| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Catamount Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
One Mile Trail, Catamount Trail, Cascade Trail, Carr Ridge Trail, Hayes Farm Trail, Lane Trail, Shortcut |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 4, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked in the paved lot by the tollbooth at the start of the One Mile Trail. One or two other cars around 3:30pm. I think I was the last one there at 6:15pm. Room for maybe a dozen or so; wasn't paying close attention. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Any that weren't bridged were pretty small/trivial. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There were a number of blowdowns but mostly or all of the relatively small and usually not cumbersome. I do not recall where most where but I know that there was a large limb down across the trail by Hayes Marsh with a herd path just to the side of it. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
As the guidebook describes, some are blazed in yellow (usually not frequent or regular and seemed a bit faded) and others are marked with white triangles tacked to trees. Some may have been unblazed too. In any event, they aren't hard to follow and most were signed well enough. Some had "regular" trail signs whereas others, perhaps less significant jcts, had white trail information signs with the trails written in. These would be easier to walk past and not notice. Also, at least one of these was on the ground; I believe it was at the jct of Shortcut and Wildcat trails.
From an erosion standpoint, the trails were more eroded due to mud and washout than I might have figured for such low elevation trails.
A fantastic afternoon/evening hike for SNH redlining :) This hike completed both the short and long loops over Catamount described in the guidebook and the Hayes Marsh Loop. I definitely recommend combining at least the former two as other than a 0.3mi one-way OAB on Shorcut Trail, the short loop is a subset of the long loop. My route followed the long loop described while looping in Hayes Marsh Loop (from jct of Carr Ridge Trail and Hayes Farm Trail, OAB on 0.1mi of Hayes Farm Trail to the view from the Causeway, then right/SE on Carr Ridge Trail, continuing on Lane Trail to Hayes Field and Podunk Rd, Lane Trail back up to Hayes Farm Trail then an OAB on missing 0.2mi section of Hayes Farm Trail to the west before continuing north along Lane Trail/long loop) and the OAB on Shortcut near the end. Note that Shortcut is just shown as Catamount Trail on Gaia. I don't recall how it was signed but on the Bear Brook map, it's shown as Catamount Shortcut. Also, Catamount Trail does not go to the true summit as shown on Gaia; it turns east as shown on Gaia and there is no OAB needed; this section of trail is marked as not an official trail and as leaving the park boundary. As noted above, trails are not always frequently marked but jcts are usually marked well enough and I had nor problem following the trails.
Trails were mostly free of any snow/ice. I think the only places I really saw any were in One Mile Trail and Shortcut. Not worth bringing microcpikes. Grippy enough anyway. Lots of wet trail and mud but nothing horrendously deep. The worst was on One Mile and Lane trails south of Shortcut. The trails and really just roads and often look the same but are randomly very soft and muddy in spots. Slowed me down some. Of course this is also where the most snow/ice (still not significant at all) was seen. Other than these two trails, I found the hike quite pleasant. Gaia had me at 7.75mi, 900ft of gain, 2.5hrs. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-03-05 |
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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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