nice old clearing to park in.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Rock hopable  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: N/A 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Sure  
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: Day 329, Peak 311. 3rd peak of the day after Rice and NW Black. I whacked east up the drainage toward the peak. I went from side to side of the drainage but trying to avoid logging cuts on the north side of it down low that Gaia shows. Didn’t have to go through any brush I believe other than right at the car. Decent enough woods around the drainage too. Easy grades. When the grade became steeper around 2400ft I finally stayed on the north side of the drainage, which in retrospect was silly. This took me closer to the false summit that’s north of the true summit. I crossed what felt like two, though contour lines only show one, drainages/cols between these minor false summits. When I was finally approaching the correct one, I hit spruce. I pushed through to the more open summit area. No trouble finding the reciter once on the correct bump.

To return, I stuck more to the south side of the drainage. I avoided more of the thick sprice coming off the summit. I think this was thanks to a herd path I found. Once out of the spruce and off the summit, I started to note some blue flagging. I followed this down a ways and it seemed to be marking a very rough path. Much of it was on the ground which I carried out. When it began to hit wet or overgrown stuff, I turned right off of it closer to the drainage. Hard to tell if it was still a herd path anyway. As I neared the road I began crossing the different little drainages that seem to converge here and of course got pulled a little too far north and ended up popping out at the end of the road as shown on Gaia in a logginfnchr rather than at my car. Oh well.

The hike was about 2.25mi with around 650ft of gain. It took me 1hr45min to complete. 36 more days and 54 more peaks to go…  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2022-09-27 
Link
Link: https:// 
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