| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Sugarloaf, Sugarloaf, Bear Mountain, Mowglis Mountain, Firescrew, Mt. Cardigan, Orange Mountain, Crane Mountain, Grafton Knob, Church Mountain, Brown Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Elwell Trail, Mowglis Trail, Clark Trail, South Ridge Trail, Skyland Trail, roads |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, May 29, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Decent sized lot at Wellington State Park. Lots of empty space. Stashed bikes in woods just up the road from Alexandria Four Corners at intersection with Church Road |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
One tiny rock hop. Only water on this 18-mile hike was on the Elwell trail at the 7.7 mile mark from Newfound Lake. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
big loop for a lot of dogs and super duper dry. Some moderate scrambling but nothing crazy. |
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 | Bugs: |
yikes! Mosquitoes swarming at car and persistent to Bear Mountain. They would occasionally appear throughout the day. Dan and I easily pulled off 30-40 ticks each throughout the day. Still have the creepy crawlies as I write this |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Elwell Trail past Sugarloaf has some fun stretches that feel like wilderness. A ton of blowdowns, some luxuriant undergrowth, fun route finding, etc. If you like that sort of thing, the Elwell Trail is great. We would occasionally walk off trail and immediately sense something wrong and pick it up quick again. Gaia GPS was helpful as well. Skyland Trail from Alexandria to Orange Mountain definitely seems very lightly used as well but was generally easy to follow.
Cardigan Super Loop! This loop consisted of stashing bikes at Alexandria Four Corners (Skyland Trailhead) and starting the hike 8 miles away at Newfound Lake. Total was ~18 miles hiking with ~5k vert and 8 miles biking, mostly downhill(1k) and flat. The hike starts with a 10.4 mile Elwell Trail traverse. Sections of this trail as noted above are very rough and obscure. The hike up Bear Mountain is pretty sucky. Overall a really fun trail. We scared up a bull moose that went crashing through the woods ahead of us near the Back 80 Trail intersection. That's two hikes in a row with Dan spotting Moose after an 8-year drought-craziness! Mowglis trail over Firescrew and Cardigan is an absolute gem of a trail-hiked it the first time a few weeks ago with the kiddos and was happy to return with trail runners and a hydration vest instead of a heavy-ass toddler. We saw zero people from the Elwell trailhead up to Firescrew and then hordes of people and babies (as expected) on Cardigan. Then zero people once on Skyland Trail. Skyland Trail was really pleasant and had great views on and around Orange Mountain looking over the entire hike we had done up to that point. The 1k downhill bike on gravel was a bit bumpy but generally easy and exciting, and the remaining fat, paved roads were a great way to wind down after a long morning. To anyone who loves a lot of solitude and a challenging day with great views the Cardigan Super Loop is strongly recommended!!! |
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 | Name: |
Spence, Dr. Dan |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-29 |
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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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