| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Vose Spur, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Signal Ridge Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 28, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Second car in the parking lot at 7:30 AM the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, probably 6 cars in the lot when I was back around 12:30 |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The one main crossing of Carrigain Brook was fine and easily rock hoppable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few small blowdowns on Signal Ridge and Carrigain Brook Trail, but easily avoidable |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few very friendly pups |
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 | Bugs: |
Luckily, temps had dipped back down just below freezing so the bugs were kept at bay. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
My second attempt to tackle Vose Spur as part of my Hundred Highest. I had tried to bushwhack down from Carrigian last winter, but found the krummholz on the ridge to be nearly impenetrable, so tried the more traditional route coming up from the valley.
The start of the herd path is easy to find - look for the large boulder off the side of the Carrigain Notch Trail and about 100' afterwards there is a small cairn marking the start of the clear herdpath. The herdpath is fairly easy to follow on the way up, but coming down is a different story. Anyone attempting Vose will hopefully know this, but it is STEEP, in fact aside from the Chemin des Dames, this is the steepest climb of any trail (or semi-established trail) in the Whites. There are two very steep areas on either side of the talus slope, the second being worse than the first. There are a few pink surveyors tapes making the herdpath after the talus, but you can't really see them until you are right on top of them.
Looking at the topo and with my experience bushwhacking back down, the route could be less severe after the talus field, but I guess folks have decided straight up is the way to go. If you either exit the talus field to the left, or go all the way to the top-right of it past the cairn, the angle is less severe. Not wanting to downclimb the second very steep section, I bushwhacked west off the summit, following some small drainages and then eventually setting a bearing that brought me back out into the middle of the talus slope.
If you are attempting Vose, I highly recommend having a GPS track downloaded or be sure to use something like Wikiloc to be able to retrace your route. Especially on the way down, the herd path is extremely difficult to follow, and I ended up consulting my GPS app nearly every minute. I would have had a very hard time finding my way down without it.
A great, but kinda sketchy hike! |
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 | Name: |
ges |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-05-29 |
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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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