| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, Slide Peak, Boott Spur, Mt. Washington (attempt), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, Isolation Trail, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 6, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, 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: |
First crossing is intimidating but doable without wet boots. After heavy rain, it requires submerged feet to cross. All other crossings are relatively easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
We did lots of work on Isolation Trail, see below. Rocky Branch needs major brushing in the wet section that approaches Isolation Trail, but is in otherwise good shape considering it's notorious wetness. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Plenty of water, but with that comes a very muddy dog at the end of your trip! Ridiculous amounts of moose activity in recent years, but 3 trips to Isolation in 2013 and I've only seen old scat and no recent signs of activity. Still beware if your dog is off lease. |
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 | Bugs: |
Black flies were the biters this time with some signs of mosquitoes. Not as bad as I was expecting, but they're biting all right. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Two weeks ago we finished clearing the blow down section of Isolation before it meets with Davis that the Saco District trail crew did an amazing amount of work on. Even so, we still spent hours in there taking out remaining blow downs and brushing the trail so it isn't so confusing. On this current trip we took care of drainages and remaining brushing. Don't expect miracles because this is and will always be a wet and muddy trail, but we made significant improvements that will especially help during and following rain. Lots of wet sections were due to clogged up drainages, and it is so satisfying to watch them dry up as you clear them out.
During our 4 day excursion to clean up Isolation trail, we took one day to head up Davis Path to Mt. Washington. What a pleasant and quiet approach to Mt. Washington and a great way to beat the crowds for a majority of the hike. The Davis Path between the Isolation West junction and the "steep" section was all one giant blowdown patch that the trail crew put some ridiculous effort into clearing. It made the Isolation blow down patch look like child's play, and was a sight to see in and of itself. Slide Peak had beautiful views and not another soul to be seen, and Boot Spur had really cool views into Tucks and Right Gully. Very cool to see the ground below your feet disappear knowing that Hillman's Highway is below you - I got yelled at for being psyched for the winter and the adrenaline rush of dropping into that. We turned around before climbing the final summit cone because it was socked in with clouds and very windy. |
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 | Name: |
Brian, Crystal & Kya |
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 | E-Mail: |
schuster at hsph dot harvard dot edu |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-07-07 |
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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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