| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cooley Hill, Cole Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Jericho Road Trail, Cole Hill Summit Trail, Blue Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, April 27, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the gated Jericho Road Trail entrance on Rt 116, no logging today.. guessing because of the recent rain and spring thaw? |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Hoppable, no issues. New bridges over Salmon Hole Brook on the Blue Trail |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Many, many 4-8" diameter (or thicker) trees down along the Jericho Road Trail on both the lower, logging road sections and ascending toward the old FT, lots of trailwork (stone work and construction) being done in the Cooley-Jericho Community Forest, can't wait to see what they do this Spring/Summer |
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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: |
Trails are in great shape despite a few blowdowns to duck under, step or crawl over - went around 1 spruce into the forest briefly, no issue getting around. Logging roads were pretty well dry, drainages are doing their jobs. Slight dusting of wet snow at the summit of Cooley Hill and on the northern side along the ridge - beautiful stretch of woods! I had such a blast roaming through there on the narrow path, conifer forest hit mostly around 2300' with a marshy break on northern Cooley. Excellent trailwork and blowdown clearing along the Red Trail up to Cole Hill summit, thanks to that trail crew - there were loads of downed balsam fir, all cleared. CJCF trails on the northern side of Cole are a bit wet, open slabs are slick from the infamous red slime. They certainly do lovely work with their trails though, as the clouds were hanging low today over the northerly views and off toward Kinsmans/Cannon, I'll certainly have to come back to meander.
Western side of the Blue Loop felt more wet which made for a very enjoyable ascent up the eastern blue loop trail, more nice trail work and bridge building. Perhaps the Ball jar canister atop Cole was leaking because (I think as someone pointed out previously) the register notebook doesn't even look like paper any longer. I'll try to remember to pack an extra jar and notebook whenever I make it back up to Cole/Cooley - these trails are truly super fun.
Feel free to check out a brief write-up with some good ol' color photography at the link I'll add in.. 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: |
2023-04-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.atalkinthewoods.com/trail-reports/cooley-cole-hills |
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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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