| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Pawtuckaway Mountain, South Pawtuckaway Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road Walk, Mountain Trail, Round Pond Trail, North Mountain Trail, Reservation Road, Round Pond Road, Tower Road, Middle Mountain Trail, South Mountain Tower Trail, Tower Trail Connector, unnamed trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Pawtuckaway State Park no longer allows you to park roadside for Mountain and Round Pond Trail; you park at the HQs, then walk the 0.4mi to the start. There's a $5 day use fee. Room for several dozen cars at the park HQs and and it wasn't all that busy on this weekday. If driving in to Middle or South Pawtuckaway, note that the roads getting in are a bit rougher and I believe there was a little water on one of them. Low clearance may struggle; I don't remember specifics. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The only one that I recall or at least wasn't trivial was the crossing of Mountain Brook by the beaver ponds 0.4mi NW of Mountain Trail. The guidebook says that the footway may be flooded here and it most certainly was. With great care and long legs, I was barely able to get across without getting my feet wet in trail runners. It would be an easy walk through at low water with waterproof boots. If water was high, I'm not sure how tricky this crossing would get. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Round Pond Trail between Round Pond Rd and Reservation Rd is very overgrown. There is a large blowdown on Round Pond Trail between Round Pond and Reservation roads. It has multiple large limbs down across the trail. Not crazy hard to get through. A very large duck under is on Middle Mtn Trail as well; not too difficult. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are welcome on hiking trails only in the park and must be leashed. |
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 | Bugs: |
I think they were bad when it wasn't actually raining. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
I'm not sure trails are always blazed, but, when they are, I think they're blazed in white. Not sure it's all that frequent/regular, but trails are easy to follow in the park. That being said, Round Pond Trail between Round Pond Rd and Reservation Rd is very overgrown and could be mowed down and cut back. This section between the two roads clearly does not get much traffic and is nothing more than an old road. It is not signed at its northern end. There is a large blowdown on Round Pond Trail between Round Pond and Reservation roads. It has multiple large limbs down across the trail. Not crazy hard to get through. A very large duck under is on Middle Mtn Trail as well; not too difficult. Any other blowdowns were probably pretty insignificant stepovers. I think all signage was intact.
Well I thought this hike finished my redlining of Pawtuckaway for the SNH guidebook but upon writing this trail report, I've realized that I missed the South Ridge Connector, and one could also argue that you need to walk Round Pond Rd between the end of Round Pond Trail and Round Pond as well. My route starting at the park HQs: Mountain Rd --> Mountain Trail --> Round Pond Trail --> North Mtn Trail to North Mtn Bypass and back to Reservation Rd --> Reservation Rd --> Round Pond Trail --> 0.1mi old road that connects to Reservation Rd at jct with Tower Rd --> Tower Rd --> OAB on Middle Mtn Trail --> OAB on South Mtn Tower Trail including both sides of the loops --> Tower Trail Connector --> OAB on Mountain Trail to South Ridge Trail --> Mountain Trail --> Tower Rd --> 0.1mi old road connecting Round Pond Trail to Reservation Rd --> Round Pond Trail --> Mountain Trail --> Mountain Rd back to car. This was 12.5mi, about 1400ft of gain, and it took me 5hrs to complete.
Note the flooded trail above in the water crossings notes. Also, the northern end of Round Pound Trail is not signed, is very overgrown, and I walked right by it as many probably would. The trails were easy to follow and generally dry though I'm sure that there was the occasional mudpit in addition to the fact that it downpoured partway through the hike giving everything a much needed water. Note that the South Mtn Tower Trail was a little confusing at its start. I realized partway up that where I started didn't seem to be the true start as I saw white blazes coming up from another direction; be wary of this if redlining. The summit area on Middle Pawtuckaway was quite cool. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-06-19 |
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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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