| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Neville Peak, Nottingham Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Tarleton Road, Neville Ridge Scout Foot Trail, bushwhack, Neville Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 26, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking on Tarleton Road is not accessible. Room for a few vehicles on the side of Mountain Road just before the junction with Tarleton Road. Don't block the road or anyone's driveway. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All were either bridged or very easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few blowdowns, but nothing too bad. There were signs where the trails diverged from Tarleton Road, but no signs at or near Neville Peak or Nottingham Mountain. Large sections of Tarleton Road (and all of the old roads/snowmobile trails) are running streams right now, and there's a lot of water under the snow as well - expect to get your feet wet. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few. They shouldn't have any issues. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Saw a black winter hat on the Scout Trail, probably a few tenths below Neville Peak. It was hanging from a tree branch. I left it there. |
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|
 | Comments: |
My goal for this hike was to go someplace that 1) wasn't too far away, and 2) had little to no snow. And... well, at least I got the first one.
There's still plenty of snow in the woods even just over in Epsom, and I learned that quickly when Tarleton Road became snow-covered almost immediately. The snow was not deep, but it was soft, mashed-potato snow - I was slipping and sliding a lot. The only places where Tarleton Road isn't snow-covered are where there's water running down it, and there was certainly plenty of that today. There's a big blowdown blocking the road before the parking area (though the road is probably quite rough even in summer, and a lot of vehicles probably wouldn't make it to the parking area even then).
The Scout Trail had practically complete snow coverage, and the snow was up to a foot deep in many places (and occasionally even deeper). It was fairly well bootpacked - I did it in bare boots. Spikes might help for stability, but I didn't use them. Snowshoes would be difficult to use on the packed trail itself (though on a warm day when the snow is soft, they might help smooth it out), however snowshoes could be used fairly easily alongside the packed trail. There were no snowshoe tracks, and I was the only person I saw who even brought them. Following the packed trail is easy to the summit of Neville Peak, where there are very nice views. Snow was quite soft most of the way up.
I wanted to head over to Nottingham Mountain to grab it as well, since it's the highest mountain in Rockingham County. Alltrails shows a herd path leading from Neville Peak to Nottingham Mountain, and I found a set of bareboot tracks diverging left from the trail (which is an old road at this point) toward Nottingham Mountain. The bareboot tracks didn't follow the herd path as shown on Alltrails - it first went through an area of particularly deep snow where each step had been postholed into over a foot of snow, and then went left a little bit until meeting up with the red-blazed border of Epsom Town Forest and following that. Following the postholes wasn't terrible since they were already there, but I decided that on the way back (downhill), I'd use snowshoes. The postholes followed the red-blazed boundary a significant way - when it seemed like they were going past the most direct route to the summit of Nottingham, I decided to put on my snowshoes and take a more direct path. From there, my more direct path intersected and followed the bootprints several times - the bootprint path took several short zigs and zags. Part of it followed an old road where there was water underneath the snow. Approaching the summit and its old stone chimney, I encountered the two young men who had made the bootprint path - they admitted that it zigged and zagged a bit. I also informed them that the red blazes marked the boundary of Epsom Town Forest, and weren't an actual trail. They weren't carrying snowshoes, but seemed to both be in good spirits. On the way back, rather than follow the waterlogged old road, I did a legitimate bushwhack through open woods to the place where the posthole path met up with the old road (Alltrails helped me stay on course). The rest of the way back, I roughly followed the posthole path (but alongside it, since I was now in snowshoes), but I cut a corner at the bottom. The snow on this bushwhack was inconsistent - sometimes it supported me, and sometimes I'd sink in 6 inches with every step. It was definitely easier doing it in snowshoes though.
When I got back to the old road just below Neville Peak, I followed it downhill - it descended at a moderate grade for a little bit until it met back up with Tarleton Road. This section, just like Tarleton Road itself, had substantial water running down the old road in many places. I followed Tarleton Road back out - it was more of the same with a lot of wet spots and running water, and the snow-covered parts were quite mushy. Snowshoes actually gave me better grip and stability there, even though the snow was not deep.
According to Alltrails, the hike was 5.4 miles, and my moving time was about 3 hours. While this can theoretically be done without snowshoes, I strongly recommend them, as they will make this hike (and particularly the bushwhack to Nottingham Mountain) more enjoyable. Now the only county whose high point I haven't climbed is Strafford (well, and Sullivan as well, but Croydon Peak unfortunately isn't accessible to hikers). |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-03-26 |
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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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