| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Fox Forest, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Ridge Trail, Swamp Trail, Mud Pond Road, Mud Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for plenty of cars at the park headquarters. Half dozen to a dozen when I arrived at 3:45pm mostly taking up the designated spots but I imagine if it overflows, people just park in the grassy area next to it. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Very easily rock hopable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Overall, there has been a good deal of storm damage on these trails and there a lot of blowdowns and debris. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We had one with us that seemed to do fine but not sure I'd recommend due to the pricker bushes and how overgrown it is in parts on the south/west side. |
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 | Bugs: |
They got progressively worse as the evening went on and 25% DEET did not seem to deter them. I find that bug spray doesn't seem to do much against flies and the ones that dive bomb you. They were very annoying. Given how overgrown it is, I figured we'd get some ticks but haven't found any...yet. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Ridge Trail is blazed in red overtop what looked to be older white blazes. Generally speaking, it is profusely well blazed. I believe it was signed at all jcts. Note that it coincides with other trails such as Hurricane Rd and Chestnut Corner Rd at times. Swamp Trail was blazed in yellow. Not as profusely as Ridge Trail but still very sufficient. It was signed at its northern jct with Ridge Trail but I walked right by its southern jct; I don't think I checked to see if I missed a sign in that direction or not. Mud Pond Rd and Trail were both signed. Not sure if the former was blazed but the latter I believe was blazed in yellow but then became white. Overall, there has been a good deal of storm damage on these trails and there a lot of blowdowns and debris. I think there was much more on Ridge Trail than the others though. Also, much more of an issue than blowdowns in my opinion, was how overgrown parts of Ridge Trail are on the south side (mostly on the stick part of the lollipop loop but on soem other parts as well). The trail, especially on the south side, is obviusly lightly trodden, but so much so that the footbed is practically gone at times, obscured by undergrowth. Near logged areas on the stick part of the lollipop, there was also lots of poison ivy on the trail, pricker bushes, etc. This trail needs a lot of work.
0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HIKE!!! I wish I could say that it was just one of those trails in the guidebook that isn't particularly attractive/boring, but with poison ivy, pricker bushes, blowdowns, and no footbed at times, boring isn't quite the right word. Parts of Ridge Trail on the south/west side of the forest are in really bad shape. They have a small sign up on both the west/south and east/north sides of the park warning you of storm damage and reassuring you that clean up is underway, but 1) it's July, 2) I didn't see much evidence of any work being done, 3) storm damage and blowdowns/debris are one thing, but poison ivy, pricker bushes, and incredibly overgrown trails are another. I am really surprised that parts of Ridge Trail on the south/west side haven't just been closed given their shape. The worst of it is in the stick part of the lollipop where you'll find poison ivy and pricker bushes, but there were other parts where the trail basically disappeared in the brush as well. If not redlining, I highly recommend continuing straight through a logging cut at the start, rather than circling around to the north; I have no idea why they think a trail through poison ivy and pricker bushes is more attractive than going through a short section of logging. The one good thing is that the trail is, generally speaking, profusely well blazed, so you can still find your way with care but given that this is just some little forest and not the White Mountains, I also imagine that a lot of people would come here for little family "hikes", walks, etc. and could easily get lost on these trails. The north/east side of Ridge Trail was still clearly lightly travelled but was not at all the cluster that the south/west side was. It even had a redeeming feature, Mud Pond, which, as the guidebook says, is quite beautiful. I was treated to some sunset colors here though I will say that hearing the road on just the other side of the pond was a turn off. The small observation tower near Monroe Hill was out of commission, very dinky, and it looks like the view is growing in anyway, so not so sure you'd have a view from the top of it anyway at this point. I think the redeeming feature of the south/west side of the forest is supposed to be Black Gum Swamp, but all Swamp Trail takes you to is an information kiosk on Black Gum trees: not some nice view of a swamp like Mud Pond. One last thing I'd love to complain about: at several points throughout this hike, you can hear traffic.
Anyway, my route: counterclockwise loop of Ridge Trail on the south/west side of the park, redlining Swamp Trail as well, and redoing the short section of Ridge Trail that parallels it, then a clockwise loop of Ridge Trail on the north/east side of the forest of Ridge Trail also redlining part of Mud Pond Rd and Mud Pond Trail. Swamp Trail and the loop around Mud Pond were hiked because they are (sort of) described in the guidebook in addition to Ridge Trail. Luckily, I had the company of a friend for part of this hike which probably made it a bit more bearable. I'm sure the heat didn't help either but this really was, by far, my least favorite trail I've ever hiked and I am curious about the management of this forest. For redliners, I suggest hiking these trails in winter so as to avoid the brush. Despite the dry weather, there was also still some muddy spots. Personally, I'm hoping that the Ridge Trail on the south/west side of the forest gets taken out of the next guidebook and I don't think any tears would be shed if the north side of it were taken out as well. In my opinion, the only feature of interest here is Mud Pond. While overall this is a pretty flat hike, there still managed to be some steeper pitches. I'm also baffled as to why the signs refer to the forest as a west/east side whereas geographically it's clearly north/south... I also struggled to find a good map and where exactly Ridge Trail was when mapping this out so if anyone would like my track, please feel free to reach out. The key is that Ridge Trail coincides with Hurricane Rd and Chestnut Corner Rd for a time so is labelled as such on Gaia. Gaia had me at about 12.5mi, 1325ft of gain, 4hr39min. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-07-10 |
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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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