| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Surprise, Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Carter-Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
This probably happened years ago, and I was just unaware, but it looks like the official trailhead has changed and is no longer at the end of the street, but is rather a short way before at the powerlines. Room for many cars, but I was only one of four at 2pm. |
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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: |
There's a very small crossing on the new reroute. However small it may be, it's eroded. They should make a really small bridge or something. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail is blazed in blue as it connects with the AT. Some cairns along the ledges. The blazing is fresh down low on the reroute, which is also signed well, but above that, the blazing is very infrequent, from what I recall. Very well-travelled trail, though, so easy to follow except on the ledges, where a little more care needs to be taken. Overall, the trail was in fine shape, but there were a number of blowdowns. A few stepovers and easy stuff down low, and I think a few more significant ones up higher. One that's causing some erosion from people stepping just off trail, another that's a mess and has forced a herd path to form around. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Most agile hiking dogs could probably do this, but be warned, there is some scrambling on ledges. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not too bad, actually. Black flies at the summit, and mosquitoes coming out down low as it was evening by that point, but overall, nowhere near as bad as I might have expected. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
First hike of the day before Mt Winthrop for NH1500 Footers. This was another peak for 4K a day grid. I was unaware of the new parking situation and official change to the trail down low, though I was mostly familiar with both from my time gridding (just wasn't official yet). The reroute doesn't exactly follow the way people used to go up in winter, though: there's a new section of trail (or mountain bike trail; to me, it looks like a mountain bike trail, but maybe that's just because it's so new) that connects to the old road you used to follow. Instead of following the old road/snowmobile trail very briefly, then turning right to connect to the C-M Trail, you follow it a little longer (another 0.1mi), then turn right onto the new trail that connects to the C-M Trail. This is all marked well and signed. The jct with the old section of trail is very much blocked off with debris.
The trail was mostly dry down low but had some very wet and muddy spots higher up. The ledges were almost totally dry from the rain the past few days (I almost hiked this yesterday afternoon once the rain stopped, but decided on Hale instead to give the ledges some more time to dry). The trail has a bit of a warm-up to start, but also throws in some steeper pitches, though with generally good footing. The ledges offer a good place for a break and a great view. The first ledges you come to aren't that steep and certainly don't involve any scrambling, but after you duck back into the woods and come to the second set of ledges, the scrambling begins. More steep stuff, some rougher footing, etc., higher up as the woods change. This section felt longer than I remember.
Great views from the top, and I only saw one man shortly after I started, two women not too far from the top, and a rather worrisome group of teens without water, just shy of the ledges that were coming up as I was heading down. Luckily, they were only heading to Mt. Surprise. I waited around a bit at the bottom, and I was glad to see them return before I left. Gaia had me at 8.9mi, 3200ft of gain, 4hr35min. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-05-28 |
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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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