| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Green Mountain (Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest), NH |
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 | Trails: |
FR 211, Hubbard Brook Trail, bushwhack, Hubbard Brook Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The Hubbard Brook TH is back open since the snow melted - enough room for 4 or 5, there is a secondary grass lot closer to Rt 118 - didn't check to see how soggy it was, but its there if needed. FR 211 remains gated. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water is high. Needed to trek upstream to cross the first brook on HBT atop an old beaver dam. Yep - water is indeed high. Trail was nearly swallowed by water after the HOL, near the beaver activity - counted no fewer than 5 large dams and several lodges, some new construction |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
This trail will need a small army to clear from one trailhead to the eastern side; big tree limbs, branches of all sizes.. its rough going and the trail is straight up obscure in places - to the point bushwhacking was quicker than trying to follow yellow blazes through beaver activity and high water. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
n/a |
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 | Bugs: |
none |
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 | Lost and Found: |
none |
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 | Comments: |
My trail report on my website goes into much deeper detail that I'll bring up here, but basically I had wanted to ascent from the east, from the Weasel Trail which would have had me basically on the east-running ridge to hit the summit. With the HBT trailhead off 118 being half the distance for me, I opted to give that a shot since the forest on the southern side of Mt Cushman turned out to be really enjoyable hardwood when I snowshoed that several weeks ago. I hit a mix of hard and soft wood forests, some residual snow, lots of smaller brook crossings coming off Cushman. I think had it not been raining all night the bushwhack would have been considerably more enjoyable, it was never atrocious. Ended up with some wet snow falling around 2,600' just before reaching the col to remind me of how chilly it really is up at elevation. The high point of Green Mountain was really nice, open for now but once the hobblebush leaves come out that may change. I had to do some circling and roaming briefly before I found the high point of the mountain, signed into the register as I generally do. I saw a patch of hardwood just to the south of the summit ridge that I was excited to descend, thinking "how could I have missed that??" .. yeah so that lovely forest didn't last more than 10 minutes before it was blowdown city on the south side of the mountains. Some boulder patches and much heavier water flow as I had boogied down the elevation quickly.
Largest brook crossing of the day was Hubbard Brook itself, just prior to stepping foot on Hubbard Brook Road. Took HBR back to the Hubbard Brook Trail which was a jumbled mess and incredibly hard to follow early on in the beaver activity. And wouldn't ya know it would start raining buckets while I was spinning in circles trying to find those elusive yellow blazes - ended up scrapping that idea and just bushwhacked westerly and eventually met back up with a softly beaten path which was Hubbard Brook Trail.
After the height of land the trail remained easy to follow despite high water levels, rocks were slick but manageable with a little care. Despite Gore-Tex layers, I don't think a fresh change of clothes had ever felt so good once I got back to the car.
I'll toss in the link below to the full write up and some color photography - enjoy!
Happy Climbing!
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 | Name: |
Erik Hamilton |
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 | E-Mail: |
ehamilton9481@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-04-25 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.atalkinthewoods.com/trail-reports/green-mountain |
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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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