Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
North Bald Cap, NH |
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| Trails: |
Logging road, bushwhack |
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| Date of Hike: |
Monday, May 25, 2015 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Success Pond Road is open and in good shape (normal caveats about occasional large rocks and logging trucks). We turned onto the logging road located between the Success Outlook and North Bald Cap (sign on Success Pond Road for Shelburne Trail), then took an immediate right onto another logging road (the latter not recommended for cars). We parked near the water crossing at about 1,850 feet (bridge/culvert has been pulled). |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hops. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
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| Bugs: |
Black flies were out and increasingly vexing. Also some larger flies impersonating deer flies. |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
Logging roads and woods were dry and quite dusty (lots of pollen).
From where we parked at 1,850 feet (northwest of the peak), we took a left onto another logging road, dead ending at a landing at about 2,020 feet. The regrowth above it is initially unsavory due to prickers. On the descent, we stayed alongside the brook, which hadn't been logged and was relatively open woods.
Above the logged area, the woods were generally open (hardwoods and then softwoods; the logging road on the USGS map is still there and possibly viable), transitioning into ledges. Fantastic views of the Kilkenny Ridge, Presidentials, and Evans Notch.
The recognized highpoint was a very short, but somewhat scrappy bushwhack from the ledges.
We then bushwhacked to some of the eastern ledges, which also had great views (Success, Old Speck). From there we could also see the back up plan still was unsavory (going in from the logging east of the peak, which I had gone through to get to the Mahoosuc Trail a few years back) due to regrowth and slash.
Overall, a very nice peak. Amazing there isn't a trail to the ledges. |
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| Name: |
rocket21 |
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| E-Mail: |
rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-05-25 |
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| Link: |
https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos |
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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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