| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Kelley Trail, Oliverian Brook Trail, Square Ledge Branch, Square Ledge Trail, Lawrence Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, February 9, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Ferncroft was plowed and rutted icy but accessible to any vehicle. Some may want to put on traction at the car. Only about a half dozen or so cars when I arrived at 8:30am. Maybe a few more when I returned at 4pm. Room for probably two dozen or cars there but it can fill up very quickly on nice summer days! The roads in still had ice/slush on them. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of Oliverian Brook shortly before the trails jct with Square Ledge Branch was open but rock hoppable even with snowshoes. It shouldn’t cause you any trouble unless water is very high as the water seemed shallow throughout. The crossing at the beginning of Square Ledge Branch was also rock hippable with snowshoes if a little harder. The crossing also had some deeper parts here but shouldn’t be problem unless water is high. Maybe a couple other very small crossings I’m forgetting about. On the whole, I was surprised to see that the crossings up higher were all flowing and did not really have any snow/ice bridges forming. The crossing of Spring Brook down low near the parking area however, was quite icy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All trails I recall were blazed in blue. The blazes are fairly old though and most were within the Sandwich Range Wilderness so I doubt they will be replaced. Kelley Trail was blazed pretty regularly and consistently. Shouldn’t be much of a problem following it. I very foolishly turned up the logging road at 0.5mi rather than down it and then bore right at a fork shortly thereafter. I checked Gaia and saw I was on a trail and thought it was Kelley Trail (it was right next to Kelley Trail) but in fact the label went to the line on the other side...oops. Of course I eventually realized my mistake but this probably added a half mile to my hike. The guidebook describes this clearly and there’s a small sign for Kelly Trail where it enters the road along the road. If I’d thought about which way the sign was facing I again, would not have gone the wrong way up the road. I think Oliverian Brook Trail has some blue blazes at first near the pass but soon afterwards is unblazed. I missed the jct of Kelly Brook and it on my ascent so it’s possible the blue blazes I thought were along it were truly still on Kelley Trail. Square Ledge was blazed in blue similarly to Kelley Trail. Square Ledge Branch and Lawrence I don’t recall as well but I think were both blazed in blue.
Many blowdowns along this route but luckily nothing very troublesome. Mostly small stuff. The most annoying was one somewhat large blowdown along Square Ledge Branch that I had to crawl under. You might be able to duck under with some effort if you’re on the smaller side but there wasn’t a good place to just bushwhack around it unfortunately. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs should be okay on this route but it may have been too cold early in the am for many. Didn’t see any. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
A nice Sunday redline to get Kelley Trail, another part of Oliverian Brook Trail, Square Ledge Branch, the southern portion of Square Ledge Trail, and Lawrence Trail between Square Ledge Trail and Cabin Trail (did an out-and-back on the portion between Kelley Trail and Cabin Trail to save an out-and-back on a future hike). This lollipop loop was supposed to be 7.6mi with 1850ft of elevation gain but it turned out to be 9.5mi with 2150ft due to my wrong turn on Kelley Trail and searching for Square Ledge Branch (see below). 0F when I started at 8:30 and around 24F when I finished around 4pm. Driving in along 16N it for down to around -10 at times...brrr. That said the day was still very pleasant as the sun was out until 2 or 3pm and it warmed up significantly.
The snow was crunchy and semi-supportive the whole day although it seemed to feel more like powder as the day wained on. Not the nicest feeling but at least it made breaking trail easy as I wasn’t sinking much. Kelley Trail has mostly nice grades and isn’t that steep even when it climbs out of the ravine. You can tell the footing is tougher underneath the snow here though. Might want to be just a little cautious in snowshoes. See my comment in the trail maintenance section about making sure you take a right and descend along the logging road. I turned left up it and it took me a bit to realize my mistake.
For the most part, I didn’t have an issue following the trails. About a quarter mile before Oliverian Brook Trail crosses Oliverian Brook I turned right down a little stream that flows into the brook before getting to the brook and not seeing a trail on the other side and realizing I went the wrong way. I climbed back up and turned right so just stay straight rather than turn right there if you see my tracks descending. After crossing Oliverian Brook I thought I may have missed the sign for Square Ledge Branch as I felt like I should have seen it by now. I’d already missed the jct of Kelley, Oliverian Brook, and Lawrence Trails early that day so I pulled out Gaia to check. Sure enough it had me shortly past it. I travelled back and forth here several times looking for Square Ledge Branch and never saw it. I went a few different ways here thinking the sign must be buried or gone but never saw it. In particular, I travelled back to the crossing of Oliverian Brook. Gaia said Square Ledge started there and crossed in the direction Oliverian Brook came from. Of course this made no sense and the best I could think was I got a bit off trail on Oliverian Brook and somehow ended up on Square Ledge Branch briefly (in fact Gaia did suggest I was slightly off trail just before I crossed it). I then tried finding Oliverian Brook on the other side of the brook as Gaia indicated but to no avail (if following my route from Ferncroft, when you cross Oliverian Brook, don’t go right!). I read and reread the guidebook. It finally occurred to me that Gaia must be wrong and I simply hadn’t come to Square Ledge Branch yet. This made more sense when I saw that although Gaia showed me off Oliverian Brook Trail shortly before the crossing, if I just shifted the line 0.2mi south I would be on it. I continued back north now past where I originally turned back and sure enough I came to the jct. Don’t know if any of that made sense to you but moral of the story is not to trust technology!
The rest of the hike was straightforward. Square Ledge Branch was nice and moderate. Square Ledge Trail was broken back down to the 4-way with Kelley and Old Mast Rd (the track continued down the latter). Some views north and towards Paugus through the trees here. I descended Kelley Trail which was nice. The ravine area is cool and I was happy to see it again. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-02-10 |
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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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