| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Blue Mountain, Blue Mountain - Northwest Peak, Blue Mountain - Northeast Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Carter Ledge Trail, Middle Sister Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, June 4, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Small lot for 4 cars in from of the bathroom at Carter Ledge campground off Rte 16 |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
all easy rock hops, Some streams were dry or very little water |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a couple trees across the trail on Middle Sister |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
bugs were moderate and annoying. we apply Off 3 times over the course of 6 hrs |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Our goal for the day was to tag the summits of the Blues of Chocorua, Blue Mt 2520 (NH500), Blue Northwest 2380 (NH500), Blue Northeast peak 2370. It took 1 hr, 30 mins to hike 3.3 miles up trail to the start of the bushwhack for Blue Mt. The first leg of the BW was fairly easy to navigate to the summit of Blue. Keep the cliff edge to your right and head easterly to the high point, approx .4 from the trail. The summit jar and register were in good conditions.
We left the summit through some scrappy spruce and headed down in a NW direction, aiming for the valley. Rather than travel between the two knolls to the col, we opted to go around the back side of the northern knoll. This proved to be a good choice, traveling through somewhat open woods. We crossed a brook and found ourselves along side the southern hillside of Blue Northwest. Although it was quite steep to start, we decide to head straight up the hillside since the woods were open. We picked our way around some blowdowns, arriving on the ridge and headed northwest to the highest contour. We followed a faint herdpath right to the summit jar in a nice mossy space. The jar and register were in good shape. The coordinates we had for Blue NW, from Peakbagger, was slightly off.
We decided to head down right from the summit, however, this was not a good choice. The hillside was thick and it was slow going. It would be better to backtrack .2 across the ridge, then head down. Once we were near the col, we worked our way around the northern knoll, staying to the right of the bog. We located the strip of land that runs between the two bogs and made a beeline right for the summit of Blue Northeast. Traveling was relatively easy. The summit is just east of what seemed like the high point. The jar is hanging from the tree above a large rock. The summit jar and register needs to be replaced. The two-piece mason jar lid is rusted and difficult to close. The register was wet. We added our names to a dry piece of paper and added it to a zip lock we had. We also put a baggy under the lid before screwing on the lid.
We headed down and found we had wandered to the southeast and had to work our way around the second bog. Although, we had to navigate a narrow stretch between the bog and a cliff shelf, we found an enormous boulder on the edge of the bog. Worth seeing, however, it would have been easier to head back over the strip land that passes to the col. To get back to the trail we skirted the western side off Blue Mt, making an ascent up several contour lines through mostly open woods and eventually popping out just below where we started the BW. It was roughly 4 miles connecting the three peaks and it took us about 4 hours of off trail adventures. Total mileage for the day was 11 miles. Total moving time 5 hrs 40 mins and total time 6 hrs 45 mins. I have a GPS recording in AllTrails. |
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 | Name: |
Diane Stuart |
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 | E-Mail: |
stucroftfarm@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-06-05 |
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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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