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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Hope, Mt. Hope - South Peak, NH
Trails
Trails: Davis Path, herd path, bushwhack, road walk
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 11, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty @ Davis Path lot. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: I was surprised to find a reasonable place to cross the Saco River on my way back to the lot. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: No issues on this small section of Davis Path.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Didn't see any. Fido might not like this route. 
Bugs
Bugs: A few flies at South Hope's summit made nuisances of themselves. I broke plenty of cobwebs up the bootleg trail taking a great many spiders with me - I think I even ate one of them. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Nothing. 
 
Comments
Comments: Had been wanting to check out the bootleg trail to Mt. Hope for a while. The old logging road connecting to the bootleg trail was no trouble to find. Once on the bootleg trail it was mostly easy to follow, marked with mostly green blazes but with some blue ones and yellow ones thrown in plus a few small cairns and out of place rocks scattered about. I lost the trail once about 2/3 the way up but reconnected with it in about five minutes after taking a bearing and went right to the top. From there I whacked S toward S Hope which was mostly thick-ish to the col but ascending that peak was much easier. Once atop "Hopeless Mountain" I found a string tied to a tree and nothing else. Turns out the jar must have broken off and was about 30 feet away on the ground. Since there were only two other entries this year I did what I could to tie it back up: if the next visit is in winter I'd feel bad if it were buried in snow :) From there I went N back to the col and whacked W through more or less open woods to the Saco River and was able to cross uneventfully. I walked the woods along the river - noting some artifacts along the way - but eventually got pinched in. The only thing to do was scramble up the bank and walk the choo-choo tracks for a bit, then climbing up a bridge embankment to 302 for a 10 minute road walk back to the lot.

It never did rain but it was mostly cloudy making pics tough. Views atop Hope are mostly grown in but I was VERY surprised when I got to South Hope: a nice ledge with open views from NW to SW. Other than a couple folks on Davis Path it's not surprising I didn't see anyone else on this route.  
Name
Name: HMJ 
E-Mail
E-Mail: trailsntrees(at)gmail(dot)com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-08-12 
Link
Link: https:// 
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