| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhack, Isolation Trail, bushwhack, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 30, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
3 cars in the lot today. It can probably hold 50. No fee or facilities. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only one of note is the one of the Rocky Branch at the start of the Iso Express, and it was an easy rock hop. (Unless you count the Rocky Branch Trail where it descends from the start of the EH bushwhack to the Isolation Trail...where you are basically rock hopping down a stream) |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
1 significant blowdown about 1 mile up from the parking lot on Rocky Branch, a herd path has started to form around it. Anything else was a relatively easy stepover. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Black Flies are out. Tried the Avon Skin-so-soft bug spray which seemed to work OK. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Started at noon and made decent time up RB trail to the start of the EH bushwhack. At this point, the trail starts descending towards the Rocky Branch River and basically turns into a stream for .6 miles...luckily, a stream with lots of rocks to hop down so you stay mostly dry. At .6 miles there is a fairly well established bushwhack that cuts the corner and saves some distance (you can see it on the map in the link below along with some pics). The entrance isn't obvious, but once you get on it, it is relatively easy to follow. I took the ISO Express 'whack, and in places it is easy to follow, and in others it is more of a "vague sketch of a fantasy" and my GPS was very useful in keeping me in the correct general direction. Basically, there are no wrong answers for the middle part of the whack as long as you hit the exit chute. (I would not suggest trying this if you don't have some sort of GPS). It's pretty open, and my Up/Down routes differed from each other by a few 100' in places. I would guess if I did it 100 times I would not end up doing it the same way twice.
Had the summit to myself, and met 2 hikers coming from Glenn Boulder who reported no snow on that route. They were pretty happy to hear that they were 100' from the summit spur as it was 2:50 and their turn around time was 3pm...
Met 2 other hikers headed down RB who had taken EH 'whack and said it was tough to follow. I'd suggest not using the EH whack and staying on RB...when it joins up with the Isolation trail, it's a pretty nice walk along the river.
RB doesn't get a lot of love but I had an enjoyable day! |
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 | Name: |
Borealis |
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 | E-Mail: |
kdwelch1@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-05-30 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/14646378637/overview |
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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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