| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hight, Carter Dome, South Carter, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Bog Brook Trail, Wild River Trail, Black Angel Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Rainbow Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, July 4, 2025 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Bog Brook Trailhead in good shape. No fees. No facilities. Last 1/2 mile or so of road is dirt but was in reasonably good condition. Any vehicle should be fine. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bog Brook has many crossings. The 3 significant crossings in the first 1/2 mile were all rock hops with dry feet. All the other smaller brooks were rock hops with dry feet but many of the rocks were slimy and required a little caution. The Red Brook and Spruce Brook crossings on Wild River Trail were fine. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
See details below. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few. Lot of mud so be prepared for the car ride home. :) |
|
 | Bugs: |
Not bad overall. Did an overnight FRI/SAT. Was a nice breeze and cooler temps FRI so didn't notice any until I stopped to eat dinner, when they were biting enough to put some repellent on, with limited effect. SAT there were some black flies on summits and a lot of mosquitos at the lower elevations but not bad by NH standards. In your face but not biting too much. Maybe a 3-5 out of 10 overall. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
none |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Main reason for this report was to mention the Black Angel Trail is pretty much destroyed from about 2600 ft to just below the ridge at about 4450 ft. MAJOR blowdowns for much of the length and no maintenance to date. Rainbow Trail had similar problems from the summit of Carter Dome but after descending about 1/4 mile they eased up and trail maintenance had been done from there to Wild River junction. Rainbow Trail was very dry and in excellent condition. Bog Brook has many bogs (duh) but not many bog bridges. The few there were in pretty bad shape but got the job done. Wild River Trail had a fair amount of generally easy blowdowns and a few bogs lacking bridges but most of the bigger marshy areas had bridges and were in good shape. The section of the Wild River Trail around the Spruce Brook shelter has some pretty washed out sections where the trail is essentially a tiny strip of mud. Seemed worse than I remember it in past years. The entire Wild River Wilderness trail network has taken some very heavy damage in past few years.
For everywhere except the Black Angel Trail the trails were pretty typical. Reasonable amounts of mud and wet areas requiring stepping on dead branches, rocks, etc to cross. A few somewhat challenging but overall no big deal. The usual amount of blowdowns onBog Brook, Wild River and lower sections of Black Angel trails, generally easy to mildly annoying step overs. The Black Angel Trail from about 2600 ft (shortly after the last brook crossing as you ascend) was an absolute blowdown nightmare. I assume there was some kind of microburst or other storm in this area because it was trashed. Huge blowdowns of entire clusters of large trees, uprooted trees, branches and debris. Most were totally impassable. Most of the branches were too thick or too fresh to snap. Not a lot of options. Even with a saw I don't think it would have mattered. Too many branches and many very large diameter trunks. I think I spent more time in the woods walking around stuff than I did on the actual trail. And the footbed is fairly faint in spots so regaining the trail is tricky. The last half mile or so where the trail traverses the steep South wall of Mt Hight and eventually heads SW was the worst. It was not an option to go around because trail is only 1-2 ft wide along very steep banks. In many places the uprooted trees took the trail with it so you had no choice but to walk on the bouncy limbs of trees or the edges of root balls with 5-10 ft falls onto blowdowns or crawl up steep side sloping rocks. It was legitimately dangerous in a few places. I had to take my pack off and crawl through several spots either dragging my pack or throwing it over the trees to the other side. There has been absolutely no maintenance yet. Going to be some serious work getting this trail back in order. Not sure if this trail is adopted or not but I feel for whoever is tasked with maintaining it. Unless you are redlining and/or love being miserable I would avoid this trail. |
|
 | Name: |
Day Trip |
|
 | E-Mail: |
bblanchette0709@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2025-07-06 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
