| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Wantastiquet Mountain, Mine Ledge, East Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Wantastiquet Mountain Trail, Mine Ledge Trail, Ann Stokes Loop, herd paths, buswhack, unknown trail, road walk |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 13, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Well I would’ve saved about 350ft of gain had I started at the Madame Sherri Forest but I parked at the Wantastiqiet Mtn trailhead instead. The lot was mostly full at 10:30am. I think there may have been some event going on. There was a table set up on the road below the trail. Everyone always seemed to find a spot though. It was busy when I returned at 3:45pm too. Dirt lot that’s easily accessible. Madame Sherri lot was similar; busy but always a few spots. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I don’t believe there were any that weren’t bridged. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Wantastiquet Mtn Trail and Mine Ledge Trail are both marked with blue diamonds as part of the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail. The former is trivial to follow as a road. The latter is a narrow footway at times and while I wouldn’t call it hard to follow, it could be brushed back. I think that the Ann Stokes Loop was marked with white diamonds except where it coincides with the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail where the blue diamonds were still used. Not hard to follow. The herd path to the mine (see comments below) was marked with yellow blaze in its middle section where where it’s off the steeps but not yet a road. It is littered with blowdowns though especially as it flattens out below the steeps. May have been the worst section of blowdowns I’ve seen in a hardwood forest before! I don’t recall many or any blowdowns on the Wantastiquet Mtn Trail, I believe there were several on Mine Ledge Trail, a few on Ann Stokes Loop, and many on the herd path and unknown trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Good trails for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
If I remember correctly, they weren’t really bothersome which kind of surprised me. I think I picked up two dog ticks though. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
First hike of the day. Started hiking around 10:45am. It believe it was already in the 70s if not close to it! Wantasitquet Monadnock Trail is an old road to the summit at easy-moderate grades and very wide. It’s eroded and doesn’t seem to drain terribly well as there were some very wet and mucky sections with mild running water down the trail. The spur near the summit is obvious. A dried mud pit shortly after this by the tower as the Mine Ledge Trail turns sharply left. It’s signed but the footpath is not immediately obvious here.
Mine Ledge Trail was enjoyable as it walked the ridge smooshed between rhododendrons. A pretty narrow path that could be brushed back a bit and it didn’t seem terribly well travelled. Nice viewpoint down to Indian Pond as it begins to descend more steeply to it. The spur to Indian Pond was obvious and I thought it was a pretty neat spot. I dropped my pack at the Ann Stokes Loop and hiked the loop counterclockwise.
I don’t remember the Ann Stokes Loop as terribly memorable beyond Madame Sherri’s Castle. I enjoyed reading all the signs at info about it at the trail kiosk at the parking lot before hiking to it. Very cool! There’s an obvious trail behind it that I was of course curious to explore. I hiked it west and uphill before it turned south and did more of a contour. I think it split before it turned south as well at the base of some boulders. It did not appear that these paths really led anywhere so I returned the same way. If anyone knows, I’d be interested to hear though!
The climb back up to Mine Ledge was a bit of a pain in the heat of the day but the spur 70yds to the cliff then an additional 80yds along it was pretty cool! I noted that Gaia showed a trail continuing south down the steeps, then contouring/slabbing NW out to Rt 119 so of course I had to take it! It is not at all obvious where the spur trail ends on the ledge (do use caution here especially with dogs and children!) it is very steep at its start and wound up following the loop shown to the east as “unmaintained trail” rather than the trail shown on Gaia just because that’s what I found. As it went below treeline, the leaves were significant and I fell at least a few times in a very short distance on them. Shortly before the “loop” or unkainatained trail reached the more prominent line/trail shown on Gaia, there’s a huge mine shaft. There is rope here but I certainly wouldn’t be going down there alone without knowing what I was doing or without anyone else there. Cool to see though. Continuing down, shortly after the jct shown on Gaia with the main “trail” you’ll see a large boulder field on your right. Of course I had to make my way out to it. This is just beneath the cliffs that the 80yd spur mentioned above walks along. I explored this area for awhile but didn’t find anymore mine shafts or anything.
Not too long after this, the herd path flattens out and you begin the long walk out to the road. At the base of the steeps, there a yellow blazed tree and what was a rough herd path becomes more a legit trail. That said there was one, maybe two, sections of blowdown devastation (don’t know if I’ve ever seen the likes in a hardwood forest before!) where the trail is very hard to follow. That said, the yellow blaze is actually relatively frequent; blowdowns just cover them. After the blowdowns, there’s some very wet and mucky sections. The walking becomes pleasant enough though and eventually becomes a road as you gently slab down to Rt 119. The yellow blazing stops as the road becomes obvious. Half mile walk from here back to the trailhead.
Gaia had me at 9.5mi and roughly 2250ft of gain, taking 5hrs to complete. Could cut this down not exploring Madame Sherri’s Castle, the boulder field, herd path, etc. though. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-23 |
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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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