| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, Mt. Kineo Trail, Donkey Hill Cutoff, Three Ponds Trail, Hubbard Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 30, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Hubbard Brook Road is long, but, except for a few protruding rocks, is in good condition. Kineo Trail Road is signed as such, and also in good condition. A few parking spots at both trailheads. Didn't see any other vehicles that far up Hubbard Brook Road besides my own. |
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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 crossing of the Sucker Brook beaver dam on Three Ponds Trail right next to the junction with Donkey Hill Cutoff is very sketchy. Not only is the dam mostly flooded, but parts of it are also overgrown, making it difficult to see where you can actually step. Your feet (or waders) will get wet. I wore my waders for the crossing, which worked, except at times I could step on logs on the beaver dam, so if wearing waders be very careful about where you step so that you don't accidentally step on something sharp and poke a hole in the wader. All other crossings were rock hops (or had bridges). |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Plenty of blowdowns on Three Ponds Trail and Hubbard Brook Trail, some of which require bushwhacking around and a few of which obscure the trail. Lots of muddy sections on all trails. Signage is not a strong suit here - several signs are either badly placed, in poor shape, or just missing. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
If they like mud, they'd do fine. There are no ledges or significant exposure here, and plenty of water, so these are pretty dog-friendly trails. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not an issue. The highest concentration of them seemed to be during the final road walk on Hubbard Brook Road, but they still didn't bother me much since I kept moving. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
I'd been putting this hike off for a while, even though it was the only hike I needed to complete the Moosilauke tab on my Redlining Spreadsheet. I ultimately decided that, with the not-so-hot weather forecast and the relative lack of bugs on some of my previous hikes, that this was the time to do it. (Also I was tired of driving 100+ miles each way for a hike, and this was only 65 miles each way.) I decided to try to park at the junction of Hubbard Brook Road and Kineo Trail Road, so I could do the uphill road walk at the beginning of the hike and the downhill road walk at the end of the hike. Sure enough, just slightly up Kineo Trail Road from the junction, there's a place where a car can park on the right side. From there I walked up Kineo Trail Road to the actual trailhead.
Mt. Kineo Trail has the largest climb of the day, which is why I wanted to do it first. The climb is mostly moderate. There are a few very muddy areas with tall grass - some of these sections have old, deteriorating bog bridges while others don't. Very difficult to keep boots dry through those sections. Besides those, though, the footing was generally good. The trail descending the other side could be difficult for a beginner to follow at times - it is very lightly blazed and the footway is quite faint in places. Eventually it gets clearer and then pops out onto the snowmobile trail. There's no sign at this junction - a quick check of my Alltrails confirmed that the trail turns right. In the opposite direction, this left turn off the snowmobile trail onto the footpath could be easily missed - there's a yellow blaze on a post at the junction, but it's small and not obvious at all. Soon after joining the snowmobile trail, it comes to a fork - there's a kiosk for snowmobilers but no obvious trail sign for hikers. The trail takes the left fork - there's an orange plastic sign for Mt. Kineo Trail just down this snowmobile trail, but it's not very visible from the junction. From this point to the junction with Donkey Hill Cutoff, the snowmobile trail gets extremely brushy in many places. You're not going to make up as much time as you think on this stretch due to how brushy the trail is. Some of the brush has thorns, so you should wear long pants on this hike - your legs would get absolutely ripped up if you tried to wear shorts through those brushy sections. A couple areas of those brushy sections were also wet. But the snowmobile trail is obviously easy to follow even if the footpath through it is very brushy.
Where Mt. Kineo Trail crosses the bridge over Brown Brook at the junction with Donkey Hill Cutoff, the signage needs to be significantly improved there. There aren't any obvious signs at all - the one that's there is slightly down Mt. Kineo Trail from the snowmobile trail. It mentions Donkey Hill Cutoff, but doesn't really give a good idea of where Donkey Hill Cutoff is. I knew where it was since I'd been there before, but someone who hadn't could get really confused. Donkey Hill Cutoff diverges right from Mt. Kineo Trail just after the bridge and where the snowmobile trail makes a big left turn. The sign for Donkey Hill Cutoff should be moved to be right where the trail starts. Donkey Hill Cutoff is a fine trail - slightly rough (but never too bad) and quite muddy in some places, but it has nice views of beaver meadows. It also has a large widowmaker that is hanging vertically over the trail like the Sword of Damocles. This was nicely pointed out to me by two men who I met there (they had camped at Three Ponds Shelter the previous night). The final part heading toward Three Ponds Trail has significant mud.
I had been wondering what the crossing of the Sucker Brook beaver dam on Three Ponds Trail would be like for the entire approach to it. And yes, it was sketchy. The approach trail to it, along with much of the beaver dam itself, is very brushy and overgrown. The crossing itself was flooded, but parts of it could use exposed logs - but with waders on, I really had to be careful where I stepped so that I would't accidentally poke a hole in the wader. The water in the pond itself behind the dam didn't look too deep - tall people could probably just walk straight through it with waders and avoid the dam completely. Considering the changeable nature of beaver dams, I doubt bog bridges would really have helped much - there are no obvious better options for this crossing. Past the crossing, Three Ponds Trail has some very muddy sections and plenty of blowdowns but still plenty of nice smooth and quick sections. I bushwhacked around the bog at Foxglove Pond - for much of the 'whack, there seemed to be a slight herd path I could follow, but for other parts there wasn't and I just tried to continue parallel to the trail. The climb up to Whitcher Hill isn't too strenuous, but the trail is not obvious in this area - pay close attention to where it goes. The flat section at the height of land had considerable mud in places. The descent down the other side toward Route 118 was pretty quick and easy - the footing is generally good. At one point, the trail crosses a snowmobile trail - not only is the snowmobile trail wet and overgrown, but the sign for the hiking trail as it crosses the snowmobile trail is broken, with most of it on the ground. When the hiking trail finally meets up with the Warren-Woodstock snowmobile trail, it wasn't as overgrown as Mt. Kineo Trail... except for one fairly short section that is extremely overgrown, with the narrow path going through grass that is 5 feet tall. After that, the trail was easy down to the junction with Hubbard Brook Trail. No cars at the trailhead off Route 118 today.
The WMG says that Hubbard Brook Trail is "not recommended for inexperienced hikers". I agree with that... for a few specific sections. The beginning of the trail, following the snowmobile trail, is easy, and there's an obvious sign where the hiking trail peels off to the right. The first water crossing takes some thought and some agility but can be rock-hopped. Soon after that, there's a big blowdown... and the trail just disappears. At first glance, it looks like the trail should continue straight, but the trail actually bears left right where that blowdown is, so keep that in mind and you should be able to find the trail again. The next water crossing is easier. Just before the trail goes into the woods and starts to climb, it crosses a short but VERY overgrown section that is wet in places - you've got to watch your footing to avoid the water and mud, but it's almost impossible to see where you're stepping since it's so overgrown. Then the trail has an easy crossing of a stream before entering the woods. Looking back at that overgrown section after crossing the brook, it's difficult to even see the trail. The climb up to the height-of-land was tiring after having already hiked 11 miles, but it's never steep and doesn't go on for too long. Once at the height of land, nothing is too difficult until the trail approaches the rerouted section mentioned in the WMG. It's not clear where the rerouted section begins - the trail just seems to end amidst a low-lying area with a beaver wetland to the right. I just bushwhacked onward, straight ahead, for a little bit until I saw a yellow blaze to my left. I went over to the blaze and found the trail again (Hubbard Brook Trail was the best-blazed trail of the day - plenty of yellow blazes in most (though not all) places). The remainder of the reroute was straightforward and not flooded, and I saw where it rejoined the original route of the trail (which was flooded). The short remaining stretch of trail to Hubbard Brook Road was easy, and there's even a small but nice waterfall on the right just before reaching the road. The road walk on Hubbard Brook Road back to my car was 1.4 miles, and I didn't see any cars while I walked it.
This hike is 13.5 miles, and it took me 7:42 including breaks. I saw a grand total of six other people - two each on Mt. Kineo Trail, Donkey Hill Cutoff, and Three Ponds Trail. Didn't see anyone on Hubbard Brook Trail. The slightly cooler temperature and nice breeze for part of the day made the weather more pleasant than it has been for the past two months. The Moosilauke tab is the second one I've completed on my redlining spreadsheet - only 10 more to go! ;) |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-30 |
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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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