| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Terrace Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Terrace Spur |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for 4 vehicles at the York Pond trailhead, more can park on the side of the road, and there's a fair amount of room at Unknown Ponds TH a short walk away. Too bad it is such a long drive to get there. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Significant |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hops. The two crossings just up from the dam have changed some since my prior visits, but there were enough debris and rocks to keep the feet dry. The plank across the dam is there fortunately. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are mostly good, so good it's worth mentioning the few spots they aren't, unlike a lot of 4K trails where it is the reverse. York Pond has some wet & muddy areas down low, primarily in the bog bridge section. That's not new, but one of the bog bridges is now a teeter totter and should be replaced. Although a few others are breaking down they still work, and in a lot of places between them rocks or roots can with care be used to stay dry and in the trail. But there is a two section gap in the middle of the longest run of them that really needs to be filled; its a wetland. There is a stretch further up where one of the water bars is stranded above the trail, and water has flowed down the trail quite a ways clearing it down to small stone. I couldn't fix the waterbar with only poles and boots. Compared to other trails this would seem almost inconsequential but for the most part this trail is great, a wonderful path, and the fix seems easy with a shovel/pick/adze. I cleared out a handful of blowdowns, leaving one minor head banger and a few stepovers, one a broken stem is serving as a water bar. The other waterbars are working. Kilkenney Ridge between Willard and Bunnell Notch is another fine trail, a delight to hike, but it has three spots of brushiness that were no issue today but after a rain they'd sure be wet. The first is long standing, the grown up area where Bunnell Notch branches off. Another is a ways down from Terrace where the white birch crowns were damaged allowing abundant regen. The other is down from North Terrace and is mostly ferns so not exactly easy to manage or something that will get out of hand. Bunnell Notch has its mud and wet spots as always but worsened in recent years by hikers going off to the side or into waterbars. Still it's better than most 4K main trails. All signs were up. Kilkenney Ridge had more paint blazes than I expected, some old some new, but the footpath is obvious even in the brushy areas. Winter? |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Good dog trails. |
|
 | Bugs: |
A few, no big deal. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
The Kilkenney Ridge trail is usually a delight to hike with a nice footbed and lots of solitude. York Pond is pretty good too outside of the bog bridge section. So I was happy to kick/flick/pick up a lot of accumulated small branches (there's more) and cut some blowdown. There were no waterbars that needed help that I could do. It was a hazy day so dropping down at Terrace into the fern flats for a better view of the Weeks and other peaks wasn't as fruitful as usual. It was warm and muggy to start but clouds came in with cooler temps and (oddly) drier feeling air with a bit of a breeze made for an even nicer hike across Terrace and down. I saw 1 person heading in and 3 heading out on my hike up Bunnell Notch; after that none. The two campsite groups in Willard Notch looked good and the water supply was flowing. I noticed two days ago the trail to the Cabot Hut spring was in a really good shape and even signed, with a good flow at the end of some PVC pipe, so overnighters could plan on using that. |
|
 | Name: |
Zero |
|
 | E-Mail: |
|
|
| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-26 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
