| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Israel, Sandwich Dome, Black Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Road walk, Guinea Pond Trail, Mead Trail, Black Mountain Pond Trail, Mary Cary Falls Spur, Black Mountain Pond Spur, Algonquin Trail, bushwhack, herd paths |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 25, 2020 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at a pulloff 0.5 miles away from the Guinea Pond Trail. Getting to the trailheads was a fun adventure considering the roughness of this twisting one-lane road. Watch out for cars coming the other way!! |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings are pretty easy including the crossing of the Beebe River on the Black Mtn. Pond Trail. The outlet streams coming from the beaver area higher up on this trail were a bit trickier but not too bad.
|
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
This was a wilderness hike so was not too surprised by the amount of blowdowns. We took the high water detour on the Guinea Pond Trail which was easy to follow. Someone (or some people, it looked pretty big) cleared two massive blowdowns on the first mile of the Algonquin Trail. Thank you. Very much appreciated. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One pup on the summit. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Kind of annoying down in the valley between Israel and Sandwich. Everywhere else they weren't too bad. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
This was a great hike to get #81 on the the New England Hundred Highest list. The Guinea Pond Trail had some wet parts before the high water detour. The detour itself was in great shape and was easy to follow. The Mead Trail up Mt. Israel had a nice, steady incline, and the spruce forests near the summit were beautiful. We definitely enjoyed the sweeping views from the top.
After our summit stay, we headed back down the Mead Trail and climbed up to Black Mtn. Pond. On the way up we enjoyed the small but nice little Mary Cary Falls. From the pond to the summit, it was a bit rough with some scrambling. Fortunately there were only a couple of wet/slippery spots on this section, but still, it was nice to go up and not down. This section also had some incredible views on the upper part. When we hit the ridge we followed the Algonquin Trail all the way to the top, were we enjoyed excellent views north and I think I was able to pick out 29 of the 48 4000 footers. We followed Algonquin Trail down to the col between Sandwich and Black Mtn. (The Algonquin Trail is a really, really nice trail, one of our ten favorites for sure. The upper section that follows the ridge to the summit is especially pleasant as it passes remarkable views and winds through beautiful mossy spruce forest with pine needles and pine cone fragments underfoot which makes for a nice soft footway with not too many rocks.) From the col between Sandwich Dome and Black Mountain we bushwhacked/followed herd paths to summit of Black Mountain where we found a cairn and awesome views from the top of a cliff just to the east of the summit. We then went back down to the col and followed the trail back down to the Sandwich Notch Road where we walked about a mile back to our car.
|
|
 | Name: |
Summit Seeker |
|
 | E-Mail: |
runtowin78@aol.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2020-07-25 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
