| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Bemis, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Nancy Pond Trail, herd path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked on the large dirt skirt off USf 302 in Notchland, NH for the Nancy Pond Trailhead. If everyone parks nose/trunk in, many cars can fit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The water crossings on Nancy Pond are simple to rock hop over. The first crossing is listed as Halfway Brook, the second looks to be a tributary of Nancy Brook. But this is as listed on Gaia. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Brutus did just fine. No bees nest noted as outlined on the warning poster at the trailhead. Thank goodness!!! |
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 | Bugs: |
Nope |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Canteen noted on Bemis summit. I was not sure if this was a relic so I left it. |
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 | Comments: |
List: New Hampshire Hundred Highest (NHHH)
Trial type: established trail, abandoned trail, bushwhack
Jar/Canister: yes
Nancy Pond Trail: this established trail is not blazed with a wide corridor and is easy to follow. Leaves cover the footbed hiding Little rocks and roots. Watch ankles!! :)
Abandoned Trail: I am referring to the old Bemis trail that led to the old fire tower near the summit. This trail is accessed about 1.8 miles in, at approx 1800 feet, and just past the second water crossing (the tributary to Nancy Brook). It is not blatantly obvious unless you are looking for it. It is not marked, no cairns or logs. The trail itself is analogous to most other NH wilderness trails, sans maintenance. I had very little issue following it, despite the leaf litter and blowdowns, up to 3150 feet. The trail has an excellent grade and does initially take the hiker in the complete opposite direction of the peak. But, the trail does turn, riding the ascending ridge of one of Bemis’ arms. The trail takes the hiker to an open knoll where views abound. I’d hike this just to see the view again. The knoll is challenging as it is obviously very overgrown and the pathway hidden under the scrub. Experienced hikers will be able to follow the path. After the knoll, the obvious trail continues until 3150 feet where I completely and utterly lost it. Suffice to say that I am not that comfortable trying to stay on an old trail that has been abandoned. It is hard to verify a bearing and difficult to ascertain surroundings. I much, much, much prefer to just shot a bearing and head up to to the woods. I can follow a bearing. Buuuttttt… I should have listened to my instincts here where I lost the trail. Gaia and the land showed me that a better route may lie to my left. I would have found better terrain if I had moved diagonally up the slope, to my left, up to 3400 feet before turning and heading straight to the peak. I would have intersected the old trail in this area.
Bushwhack: But alas, I like “straight shots” and went for the straightest line to the summit. On my bearing I fought with young spruce who relieved me of my hat twice and my poles once. I could move through the tighter woods by going around them. ;) I then encountered the “steep stuff” shown on Gaia. This was tall rock ledges, ensconced with thick, thick moss. None were exposed (no dropoffs), but being able to climb up them took some searching. There were several areas that I would have loved to scramble through the rocks but my dog was too short to climb them. So we worked our way over to an area where the ledge was very low to the ground. In no time we were up the ledge and pushing through more tight woods. Even though the spruce were challenging, they were completely negotiable and this was some very pretty woods.
Somehow I intersected with the abandoned trail close to the old fire tower. Brutus and I followed the old trail until it dumped us out at the ruins. We had fun looking around this for a bit. While standing on a piece of fallen ladder, I noted a higher point to our north. Oh! I forgot that the canister is further past the fire tower.
We really had to hunt for a way to exit the very small and tight fire tower clearing. Brutus found the best way just behind the old structure, heading to an old support anchor. The woods maintained tight quarters after the tower. We found a small moss and grass “meadow” and continued past this. It was the second high point that we crossed that I saw the canister. The register is dry and pencil present. There is a broken glass jar just under the canister. I picked up what pieces I could find, realized I had nothing to carry them down in, so I piled them tightly together at the base of the canister tree.
The return trip was a bit better using the abandoned trail. After returning to the fire tower, Brutus and I were able to follow the old trail for much longer than on the ascent. A bit. At 3500 feet, I again lost the trail. But I stuck to the more open contour lines down to 3500 feet. These woods were far more open and more quick to negotiate. They are still tight, though, just not a branch in your face every step tight. At 3400 feet I elected to turn directly north to intersect with my prior path and where I thought I’d first lost the trail on the ascent. I was glad I did as we ran across some water for the dog (pools of water from the rain) and a bit of a drainage path we could follow with a more open corridor. I did eventually intersect in the location where I had lost the trail. And I still cannot tell you if I could have figured out where the trail went.
We followed our footsteps carefully back as it is still an abandoned trail and challenging to follow at times.
Total miles: 8.5
Total time: 5hr45min (includes all breaks, gawking at views, studying relics and the canister) |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-10-08 |
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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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