| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Kineo, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Hubbard Brook Trail, Three Ponds Trail, Donkey Hill Cutoff, Mt. Kineo Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, July 29, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Hubbard Brook Road is in good shape. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The only tricky brook crossing today was at the Mt. Kineo-Donkey Hill Cutoff junction, which required a leap of faith onto a slippery ledge due to high water. There were, however, some beaver related issues on west Hubbard Brook Trail and near the Donkey Hill Cutoff on Three Ponds Trail. Made it through, but with wet boots. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Very little maintenance on this loop. Very brushy, lots of blowdowns, minimal blazing, lots of inadequate or washed out bog bridges, and a lot of non-obvious footbed. Smoothest walking of the day may have been the bushwhack. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitoes on the Donkey Hill Cutoff and lower Mt. Kineo Trail. Occasional deer fly on Hubbard Brook Trail. Otherwise, bugs weren't too bad. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Did this long loop out of Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.
Hubbard Brook Trail was muddy in places, especially from the experimental height of land west. Moderate experimental blowdowns and very brushy in places. A beaver bog crossing on the west end was particularly vexing and would be very difficult in experimental high water.
Three Ponds Trail initially was sort of a head scratcher, as it was on experimental snowmobile trails without much of any blazing. Once off the snowmobile trails, there were plenty of experimental blowdowns and lots of brush, with minimal blazing. I've been on lots of abandoned trails in the Whites that were in better shape than this experimental one. The last little bit to Donkey Hill Cutoff involved crossing on a narrow experimental beaver dam.
While I found the Donkey Hill Cutoff to be the roughest part of the loop out of the Stinson Lake side a few weeks back, it was probably the best trailed portion of this experimental loop. A few experimental muddy areas, but otherwise not terrible.
Mt. Kineo Trail had some experimental grassy and muddy areas from snowmobile trail work in the past year or so. The largest experimental crossing (at the beginning) had no bridge and was the hardest. Two other bridges have been replaced, while one small crossing remains without an experimental bridge. Above the exit of the experimental snowmobile trail, the Mt. Kineo Trail was very brushy with some blowdowns and minimal blazing. On the opposite side, after an experimental torrential downpour, the trail turned into a small brook and the mudbogs deepened.
Did an experimental bushwhack from the height of land, following a herd path flagged for tree research initially. Generally open experimental woods thereafter, heading over various bumps and cols until reaching the recognized highpoint. Seemed like the smoothest walking of this experimental hike. |
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 | Name: |
rocket21 |
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 | E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-07-29 |
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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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