| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moriah, Shelburne Moriah Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Carter-Moriah Trail, Kenduskeag Trail, Shelburne Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 23, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at Shelburne Trail - only a few cars there the whole day. Carter-Moriah trailhead in Gorham was busier - you can park at the power lines, since there's very little room at the actual trailhead since it's in a residential area. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The four crossings of East Brook on Shelburne Trail were all easy rock hops. No other crossings. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Just a few blowdowns over the course of the hike. Signs are all in place. There was plenty of mud on all three trails, particularly the upper parts of them, but the worst was on Kenduskeag Trail - many sections of unavoidable mud. Not a lot of standing or running water on the trail (except for a few sections of the upper Shelburne Trail), but rock ledges were slippery. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a couple. Assuming they like deep mud, they'd probably be fine, although there's no reliable water (just lots of mud) on Kenduskeag Trail. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not an issue for most of the day, until the final walk out on the forest road at the bottom of Shelburne Trail. Mosquitoes were active there. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
First of all, a HUGE thank you to Nordic Gal and Bria for driving me from the Shelburne trailhead to the Carter-Moriah trailhead when my hiking partner didn't show up. The two of you literally saved my hike today - if not for you, I would've had to go somewhere else.
Carter-Moriah Trail from Gorham up to Mt. Moriah is a well-used trail, and it shows. It's clear and easy to follow, but it's also quite rough and eroded in many places, and today some areas were wet with a little bit of mud. Compared with past hikes this summer, the mud on Carter-Moriah wasn't really too bad though. The trail is a relentless climb, with a few slight descents but no real quick-moving terrain once past Mt. Surprise. The open ledges in the middle part of the trail had excellent views of the Presidentials and Gorham. The vast majority of people I would see on this hike I saw either while climbing Carter-Moriah Trail or at the summit of Moriah. At the summit of Moriah we had a little bit of a reunion, as I met up with Nordic Gal and Bria again (who had hiked up Stony Brook), and also met the great Rocket21 for the first time! It was great to see you all.
Kenduskeag Trail got its name, according to the WMG, from an Abenaki word meaning "a pleasant walk". Whoever laid out the trail must have believed that a pleasant walk involves lots of ups and downs and large quantities of unavoidable deep mud, because that's what Kenduskeag Trail has. It is quite rough for much of its length, with lots of slippery rocks and roots, and has numerous bog bridges. Unfortunately, a significant amount of mud is not covered by bog bridges (particularly east of the Rattle River Trail junction), and your options are to either try to cling to the walls of the mudpits (which can be very difficult since they are slippery), or just walk through very deep mud and get your feet and ankles submerged many times. The relatively small total elevation gains and losses on the trail may convince you that the trail won't take long, but in fact it will definitely take longer than you think. That being said, the views in the eastern half of the trail are superb - on a clear day like today without a lot of wildfire smoke, you could see for long distances in all directions. The summit of Shelburne Moriah is marked with a large cairn and has views to the north, west, and south, and continuing just a little bit east of the summit brings you to an amazing view east. Shelburne Moriah is an amazingly beautiful mountain, but it's not easy to get to, and this was brought home to me as I descended Kenduskeag Trail to the east of the mountain. Despite the easternmost section of Kenduskeag having the greatest elevation change on the trail (1,000 vertical feet down from Shelburne Moriah to the junction with Shelburne Trail), even this section had several ups and downs, some of which were steep. At one of them though, follow the WMG's instructions to get the view over the Wild River Valley - it's absolutely incredible. That's the last view I got on this hike, so it's definitely one to savor.
After a long, strenuous day climbing over Moriah and Shelburne Moriah, I was very much hoping that Shelburne Trail would be a nice easy and smooth descent. And... parts of it were. The upper 2 miles of Shelburne Trail, above the point where it turns off the forest road, descended at mostly moderate grades (with some gradual sections), and its footing repeatedly alternated, with some sections being wet, rocky, and eroded while others were nicely smooth and dry. The brook crossings were easy. The lower section along the forest road was nice and quick, however the footing, while good, wasn't perfect - it looked like the road had been mowed recently, and the mower was unable to cut the final couple of inches off some of the small woody plants in the middle of the road, leaving these small but surprisingly tough stumps that you had to avoid. Staying in the ruts on either side was easier. The walk was long and had a couple of small muddy sections but was otherwise uneventful.
The weather was absolutely perfect today - less humid than a few weeks ago, with a very nice breeze at the summits and open areas, and views were incredible. It feels like this was the first perfect weather day we've had this summer. As a result, a lot of people were out - Appalachia was completely full with cars parked along the road at 7 AM, and Moriah was quite busy. Only a few people did Shelburne Moriah, though - it's definitely an overlooked gem. Amazing day in the mountains. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-23 |
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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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