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Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Carrigain, NH
Trails
Trails: Signal Ridge Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail, Desolation Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Thursday, October 1, 2020
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: When we got there at around 7:15, there were about a half-dozen vehicles there. When we got back at 4:30, there were a dozen or so vehicles. Plenty of room on a Thursday, but I can see how space could be tight on a nice weekend. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Only two crossings here - one on Signal Ridge Trail a little before the junction with Carrigain Notch Trail, and one right at the bottom of Desolation Trail. Both were fairly straightforward rock hops. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: All trails were relatively easy to follow. The rerouting of Signal Ridge Trail has the potential to confuse some people - apparently some GPSs still show the old route. Watch the trail signs and blazes, not your GPS. A few blowdowns, but none were impediments to travel. We noticed that all of the trail signs in the Wilderness area, as well as the one at the trailhead, misspelled Carrigain as "Carrigan". 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Saw a couple at the summit. The very steep section of Desolation Trail could be difficult for them (in either direction). 
Bugs
Bugs: None. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Nada. 
 
Comments
Comments: So WAUMBEK apparently did this same hike on this same day (https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/viewreport.php?entryid=49587). I don't know if we ran into him or not (I wear a bright orange wide-brim hat), but I wanted to add my two cents (or three or four) about this hike.

Parts of the lower Signal Ridge Trail, just before it bears away from Whiteface Brook, are very muddy. There are stepping-stones, but there were plenty of footprints in the mud anyway. I didn't remember this much mud from when I did Carrigain 4 years ago, so I don't know if it's always there. The water crossing is straightforward, and we didn't have any difficulty following the trail near it, going in either direction.

Carrigain Notch Trail is a nice trail, and we didn't find it difficult to follow either south or north of its namesake notch. Most of it is flat or gradual - there are only a couple of fairly short, steep sections approaching the top of the notch from the south. The close-up views of the talus fields on Mt. Lowell were excellent. North of the notch, it meanders through the woods a bit, and makes a lot of turns, but was still pretty simple to follow. The section from Nancy Pond Trail to Desolation Trail is on an old railroad grade and is thus pretty quick.

Desolation Trail was interesting. Most of the lower 2/3 of the trail is on a relentlessly climbing old logging road that is very straight - you can see ahead and behind you quite a bit. Since it was obvious that we were on a man-made road, the area didn't really feel desolate, but it did feel in the middle of nowhere (which we indubitably were). It was pretty obvious where the road ended and the really steep part began. At first it was true hands-and-feet climbing up the rocks (some of which were somewhat slippery), but then it got slightly less steep, and the rest was just steep hiking, not scrambling.

The views from the summit were outstanding in all directions, and we definitely could see most of the other 4000-footers. The summit also featured a pair of very aggressive gray jays - one actually tried to land on my hat, while they were both watching us hungrily the entire time we were there. (We did not feed them.) The descent on Signal Ridge Trail is long, rocky, and monotonous.

This hike now holds the record for the longest day hike I have ever done, at 13.8 miles. (The previous record was 13 miles doing Isolation.) However, at 9 hours and 15 minutes, it took substantially less time than Isolation (11 hours and 45 minutes - I was part of a group of 10 people for that hike), and wasn't even close to the 12 hours it took me to do Katahdin via Cathedral Trail and the Knife Edge many years ago. Does this mean I'm getting faster? Maybe. I don't hike for speed. But at least this means I can do longer hikes in fairly good time, which will help for redlining.  
Name
Name: GN 
E-Mail
E-Mail: ghnaigles@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2020-10-02 
Link
Link: https:// 
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