| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Mack, Mt. Shannon, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mack Ridge Trail, Round Pond-Mack Trail, Round Pond Trail, Truck Road, Yellow Trail, Blue Trail, Red Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 29, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
i parked at the main parking lot for hidden valley camp (griswold scout reservation) which is right by lake eileen and the administrative building at the end of griswold road in gilmanton. i spoke to a couple staff members who were very friendly and helpful. the summer camp is over so hikers no longer need to check in with them. they did suggest for safety leaving a note on your windshield stating your agenda, but it is not necessary to do so. when camp is in session they ask you check in with them at the administration building. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
a couple on the blue trail and red trail that were a non issue today. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
on large blowdown to jump over just before the red trail reaches the canoe launch on sunset lake. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
some mosquitoes in places. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
from the parking i walked around lake eileen to pick up the mack ridge trail. the trail is well signed and well blazed. conditions are currently nice and dry. it's a neat piece of trail that winds up through a rock field own low with a number of nice viewpoints along the way higher up including one of my new favorites down to prospect and the blue hills. the junction with round pond-mack trail is not signed, but is fairly obvious. nice views from high on mack. another great viewpoint. i dropped down and visited the pond then headed down the south branch of round pond trail (good signage at round pond-mack junction) which was mostly dry with some fresh moose sign on the way. the well blazed trail follows a neat gorge then has a very nice viewpoint before joining the truck road. i followed that around to pick up the yellow trail up shannon. dry trail with good markers. shannon is a great summit with a couple different wide ledge viewpoints. both the blue trail and the other branch of yellow trail are not totally clear from the top. blue trail is actually marked in a combo blue/yellow leaving north. unfortunately the blue has faded on a number of them up high which could be confusing. this trail dropped down to a beaver swamp then became a bit overgrown and wet for about .2 to its junction with the trail from the stage road. the turn up from the swamp could be easy to miss ascending as a well beaten trail continues around the swamp and could be misleading. red trail was well blazed with a light footbed until reaching the shore of sunset lake where it became more beaten in. the other branch of yellow trail back up shannon is well marked except for right at the top where is leaves the summit so it could be hard to spot for descent. i doubled back down and followed the camp road (technically still part of the red/yellow trails) past some tenting areas and the firing range then continued on a short footpath (still with yellow diamonds) down to conservation pond next to the admin building and parking area.
another nice quiet day on some lesser travelled trails in the belknap range. i often forget how nice of a mountain mack is with some great viewpoints west of the summit. mack ridge is a fine hike as well. nice also to finally get up shannon. great views straight down to eileen lake and to the south as well as a nice look west to the moose mountains and avery hill. there really is some great hiking on the south side of the range. not sure how i took so long to check out the trails in that area. todays hike completes all the officially recognized trails on the belknap redlining list. looking forward to checking out more of the "unofficial" trails in the future. |
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 | Name: |
bryan |
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 | E-Mail: |
bryancuddihee@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-08-29 |
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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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