| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Black Mountain Pond, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Guinea Pond Trail, High Water Bypass, Black Mountain Pond Trail, Mary Cary Falls spur, Mead Trail, Guinea Pond spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, August 27, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We spotted one car at the trailhead by Jose’s Bridge at 9am. We were the only cars there and there’s room for more than a dozen. We then drove to the Guinea Pond trailhead and parked on the road that’s just past the trailhead on the left. A couple other cars were parked there as well. This area was nearly full. According to the guidebook, there is more parking just a little further down the road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All the river crossings were easily rock hopped. No need to wade or bypass. The high water bypass that is signed (and named as such on Gaia) at 1.3mi from the trail’s southern trailhead did not need to be used. The section of trail here that is normally flooded was totally dry, no problem. The only difficult section was a piece of Guinea Pond Trail north of Guinea Pond that’s evidently been flooded for awhile but since the last guidebook came out and is thus not mentioned. The trail just sort of seems to disappear at a pond. If you backtrack a few yards, and turn almost 90 degrees to your right you’ll see an open area on the other side of the “pond†where the trail is. There’s also some old bog bridges in the water. Water was JUST low enough that we could safely get across on these. Normally, you have to bushwhack around this crossing of sorts. A GPS may be helpful here particularly if you aren’t used to following lesser travelled trails. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I’ve hiked so much the past few days my memory of these trails is poor, sorry. I remember there being some yellow blaze to help guide us on the ledges on Black Mtn Pond Trail, often very faded. Beyond that, I don’t remember if these trails were blazed or not or how frequently. Black Mtn Pond Trail was generally easy to follow. Just a few places on ledges/scrambles where we had to keep our eyes peeled for blazes. A few turns in the trail to watch out for too. Make sure you aren’t stepping over brush intentionally put there to say “don’t go that way!†😜 Mead Trail is lightly used so is the footbed is a bit obscure not not challenging to follow. Guinea Pond Trail was easy to follow except where it came to the “pond†created by the beavers on the north side of the trail mentioned above in the water crossing notes, and at one other point. I believe this was north of the beaver-made Pond. The trail just seemed to dip down and disappear all of a sudden. We backtracked but saw a blaze almost directly behind us and no turn in the trail so we new the trail had to be where we were. We bushwhacked around a bit, soon found it, then connected the two pieces. What happened is that a blowdown totally obscured the footpath. Go figure. When you get to this point, look to your left toward two dead old trees on the ground. Then, there’s a much newer fallen tree on the left and behind them. The trail is over that way. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Didn’t see any but these trails would be good for dogs with the exception of the steep, upper portion of Black Mtn Pond Trail. Many hiking dogs could handle the steep and rough scrambles but others may not and would require assistance. Normally there’s a lot of water on this hike but as of Thursday I’d say to bring extra water too. Things were very dry! |
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 | Bugs: |
Practically non-existent. Yay! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
This was my final hike in the Waterville Valley and Squam Lake Region tab, one of my favorites. We traversed from the south end of Guinea Pond Trail to the north end, doing an out-and-back on both Black Mtn Pond Trail (first) and Mead Trail (second).
Things were scary dry out there. Everything is dry but this area in particular seemed to be surprisingly so. Namely, Mary Cary Falls had ZERO water on it. Totally dry. Not only were the river crossings low and easily rock hoppable, but many seemed stagnant. I believe those were the southern crossings of the Beebe River where the trail crosses it twice in 0.1mi. The trail was pretty dry and I’m sure that there was way less mud than usual as well. Also, the high water bypass at 1.3mi, while we did loop around and do it for the sake of redlining, was totally uneccesary. See my water crossing notes about a newer flooded area on the north side of the trail where the trail just seems to disappear.
This was a nice way to finish the tab. Black Mtn Pond was beautiful and I love beaver meadows and ponds so I really enjoyed Guinea Pond Trail as well. Cool ledges on the steep upper Black Mtn Pond Trail. The trail wasn’t too bad coming down. Glad it didn’t rain and that it the ledges were dry. Mead Trail was nothing too scenic but is a nice, moderate route to Mount Israel. See trail maintenance section for one hard to follow section of Guinea Pond Trail.
Met a father and his two kids going up Black Mtn Pond Trail. Another man we stopped and had nice conversation with that was staying at the pond as well. I was happy to have the company of a fellow redliner on this hike who I hadn’t hiked with before :) We had recently realized that we both graduated from the same high school. As if that wasn’t “small world†enough, as we were hiking we realized that we actually lived in the same house growing up just set 20-30 years apart!!! Oh the joys of hiking and meeting new people :D |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-08-29 |
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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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