| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Straightback Mountain, East Quarry Mountain, West Quarry Mountain, Rand Mountain, Mt. Klem, Mt. Mack, Mt. Anna, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Stage Road, Blueberry Pasture Trail, Straightback Mountain Trail, Anna-Straightback Link, Dave Roberts Quarry Trail, Mt. Klem-Mt. Mack Loop, Mack-Anna Link, Anna-Goat Pasture Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 19, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
There were about 10 other vehicles when I arrived just after 9 AM. The first lot was full, so I parked in the overflow lot. When I got back around 2:45, there were cars lining the access road in both directions from the main lot. Some of them may have been violating the 'No Parking' signs that were there. I was disappointed to see that about half of the vehicles were from Massachusetts, and there was even a vehicle with a New Jersey license plate there (!?!). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
There were several on Mt. Mack-Mt. Anna Link - they were doable with rock hopping. A few other minor crossings on this route, but all were easy. There's a wet area on Old Stage Road about 0.4 miles west of the parking area - the trail is flooded, but the water is only 2-3 inches deep at most, so anyone with waterproof boots should be able to just walk straight through. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few scattered blowdowns, but none that were an impediment to travel. The junction of Marsh Crossing and DRQT is unsigned, and I did not notice it. I later met the trail maintainer for DRQT, who was trimming some branches off the trail, and he said that the junction was right at the summit of West Quarry. All other junctions were well signed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw some flies and smaller insects in various places along the hike. They were not bothersome. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nada. |
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 | Comments: |
This was a fun and nicely challenging hike. Old Stage Road was just that - an old road, wet in places. Blueberry Pasture Trail is a snowmobile trail, and it's pretty much a constant uphill grind. Substantial stretches were wet and muddy, and the whole trail was clearly quite eroded. The upper section of Straightback Mountain Trail is mostly a gradual climb on ledges - very nice. Very good views from the summit of Straightback.
Dave Roberts Quarry Trail was an adventure. It's much rougher than most of the other trails, and it has several short but very steep sections. It was mostly easy to follow, though there were places where I had to carefully look around to see where the trail went. There were also a few wet sections that most people (including me) went around. I saw some very small patches of snow along the trail in several places, but there was practically no snow or ice on the trail. As mentioned above, there was no sign at the junction of Marsh Crossing, and I did not notice the trail was there. At the ledges coming down West Quarry, in the interest of redlining I first went down the bypass, then up the ledges (which required concentration but weren't too bad), and then back down the bypass. There was only a very small amount of ice left on the ledges, and it wasn't really an impediment.
As much as I enjoyed the ruggedness of DRQT, I was happy to get to the summit of Klem and be back on the (relatively) easier Belknap Range Trail. The largest river crossings on the hike were all between Mack and Anna, and they were all rock hops. Anna-Goat Pasture Trail was rough in places but not too bad for descent.
I saw roughly two dozen other people, more than I expected on these trails. Most people (but sadly not all) observed social distancing. I completed the mountains for the Belknap Range Hiker patch today, finishing on Mt. Anna. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-04-19 |
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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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