| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Road walk, Brook Trail, snowmobile trail, Bolles Trail, Bee Line Cutoff, Bee Line Trail (Paugus Branch) |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 15, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the end of the plowed section of Paugus Rd. There was basically room for just one car at the end there. The house right there didn't appear to be occupied. Several brave souls continued on the unplowed section of Paugus Rd. to the summer trailhead - I'd definitely recommend a high-clearance vehicle and a lot of confidence in your snow tires if you want to do that. That section is rutted and icy, but snow depths are low, and three vehicles made it to the summer trailhead today. The approach on Paugus Rd. and Fowlers Mill Rd. is plowed and sanded, but still icy, so take it slow. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bypassed the big one at the south end of Bolles Trail by taking the snowmobile trail instead. A few crossings on Bee Line Cutoff and Bee Line Trail that could be rock-hopped. Met a guy at the end of the hike who had done the big crossing on Bolles Trail and said his foot had gotten wet. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A bunch of blowdowns on Bee Line Cutoff. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
If they're comfortable on very steep, crusty snow, they'd probably be fine. In fact, they'd probably do better than people there, since they have four legs and a lower center of gravity, so they'd be les likely to slip and slide. |
|
 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nada. |
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|
 | Comments: |
A few wet areas at the bottom of Bee Line Trail, but they weren't hard to get around on snow. All trail signs are in place (though keep in mind the signs in the Wilderness areas are small), and the junction of the snowmobile trail and Bolles Trail was also signed. Bee Line Cutoff and Bee Line Trail Paugus Branch are both unblazed, since they are in the Sandwich Range Wilderness.
I didn't really plan to summit Paugus today - my goal was to redline the section of Bee Line Trail between Bee Line Cutoff and Old Paugus Trail, since that was the only remaining trail in the entire eastern Sandwich Range (i.e. Paugus and Chocorua) that I still needed to redline. The 0.6-mile road walk to the summer trailhead was easy with spikes since there was a lot of ice. From there, most of the footprints went up the Liberty Trail - only one singular set of footprints headed up Bolles Trail, and at the first fork 0.1 from the trailhead, those footprints continued to the left on Bolles Trail. Wanting to avoid the difficult river crossing on Bolles Trail, I went right at the fork, where there were no footprints, and then continued on the snowmobile trail past where Brook Trail peels off to the right. The snowmobile trail had maybe 3-4 inches of snow on it - not a lot, but just enough to make hiking it without snowshoes a little bit annoying. A little bit past where Bickford Trail crosses the snowmobile trail, I decided to see if snowshoes would work better - they did, and I wore them the rest of the hike until I got back to the summer trailhead. The snowmobile trail climbs gradually and then turns left and descends moderately to Bolles Trail (no footprints seen). This point is just north of two snowmobile bridges over Paugus Brook, which I used, and then quickly turned right onto Bee Line Cutoff. Bee Line Cutoff was easy to follow since it follows an old road and is mostly straight. Snow depths were about the same here, and my snowshoes worked well. Water crossings could be rock-hopped.
When I got to the junction with Bee Line Trail Paugus Branch, I continued straight onto it heading toward Paugus. It starts off as a gradual-to-moderate climb, but several sections were difficult to follow. Experienced hikers should be able to make out the trail corridor, but I wouldn't recommend this trail for beginners (at least not this time of year). The 0.2-mile relocation described in the WMG was somewhat tough to follow, as it utilized a few switchbacks and some of the turns weren't obvious. I was just about able to make out the trail corridor by looking very carefully. The steep part begins a little above this relocation, and parts of it are VERY steep. First, the trail goes up a gully - don't leave the gully to the right in search of the trail there like I did - it goes straight up the gully. Hikers doing this before the next snowfall should be able to follow my snowshoe tracks, but ignore my tracks that left the gully. Above the gully, the trail actually gets even steeper in fairly open woods - descending this was a bit precarious since there weren't always trees to hold onto. There wasn't a lot of ice - it was mostly a few inches of crusty snow - but aggressive traction is still needed to prevent slipping and sliding. The crampons on my snowshoes did well to give me grip in the snow on the very steep slope. Eventually, near the top, the trail gets a little less steep before ultimately reaching Old Paugus Trail.
Even at those higher elevations (roughly 2,400 - 2,500 feet), there was still less than 6" of snow. I retraced my steps back to my car. Views of Mt. Chocorua across the valley, looking through the trees, were very nice, and I could see other steep, exposed ledges on Paugus as well. It's amazing what you can see in winter that the leaves hide in the summer.
I believe this hike was about 7.5 - 8 miles. Expect Bee Line Trail to be slow, but the other trails were faster-moving. It was nice talking with Patrick at the summer trailhead at the end of the hike - he was the only other person I saw all day. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-15 |
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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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