| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gore Mountain, Blue Mountain (Bunnell), Blue Mountain - West Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, herd paths, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, October 17, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
From Rt 3 in North Stratford, turn east onto Meriden Hill Rd. In about 2mi, come to a T-jct. Turn right onto Brown Rd. Up to this point, though the road is mostly dirt, it’s suitable for any car. At some point, I’m not sure exactly how far, after this T-jct, you probably want mid-clearance. Drive another 1.5mi (the road may still be suitable for low clearance here) then turn left and continue straight for 3/4mi to a gate at a sign for the Vicki Bunnell Preserve. The road is covered with leaves at times so could be very slick when wet. Beyond that, the road isn’t too bad and may do doable for low clearance vehicles. Though the gate was open I do not recommend driving down this road unless you’ve got 4WD. It’s narrow and pretty slick with mud and leaves down. Hard to turn around. Lastly, at some point or another on my drive in, there was a fork where there was a private property sign or something to the right. I have to think that this was Brown Rd in which case access to West Castle, Stratford Notch Peak, etc could effected. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I highly recommend waterproof boots and gaiters especially if you’re doing this at a time when water is high. This old road becomes very muddy and wet, and is flooded at one point. Hard to tell how much of this is beaver work vs recent rain. Beyond this flooded area, I think all crossings were minor drainages. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Seems like a suitable hike for dogs who are used to bushwhacking. |
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 | Bugs: |
Anyone know what the bugs are that seem to be everywhere on certain mountains right now? |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 351, Peaks 339-341. First hike of the day.
If you’re wondering how far in along the unnamed road you can get to these peaks, the answer is almost due south of Mt Pleasant or 3/4mi from Brown Rd. The road walk was pleasant enough. After a snowmobile trail (shown on Gaia) diverges right (south) 1.1mi from the gate and south of West Blue, the road becomes a herd path. Somewhere between this point and where the road turns south, the road becomes flooded due to some combination of beaver work and recent rain. I recommend water proof boots all times of year and gaiters at least when water is high. Where the road turns south on Gaia (no longer a road but a river through here) I continued easterly on another road. Based on my track it looks like I took a took a left in 0.1mi (NE), then a right in another 0.1mi (E/NE), then another right in 0.2mi (SE on bearing toward Gore). These were all on roads or at least paths. I figured which way to go by a bearing. It worked well. The last road/path I stayed on for 2/3mi and it got me within a 1/2mi of the peak. It followed just north of a drainage. Wet footing. The whack from here was steep but in decent woods. Not hard to find the canister.
From the summit, I headed N/NW down toward the col. It wasn’t long before I found myself on herd paths which enabled me to move quite quickly. Unfortunately, they were bending too far to the west so I eventually took to the somewhat thick woods and made by way toward the col. Things opened up and were more brushy as I approached the col bud there were some blowdowns. Not terribly fast going. On the opposite side of the col, I found the same blowdowns but now in thicker woods. Hard to find a good line but I generally stayed east of the spine where things were more open/brushy but still had some blowdowns. As I attained the southern shoulder of Blue, things got much better. Flat and a herd path meant quick moving. Herd paths faded some and it got a little steeper as you approached the base of the cone but not too bad up to the highpoint. Easy to find the canister. Look for the little printout about Vicki Bunnell for whom the mountain was rennamed for. Did not know that story.
My route between Bunnell/Blue and West Blue was a little whacky. Rather than follow the ridge down into the col I followed an almost due west bearing and stayed just to the north of the col. The footing wasn’t bad and the woods were okay so I suppose this was a fine choice. As is often the case, I saved a little distance but not sure I saved any time. I planned to take a straight line and go right over the subpeak to the summit of West Blue but an attractive looking old road led me NW around the peak instead. I, likely foolishly, got off of it at a blowdown and began an awkward contour around the mountain after following it for maybe 0.1mi. I eventually found my way into the col and the climb up West Blue was straightforward. Not hard to find the canister.
From West Blue I took a southerly bearing and headed right back to the road just west of where the snowmobile trail leaves it. Steep but nothing cliffy and a nice decent. Very quick and open woods. Quick walk back to the car. Gaia had me at 8.5mi with 2500ft of gain. It took me just under 6hrs to complete. 14 more days and 24 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: |
2022-10-19 |
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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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