| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Sunapee, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Andrew Brook Trail, Solitude Trail, White Ledge Spur, Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, Newbury Trail, Rim Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 21, 2024 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
My friend was kind enough to spot my car with me at Newbury Trail. There are a number of signs here that very clearly indicate that hikers are welcome but 1) you are on private property, and 2) you cannot park at the trailhead but rather need to park down at the information booth/kiosk and caboose. There is room for about a dozen cars here. I don't think there were any at 7am and less than a half dozen at 2:20pm when I returned. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossing's were rock hopable. The most potentially troublesome in high water were the first crossing on Andrew Brook Trail that seems to be due to washout and the crossing of Johnson Brook at the start of Rim Trail. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Andrew Brook Trail was blazed in blue. I don't really recall frequency but it wasn't difficult to follow except for the place of the water crossing mentioned above. There's a misleading arrow here that points to the right despite the trail continuing straight ahead. It looks like they may be trying to reroute the trail to the right though. Solitude Trail is marked with the white MSG markers and maybe some orange blaze mixed in too. The MSG headed south toward the red-blazed spur is marked with the usual MSG markers along with some very old and faded yellow blazes that were mostly circles on rocks/ledge. Newbury Trail is blazed in orange and Rim Trail is blazed in yellow; I didn't find either hard to follow. A few blowdowns on Andrew Brook Trail and Solitude Trail I think. One mid-sized and not totally delimbed blowdown on the 1.5mi MSG "spur" that leads to the red-blazed view spur that is a pain. You can either crawl under it or bushwhack around it. Evidence of people going around it was present but no herd path yet. I think there may have been a couple blowdowns on Newbury Trail but I know there were some in the drainage near the top of Rim Trail that were a bit of a pain. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
All of these trails seem good for dogs. No scrambling and plenty of water sources. |
|
 | Bugs: |
None (yay!) but I would expect them soon. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
A nice SNH redlining route, part of which was with a friend. We ascended the mountain via Andrew Brook Trail and Solitude Trail to the summit with a quick detour to White Ledge along the way, then returned back to the Andrew Brook Trail jct where my friend continued down to his car and I did an OAB along the MSG south to the 0.1mi red blazed view spur 1.5mi away, then descended Newbury Trail to my parked car with an OAB along Rim Trail and to the Eagles Nest along the way.
While one man we saw carried snowshoes and really thought they might be needed, they were not, but I will admit that there was more remnant snow than I would have imagined. The deepest/most consistent was just south of Andrew Brook Trail along the MSG. The depth may have been as great as a couple feet still in places but it was not continuous so snowshoes would not be helpful. With cooler temps on Sunday, it also remained pretty firm. I postholed exactly twice throughout the day. We never used microspikes or seriously considered putting them on but I'd still recommended carrying them with the amount of snow/ice remaining. Some more cautious folks may want them. There was no monorail to speak of and ice was often dirty/grippy. There were of course the requisite spring mud pits and puddles but nothing exceptional. Some blowdowns along the trails that hopefully spring clean-up will take care of.
Andrew Brook Trail is pretty gradual-moderate. One hard to follow section early in what appears to be a very washed out little water crossing. Lake Solitude and White Ledge just above it are both terrific spots. It had been well over 10 years since I'd been there and it was great to be back :) The climbing between White Ledge and the true summit of Sunapee was less annoying that I imagined. There are still some miniature "snow fields" on the ski slopes as you near the summit that I suppose one ought to be careful on. Nice places to sit and eat lunch on top if one so wished. The MSG south to the 0.1mi red-blazed spur sounds quite obnoxious but this is a rather enjoyable trail. The snow around the lake made it a bit tedious at first but the trail is quite pleasant going through some nice ledge and forest, views, lightly trodden, and not much elevation. The view spur is quite nice and the view great as well. Note that it would be easy enough to walk by though; it is marked by a cairn, and directions are painted on the ground but there is no sign. Could be quite difficult to note in winter but it's shown on my Gaia. Newbury Trail was less steep overall than I'd anticipated but felt long. The OAB on Rim Trail is an annoying 1/2mi each way with almost 500ft of gain but not all that steep really. No idea if the gate at the bottom of the road is closed. The sign at its base indicates that the trail is 0.9mi long which I thought was funny. The spur to the Eagles Nest is not signed and would be very easy to walk by descending and perhaps ascending as well. It is marked with some surveyors tape and is not as obscure as it may seem at its start. It is shown on Gaia.
Stats are a bit off as Gaia didn't record a small piece of the hike but I think it was roughly a little more than 11mi with about 2400ft of gain, taking about 7hrs. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2024-04-23 |
|
 | 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. |
|
