| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Major, Straightback Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Boulder Loop Trail, Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail, Brook Trail, Straightback-Major Link, Quarry Spur, Dave Roberts Quarry Trail, North Straightback Link, Mt. Major Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 14, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Mt. Major parking lot was maybe 2/3 full when I arrived at 9 AM. When I got back just before 2 PM, the parking lot was full and there were a half-dozen vehicles parked along Route 11. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water levels were high today from both the recent rain and the melting of the last bits of snow. The crossing on the upper section of Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail is running high and there are no rocks to use - I did a short bushwhack to the right of the trail (downstream) until I found a good place to cross. The crossing at the bottom of North Straightback Link was a simple rock hop. The first (upper) crossing on Brook Trail was also a simple rock hop, but the lower crossing on Brook Trail required some scouting, and ultimately I had to use rocks submerged under 2" of water. Not too big of a deal with waterproof boots and good hiking socks. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail is in rough shape - it has a lot of blowdowns (particularly in the lower section) and significant sections of trail in both the lower and upper sections have lots of standing and running water and mud. Large puddles blocking the trail on Straightback-Major Link and North Straightback Link. Quarry Spur isn't well marked and could be tough for a beginner to follow. Brook Trail also has lots of standing and running water and mud. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a bunch. No issues, but they're probably going to get wet and dirty from all the water and mud. |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw the first bug of the season today! Luckily, its friends haven't joined it yet. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found a blue rag of some sort lying on Mt. Major Trail just below the junction with Brook Trail. Left it on the sign at the trailhead for Mt. Major Trail. |
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 | Comments: |
The idea of this hike was to hike as many of the trails on Straightback and Major as I could without doing anything crazy. Started out on Boulder Loop Trail and after 0.4 miles took a left onto Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail. As I mentioned above, this trail has a lot of blowdowns, and getting around them wasn't always straightforward. It is also very wet and muddy in many places. It follows old roads for most of its length, and in many places those old roads were either streams or mudpits. At the beaver pond, it has been rerouted to avoid the old road where the old road disappears into the pond, but these sections are not always clear and the blazes aren't always obvious. After the pond, make sure you don't miss the sharp right onto a connecting section of the trail to begin the climb - this turn is marked with a small red arrow that's easy to miss. The second right turn, where the trail starts to go directly up the slope, is much more obvious. The next section is steeper, and had water running down it - there may have been some waterbars here in the past but they are all failed now. Past the junction with Straightback Mountain Trail, Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail eases slightly, but soon gets rockier and wetter again. Some of the rock ledges in this section are slippery, with water running down them. As the trail reaches the height of land and crosses the brook, patches of snow start to appear, but they were thin and could be walked straight through. After the water crossing, there was no more snow, but plenty of mud until the final ledgy climb up to Brook Trail. This was only the second time I'd hiked Jesus Valley-Beaver Pond Trail, and it could definitely use a LOT of trail maintenance - hopefully BRATTS gets to it soon. Experienced hikers and/or redliners may enjoy it, but casual hikers might want to stay on the more commonly used trails to Mt. Major.
From that junction, Brook Trail up to the summit of Major is obvious, but it has lots of mud and standing water. A good breeze at the summit of Major kept me from staying there from too long. I then headed toward Straightback - mud and standing water were the themes of the day for most of the way. One large puddle a few tenths from the summit of Straightback required a short bushwhack to get around. The small ravine at the bottom of the final climb up Straightback had some remaining snow - it was mostly soft and melting, but it was still very slippery, and the rocks around it were wet, so that short section needed to be taken carefully. Th final approach to the summit of Straightback is very muddy, with one section that needed to be bushwhacked around.
Backtracked to the junction with Quarry Spur and took it over to North Straightback. This is a more lightly traveled trail, not too obvious in places. Most of it is gradual, but the final push up to North Straightback is steep and goes straight up. That section isn't too long though. I then very briefly hopped on to Dave Roberts Quarry Trail and then descended North Straightback Link. The steep, rocky, ledgy upper section was certainly much easier than a month ago - the snow and ice is mostly gone from there. No snow at all on the rest of the trail, which is a moderate and at times steep descent through hardwoods and with fewer rocks. Still some standing water and mud though. Brook Trail certainly lived up to its name today - large sections of the trail both above and below the junction with North Straightback Link were running brooks, with hikers staying off to the sides where the mud wasn't quite as bad (though it was still muddy at times). This trail has gotten very wide with the unmitigated erosion and hikers finding ways around it. It's not realistic to ask hikers to walk straight through running water and mud, so this trail could really use a significant relocation to protect it for the future and prevent it from continuing to be widened. The lower Brook and Mt. Major trails had some more mudpits and several small seasonal creeks to be crossed, but it wasn't as bad as further up.
The weather was excellent today, and everyone seemed to be having a great time! There isn't enough snow or ice to warrant snowshoes or microspikes, and with the warm weather this week, the remaining bits will probably all be gone by next weekend anyway. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-04-14 |
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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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