| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Blueberry Mountain, Jeffers Mountain, The Hogsback, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Blueberry Mountain Trail, bushwhacks |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, October 31, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
At the NW trailhead for Blueberry Mountain Trail off Page Rd. in Haverhill. I was the only one there today. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
|
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I rebuilt a few of the small cairns which had toppled on the Blueberry ledges. A few minor blowdowns if I recall. The sign at the trailhead has incorrect mileage to the summit. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
Picked up several ticks along the way. And WTH are these fly things that hatched recently? They were pretty annoying. It's October, there aren't supposed to be any bugs! |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Well this was an adventure for sure. The Hogsback has been on my wish list for a long time.
Smooth sailing up to the Blueberry summit. One hiker passed me on their way down. As noted above, there were no other cars at the trailhead, so maybe they live locally? Anyway, previous reports mention the difficulty in getting off the Blueberry summit toward Jeffers, and I concur. I hit scrappy woods for about 0.3 mi. Not terrible but not great either. After that, the ridge becomes very open through gorgeous woods and glades. With the leaves down there are some good views toward Moosilauke. Walking up the ridge toward Jeffers, I spotted a moose ahead who quickly disappeared into the forest. The summit register was easily found. There are two notebooks inside and the earliest sign-in is from 1986!
Good woods continued toward Hogsback until the ridge gets really narrow, then they get scrappy again. At the low point just before the Hogsback summit, there were recently cleared blowdowns. From this point, a rough herd path led up to the high point of the ridge, which is very obvious, and the register. The ridge really does get as narrow as the USGS topo indicates! Great views and interesting geology here. Heights don't usually bother me, but there are some spots up here that are pretty precipitous. Wouldn't want to take a tumble!
I backtracked a bit to where I saw the cut trees, and made this my exit point from the ridge. The bushwhack down was open all the way with easy grades, although footing was lousy with all the leaves down, which are hiding rocks and other hazards. I skirted a couple of large logging cuts that had great views. I aimed downhill for the old logging roads shown on the topo. These were ok, but are riddled with small blowdowns and debris. They eventually brought me back down to Blueberry Mountain Trail about 1.0 mi. from the trailhead.
This was a really great hike along the ridge but I'm not sure I'd come down the same way again. Total distance was 8.1 mi. with 4.4 mi. of bushwhacking. I'll be back for Sugarloaf. :) |
|
 | Name: |
KenM |
|
 | E-Mail: |
kmacgray@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2022-10-31 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
