| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gordon Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gordon Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 15, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Although this is not what the WMG recommends, I parked on the side of Sundance Road where the trail (possibly?) crosses it. There was enough room to get all four wheels off the pavement, and I didn't see any No Parking or No Trespassing signs. No parking at the actual trailhead at Mountain Side Road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The lowest crossing of Gordon Pond Brook was the biggest - I had to go slightly upstream from the blazed crossing to find a spot where I could very carefully rock-hop across. The next crossing, at 3.5 miles, is narrow (2 steps) but you have to go down a steep rock slab to get to it - could be more difficult if the rock is slippery. The third crossing, at 3.9 miles, is just above Gordon Falls - it's on a flat ledge with water running over it at the brink of the waterfall. The water was very shallow, but one slip on the rock and you could go over the falls, so I did a very short bushwhack to cross on another ledge that wasn't so close to the brink of the waterfall. The crossings above that are easier rock hops. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few large blowdowns that are difficult to get past. They involve multiple large branches of the same trees all blocking the trail. As the WMG notes, the section of trail between Gordon Falls and Gordon Pond is very wet and muddy in a lot of places - many new sets of bog bridges are needed. The only trail sign I saw was the one at the junction with Kinsman Ridge Trail - none near the trailhead. There seems to be some confusion about the location of the trail in the vicinity of Sundance Road - more on that below. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
No issues. |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw one solitary bug near the bottom on the way back. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
So I feel a little bit bad about this. A few weeks ago, I e-mailed a friend of mine who knows a lot about these trails, and asked him about Gordon Pond Trail, since the WMG said the trailhead could be relocated in the future. He recommended that, for the time being, I should follow the instructions in the WMG and park on Crooked Pike Rd. 0.4 miles from the start of the trail. However, when I came to do this trail today, I did... the exact opposite of what he recommended. I drove up Sundance Road in North Woodstock, and, just before the end of the road, a wide trail of some sort crosses Sundance Road. According to Alltrails, this wide trail was Gordon Pond Trail, and there was parking available, so I parked there. First, I followed the wide trail toward Route 112, under the power lines, and ultimately bearing left and reaching Mountain Side Road, where it was clear that no parking is available. I retraced my steps back to my car, and then continued up the wide trail going the other way. It was clear and obvious.
But then, just a couple of tenths from there, I reached a trail junction. According to the signs at the junction, the trail continuing ahead (north), following the wide old road, was indeed Gordon Pond Trail, but that the trail going the other way branched left from there. That section is not shown on Alltrails. Filing that away for something to check out at the end of the hike, I continued on the wide old road (which now had a few blue blazes). This continued uneventfully - the section crossing the power lines for the second time is pretty obvious.
Once across the brook, the trail followed old roads first easily and then moderately up along a sidehill. Footing is generally good here, even with the fallen leaves, though there are a couple of small muddy areas (nowhere near as bad as the upper part of the trail though). The trail remains on these mostly-straight old roads up to Gordon Falls, where it reaches the top of the steep section of mountainside and starts to go across the plateau. The temperature was noticeably colder up here than on the old roads climbing up. The section between Gordon Falls and Gordon Pond is very wet and muddy in many places - despite it being mostly flat or gradual, it was slower for me than the moderate climb up the old roads. There are a couple of bypasses, but they have become muddy as well. In a few places, very short bushwhacks are required to avoid the mud. This area needs a LOT of bog bridges. The spur to Gordon Pond is not signed, but it continues straight where Gordon Pond Trail turns left to cross the brook for the last time. The pond is very nice, and it would be pleasant to camp there - I'm sure plenty of thru-hikers have. The remainder of the trail up to Kinsman Ridge Trail has several bog bridges (if they can build them there, why not just slightly further down on the part of the trail that really needs them?). This section is also narrower and somewhat less obvious, but I didn't have any issue following it, and it's just 0.3 miles from Gordon Pond up to Kinsman Ridge Trail.
On the way down, upon reaching the trail junction where Gordon Pond Trail seemed to split off from the wide old road, I went west to follow the arrow. This section went uphill on a track that is somewhat narrower than the wide old road but still obvious. It brought me out onto the power lines, and the trail seemed to follow the power line access road back down to the wide old road. This power line access road is rough in places and flooded in one area that has a short but rough bypass. There is absolutely no signage or blazes at its south end, where it meets back up with the wide old road (and this bypass is not shown on Alltrails at all). From there, I just had to recross the power line swath on the wide old road and I was back at my car on Sundance Road.
So like I said, there seems to be some confusion regarding where Gordon Pond Trail goes in the vicinity of Sundance Road. The WMG claims that it follows the power line access road and then the side trail, in order to avoid crossing Sundance Road. Meanwhile, that section of trail isn't shown on Alltrails, which shows only the continuation of the wide old road across Sundance Road. It appears that the route as described in the WMG is intended to avoid Sundance Road. My question is, why? There aren't any No Parking or No Trespassing signs where the wide old road crosses Sundance Road, and it's certainly shorter, easier, and more obvious to simply stay on the wide old road straight across Sundance Road rather than doing a longer, rougher, and frankly pointless bypass.
I hope this all made sense! Ultimately, the important thing is that I got five new miles of redlining done today, and spent a great day in the woods. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-10-15 |
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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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