| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Dry River Trail, Dry River Connector |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 25, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We stayed at Dry River Campground and left from there. There appeared to be plenty of parking at the Dry River Trailhead pull off on Rte. 302. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All can be crossed rock-hopping, but some spots were a little deep and spread out for the kids/dog to be able to do by themselves. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
As described, its a wilderness area trail and is quite primitive. A fair amount of overgrowth and leaners/bent over trees make things tough to navigate at points. LOTS of blow downs but nothing too crazy as far as getting around/over/under. A couple of the washout or rock slide areas could be tough if you've got a heavy pack or not that sure-footed. But, it is a wilderness area, so its to be expected. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Our lab Frankie enjoyed the day, but this trail is not for the uninitiated or smaller dogs. Plenty of water to drink though. Had to use his harness to help/carry him over a couple of water crossings due to the depth/current/spacing between rock-hops. |
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 | Bugs: |
They're out and hungry; bring the repellent. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Wife dropped a purple and silver REI women's trekking pole at some point. I think it may have been during one of the many bushwhacks. I doubt anyone will see it, but if they do, please let me know. |
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 | Comments: |
OK, as stated above, this is a wilderness trail (no blazes, minimal maintenance, not highly trafficked). As such, its not really maintained so in spots keeping on trail is a challenge, or impossible. Not that the on-trail conditions weren't that different than a bushwhack in spots, and the navigation isn't too bad because you just keep the river to the correct side and move up or down stream. Some of the storm damaged areas could be tough for some; our 7 and 9 year old kids were just on the cusp of not being good enough on their feet to make it through solo some of the slides/wash outs. The pup was OK, but needed assistance/guidance at a few of the stream crossings; humans with not-kid-sized-legs should be fine. We tried to get to Dry River Falls, but the snow that appeared after the Isolation Trail junction made that a no go for the kids (snow over their knees, no gaiters, not the best footing). Overall, there's some stretches of mud that while not exceptionally long, are deep and do grab at boots. Some of the flatter wooded areas have enough leaves on them to obscure the footpath and some areas are wet and slippery. Small patches of snow in the woods appeared starting about 2200' but it was mostly off trail and probably gone by now. The deeper stuff on trail we encountered was pretty soft and really showed up at 2500' feet or so; probably 2-3' deep. |
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 | Name: |
captinicebeard |
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 | E-Mail: |
miketperkins@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-05-28 |
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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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