| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Goodhue Hill, Bald Mountain , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mill Pond Trail, Goodhue Hill Trail, Tudor Trail, Bald Mountain Trail, Tamposi Trail, Spur Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, August 2, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The road in is dirt but should be doable for any car as far as I recall. Large dirt parking area with room for a couple dozen cars I think. No parking directly at the start of Mill Pond Trail or Tudor Trail but they're very short walks from where you park. I was one of only a few cars there shortly before 10am but the lot had well over a dozen, with still plenty of room I think, when I returned around 1:30pm. If the parking lot was full, I imagine you could drive another 1/4mi t the boat launch on the south side of Willard Pond and park there too. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
If there were any, I think they were very easy or trivial. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I don't recall if there were any blowdowns except toward the end of Tudor Trail where there was one massive one but that you could get around (I think it may have been partially delimbed). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure. Some of the trails are steep but I don't think there's much in the way of scrambling that your average hiking dog couldn't do. |
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 | Bugs: |
I don't recall. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Mill Pond Trail is marked in yellow. Goodhue Hill Trail is marked with red. As noted in the guidebook, there's an area on the west side of the summit that is hard to follow, and it's not always well marked, so this section should definitely be trimmed way back. Experienced hikers shouldn't have much trouble following the trail though. Tudor Trail is marked with yellow and Bald Mtn Trail in red. Tamposi Trail is marked in yellow and Spur Trail in blue. Spur Trail is obviously very overgrown and difficult to follow even just to the orchard.
Second hike of the day after redlining the Ted's, Carolyn's, and Cliff trails on North Pack Monadnock. My route: Mill Pond Trail (south side) --> OAB on Goodhue Hill Trail --> Mill Pond Trail (north side) --> Tudor Trail to north side of Willard Pond and back to --> Bald Mtn Trail --> Bald Mtn/Tamposi Trail to summit --> Tamposi Trail --> OAB on Spur Trail --> Tamposi Trail back to car.
This was a miserably hot and humid day so the steep climb up Bald Mtn was brutal. Note that there is a herd path, no less distinct than the main trail really, continuing NE from the summit of Goodhue Hill. I didn't follow it for long, but my guess is that it starts/ends over by Brimstone Corner Rd. The walk along Willard Pond via Tudor Trail was nice. When I finally reached the summit of Bald Mtn, I once again looked for a register (I was also here in December 2022 for the NH 500 Highest) and found a canister JUST off trail to the west of where the cairn is marking the highpoint on trail. Continue just a short ways beyond this, then look on your right for the highpoint and a black canister. This is just west of where the highpoint is shown on Gaia as well. Spur Trail was as advertised. Difficult to follow and overgrown. I am VERY glad that, for redlining, we no longer need to hike all the way to the knob but rather just the 0.6mi to the orchard as the trail really is not discernible beyond that. There are some herd paths but as to which one to take...? It's a cool area but the views in the orchard are mostly grown in as well. Very ferny area which obscures some rocks and rougher footing beneath too. I nearly ran into a porcupine just off trail here snoozing and it actually was a bit scary as I feel as if they could hide quite well in these ferns and be stumbled over without great difficulty. I considered whacking to the knob anyway, but I'm glad I didn't due to some time constraints. Also, note that the "Access Road" shown on Gaia off of Spur Trail may have been part of the trail at one point but as of now, the trail seems to follow on the north side of it in the woods instead. That being said, I did find one blue marker along the road which I followed on my return trip instead. There is some blue flagging in the orchard that will take you a short distance beyond where I think the old viewpoint was, but it seemed to end shortly thereafter.
Gaia had me at about 7.2mi, 1600ft of gain, 3.5hrs. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-08-12 |
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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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