| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Smarts Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Daniel Doan Trail, J Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 6, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking areas at both trailheads as described in guidebook were in great shape as were roads in. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only major crossing on Doan was easy rock hop |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a few blowdowns but nothing major. tons of small branches on both trails. The short relocation on Doan has signage down on high side and the low side sign is not very visible. Also blazing on the relo is very limited. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Fin had a good time. Tons of water currently. She was tracking moose halfway down J trail-was acting real alert/sketched out as I’ve seen her so in the past when large game is around |
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 | Bugs: |
Black flies out at 9am on lower half of Doan but not biting and not too abundant. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Great rare hike with the entire fam. I think they were all a bit annoyed at me, Fin included, when we discovered lots of rotten snow between 3000’ and summit, especially on J trail. no traction needed but gaiters would have been nice. Forest roads on Doan were very wet in spots as expected. Also had to cross two logging skidder roads in this section that were mud bogs-very short but unpleasant. The short relocation is garbage-should have just stayed on the wet road in my opinion. no footbed and poorly marked bushwhacking for a few hundred yards l. upper half of Doan is really fun. Wet, mossy, slabby, rough, and beautiful. incredible amount of Moose poop on Doan from lower section all the way to summit and down a mile on J Trail-very fresh. Fin was on high alert at times. wife and daughter were too afraid to climb tower and wife wouldn’t allow me to carry Grub up there so I was the only one who enjoyed the amazing views. saw one hiker on Doan and one coming up J in sandals. Dude was about to have some chilly toes!!! |
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 | Name: |
Spence, Rachel, Margaret, Grub, Fin |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-06 |
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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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