| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Black Mountain - Northeast Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, September 25, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Where do I begin… first of all, what’s called Old Greenough Pond Rd on Gaia, maps apps, and is even labeled as such on the road, is private property from Rt 26. It’s posted a short ways in. So when people say Old Greenough Pond Rd, they’re actually coming in from Rt 16 north of Errol which is NEW Greenough Pond Rd. So you’ve got to access it that way. Around 3mi or so in, I hit Old Greenough Pond Rd again. This heads south toward Greenough Pond Peak which is originally planned on getting. Well, that’s been logged and looked muddy and not drivable in my car so no access that way. I continued north instead to try and access the aforementioned peak from the north along a road shown on CalTopo and partially on Gaia. Gaia has it in the correct place; CalTopo does not. Unfortunately this road was 1) not passable beyond Larry’s Brook due to bridge removal, and 2) didn’t seem to actually head to Greenough Pond Peak as CalTopo suggested so I parked at its end as shown on Gaia where it’s blocked to prevent you from driving into the now bridge less Larry’s Brook and settled to get NE Black instead. Good news is that all these whack-a-do roads were in good shape and would be passable with low clearance. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
With the bridge washed out, the crossing of Larrys Brook was a little more than a rock hop at current water levels. More like a rock leap with still wet feet ;P |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Might be too steep from this side |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 329, Peak 312. 4th peak of the day after Rice, Black NW, and Black. Had planned on Greenough Pond Peak/East Black but due to roads/access (see notes above) it made more sense to tackle this from where I was. Also, just to add to the fun, I’ll mention I originally planned on getting this peak from the west from the same road I used to hike Black NW but given that roads condition I didn’t want to travel any further down it.
Anyway, after an attempted leap across Larry’s Brook, I continued walking down the road to where it turns left/south. I continued straight into the woods to tackle the steep western side of this bad boy. I made my way up at moderate grades at first due west in open enough woods. Around 2000ft I crossed a series of old logging roads nearby a logged area and had to go through some brush. It soon became very steep though. Not too much in the way of cliff bands at least. I hit the summit ridge about 0.1mi south of the true summit. No problem finding the register. To return, I came directly off the summit which was very steep but no worse (perhaps even better) than aiming for the south end of the ridge like I did on my way up. The disadvantage of this was that being further north I ended up in the logged area and had to trudge through the wet brush. It had been sprinkling on and off for awhile now. I overcorrected too far to the south due to the brush and crossed my ascent line and hit the road a bit further south f where I’d started my whack. Quick walk back to my car.
I’ve since realized that if I’d have continued south along this road, though it’s not where CalTopo shows it, this is probably the way people used to access Greenough Pond Peak before the bridge was taken out. Hmm…guess I’ll have to come back here then. Oh goodie. 36 more days and 53 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: |
2022-09-27 |
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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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