| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhack, Isolation Trail, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, August 23, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The lot on rte 16 is quite large, yet mine was the only car there at 7am. At 5pm there were several others. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The lower bushwack (0.2 mi), with aid of phone app, bypasses the first two crossings and a half mile of trail. Crossings 3 and 4 (maybe 100 yds apart) can be bypassed by following the short herd path on the east side. Crossing 5 was fairly easy, as the water volume wasn't all that high. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails are in fairly good shape, with the occasional easily handled blowdowns. However, this route is well-known for its being wet and muddy. While the mud is quite localized, nothing short of a major reroute could avoid that very long, down-sloping, rock-hopping stretch going down toward the river from around three miles in from the trailhead. The same can be said of the stretch from crossing 5 up to just below the intersection with the Davis Path. Still, the stretches are not necessarily slow-going, just tedious. Up on the Davis Path, there is one large muddy area soon after coming down from the Rocky Branch section, but so many logs and branches have been strewn on top of the mud that navigating this mud pit is easy enough, although poles certainly help, as do mid-height boots. Further south on Davis, there are two back-to-back mud pits, with steeply sloped rock to one side. Foot traffic has been on the rock, with more just on top of the rock (trail creep). It certainly would help if a pair of strong hands would move a few blowdown logs from nearby areas off the trail to those mud pits, to make them passable without getting off trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw none, but any that had gone hiking would have needed a good hose-down later. |
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 | Bugs: |
None noticed. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Nice fall-like weather for this one, with sunny skies, dry air, and some breeze. Solo hike, didn't see a soul until I hit the Davis Path, where I met a trio returning via Glen Boulder. Other than a few others, the trails were empty of hikers. No 21 on my over 80. |
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 | Name: |
Pappy |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-08-24 |
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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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