| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Wolf, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Kinsman Ridge Trail, Dilly Spur, Reel Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 21, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Reel Brook Road is dirt and narrow, and has a few small washouts that might give a lower-clearance vehicle pause. If those don't, then the very rocky short final section into the trailhead parking area definitely should. I'd say high clearance vehicles only on that final section. My Forester and my friend's Silverado both did fine with slow, careful driving. No way in hell would I have brought my old Corolla through that rocky section. We didn't see any other vehicles at that trailhead. Plenty of room at the Beaver Brook trailhead where the AT crosses Route 112. Most of the other people there seemed to be climbing Moosilauke. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossings on Reel Brook Trail were mostly rock-hoppable, even with the rain last night. The three crossings of Reel Brook are all fairly close together, so maybe a relocation could be made to eliminate the lower two of those three crossings, and just keep the upper one which is the easiest? You have to look carefully for a spot, but it's possible to keep your feet dry if you have waterproof boots. The crossings on the lower part of the trail were more of the same. No major water crossings on Kinsman Ridge Trail, but lots of standing water and mud. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several large blowdowns on Kinsman Ridge Trail. They seem to have been there for at least a year, since there herd paths around them (probably made by last year's AT thru-hikers). No sign for the Dilly Spur, but all other signs are in place. The drainage on the trail is, quite frankly, an absolute mess. Most of Kinsman Ridge Trail was very wet, with slippery slabs and running water on the ups and downs, and huge areas of standing water, mud, and submerged bog bridges on the flat sections. Yes, it rained last night, but considering the size and frequency of the standing water and mudpits, and the fact that some of the larger ones have herd paths around them, they are probably there all the time. A LOT of work needs to be done on this trail. Reel Brook Trail was better overall, but it also had lots of wet, muddy areas, particularly in the upper half. The section that the WMG says has "wet, rocky footing" basically felt like an extension of Kinsman Ridge Trail. Reel Brook Trail has some waterbars in this section, but more are clearly needed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
An agile dog that really likes to get wet and muddy would probably have been fine. Some dogs might need help getting up a few of the ledges. |
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 | Bugs: |
For most of the hike, there were none - the cooler, windier weather along the ridge kept them away. As we descended Reel Brook Trail, they started to come out so we put on bug spray. They still weren't terrible even on the lower parts of that trail. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
We found an old, waterlogged hand-warmer lying on the ground. We packed it out. |
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 | Comments: |
This certainly wasn't an easy hike, but I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment for getting it done. Kinsman Ridge Trail lives up to its billing as rough and with a lot of ups and downs. It wasn't as bad as Mahoosuc Trail, but it's still a trail that has to be taken carefully, especially just after a rainstorm. Starting at the Beaver Brook parking area off Route 112, there's absolutely no warmup - it climbs steeply almost immediately, and there was water running down the trail in many places. The swampy sag 0.4 miles from Route 112 had submerged bog bridges. It was immediately clear that our feet were going to get wet. On a trail like this, just after a rainstorm, there was absolutely no way of avoiding it. There's no sign for the Dilly Spur, but the spur is marked with orange flagging. The view is nice, and there's still some charred soil at the viewpoint, but it's interesting to see how much the new trees have grown back just since 2017.
The rest of Kinsman Ridge Trail that we did has already just blurred together in a mass of huge puddles and mudpits, herd paths, steep wet ledges, running water down the trail, ups and downs, and a few limited viewpoints. It honestly wasn't terrible, and the rain last night definitely made it tougher than it would've been otherwise, but it's not a trail I'm itching to do again anytime soon.
Reel Brook Trail starts off flat, with some wet sections but other sections of good footing. Its descent down to the brook crossings is mostly along a wide old road that is extremely wet and eroded. Most of it had water running down it. It probably would've seemed worse if we hadn't just hiked 6 1/2 miles in similar conditions. Reel Brook was flowing well. The three crossings of Reel Brook are all fairly close together - maybe a relocation could eliminate two of them? After those, the trail became nicer, with smoother and drier footing for the most part - there were definitely fewer mudpits. The section of trail that crosses the power line swath diagonally was very wet, but the sections immediately on either side were significantly drier. The right turn off the road just after crossing the power lines was well blazed in blue and pretty obvious if you were looking for it. The lower section of the trail has three substantial river crossings - the WMG calls these "small brooks" but they weren't so small today. We could still rock-hop them, but it took some thought. The rest of the trail in the lower section is gentle, smooth, and easy.
This hike took us 8 hours, and that was with several substantial breaks. Don't underestimate these trails. Since the thru-hiker season hasn't really begun yet here in NH, we saw only two other people the whole day - interestingly on the Dilly Spur. We saw only a few very small patches of snow on the entire hike, and none were on the trail. We're pretty much at summer hiking conditions in this area.
Thanks so much Rick for joining me! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-21 |
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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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