| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cockermouth Ledge (Hebron Town Forest) , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Cockermouth Ledge Trail, view spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Medium sized plowed parking area on Groton Rd almost 1mi west of the center of Hebron. It’s easy to drive by; in fact, yours truly in his infinite talent, drove by it twice ;P |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Wet/Sticky |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trails were blazed in yellow and I believe the blazing was frequent. Good signage as well. The only blowdown I’m recalling was at the start of the eastern end of the eastern loop; it was a split leaner/widow maker that you can easily duck under with current snow depths. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Seems like a good hike for dogs. I’d just be careful with them near the ledges and there may have been a sign explicitly stating they need to be leashes at all times and kept under control. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Do snowfleas count? :) |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
First post-work hike of the day. If my trail reports for trails nearby here on Monday stated that the snow was just slightly wet/sticky, the snow was a little more wet today ;P Not terrible though especially given that the snow isn’t terribly deep and the lower/western loop was broken out. I *almost* left my snowshoes in the car as the snow depth was rather minimal at the start and I saw someone exit that hadn’t brought them but I’m certainly glad I did as they were needed and the eastern/upper loop hadn’t seen any traffic yet. In fact, I think this gentlemen had turned back because he didn’t have snowshoes.
This was a pleasant little loop with decent views. The way I’d describe the confusing loop jct would be to say all trails converge for a few dozen yards, then split two ways on each end of this single strip of trail to make the two loops. Gaia shows this *except* for the part where all trails merge for a few dozen yards. FWIW, I didn’t think it was confusing as the trails didn’t really cross each other, just merged briefly. There were two signs at different points saying “Bear scent-marking: bite and claw marks”. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly what this meant…were they marking where a bear had been? If so, why were they calling it “scent-marking”?
If hiking the upper/eastern loop counterclockwise as the guidebook describes and as I did, the view spur would be very hard to miss as the trail turns sharply left here (easy to miss) whereas the view spur continues straight ahead. If you search around a bit you can get a view of Bald Knob to the north. Gaia had me at just over 2mi, about 250ft of gain, and it took me 1hr15min to complete with lots of picture taking. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-03-02 |
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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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