| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Thorn Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Unknown trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, September 28, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The trail starts partway down a driveway... so don’t park there ;P There is a plow truck turnaround about a quarter mile past the driveway (house #169) on the right where I’d recommend parking. No one else there. Just before you reach this turnaround, and facing the opposite direction, is a sign indicating a winter parking ban (beginning November 15th I believe) alongside the road. I imagine that’s intended to include the plow turnaround but other trail reports here indicate that people have parked there on clear winter days when there’s no chance of snow and haven’t been ticketed. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The trail is abandoned but still receives some maintenance as some blowdowns had been taken care of. Not clear how regular this maintenance is though as there was another stepover part way that had not been taken care of. The trail is blazed in faded red. The other trail that comes in from near Upper Alpine Rd in Jackson is also blazed in red and intersects it almost perpendicularly about 0.6mi into the true trail. Thorn Mtn Trail is very well defined for an old trail and shouldn’t pose any difficulty to follow unless perhaps you’re very inexperienced with the exception of the summit ledges up top which are not marked so you need to follow your nose a bit.. Enough leaves have fallen in some spots to obscure the footbed some. This was more true of the other trail from Upper Alpine Rd which was also more generally obscure but still marked in faded red blazes. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Might be tricky for dogs given the tricky, slick ledges. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
What a great evening hike to bag another NH500 Highest Peak! This was my first of two hikes Monday evening. Upon parking in the plow truck turnaround about 0.25mi past the trailhead on the right I walked back down the road toward the trailhead (on your right as you’re descending the road...so the opposite side that the plow truck turnaround is on). The trailhead is a short ways down the driveway for house #169 on Thorn Mountain Rd (paved). There was a bearing and boundary markers of some sort immediately before reaching the driveway so I tried following that path to the start of the trail rather than walking down the driveway as I felt a little weird about that but there really wasn’t a path and it turned out to be a dumb idea 😂 So just walk down the driveway maybe 200ft and watch out for the small but very visible sign for Thorn Mtn Trail on your right.
The trail starts of with flat to moderate grades but becomes much steeper before reaching the ledges. The trail was slightly wet so I’m guessing the area got a little bit of rain in the morning. The rocks and ledges, although not always visibly wet, were quite slick so watch yourself. The footing is generally good though. The trail is pretty easy to follow except up on the summit ledges where you have to follow your nose a bit to the high point. There’s a small weather station and old cabin at the top. Great views and the lighting around 5pm was really great. This hike was truly a treat :)
On the descent I decided to check out the trail love I noticed (also blazed in red) that intersected Thorn Mtn Trail at a small cairn about 0.6mi into the trail as I figured it lead to Upper Alpine Rd which wasn’t far away. The trail was blazed equally well but was a bit more obscure. It ended in some vegetation. A herd path led through it and dumped you out on a dirt road of sorts just before reaching Upper Alpine Rd. Great vista here. I walked to Upper Alpine Rd and saw no trespassing signs and caution tape up by the last house on the road so turned back. It seems they don’t want people walking past their house on the way out this trail or on their way in so I’m not sure if this is really an alternative trail to the peak or if it’s just a spur of sorts to the view.
Just under a mile one way to the peak not including the road walk. Just over a mile if you do include it so probably about a 2.5mi hike in total with about 1100ft of gain. Add 0.2mi each way to the view along the other red blazed trail; it was pretty much on the level. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-09-29 |
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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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