Pike's Peak, Plymouth Mountain - Fauver Link, Sutherland Trail, Pikes Peak Spur, East Cliff Spur - 11-13-2021

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Pike's Peak, Plymouth Mountain, NH

	Trails:	Fauver Link, Sutherland Trail, Pikes Peak Spur, East Cliff Spur

	Date of Hike:	Saturday, November 13, 2021

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	We spotted a car at Plymouth Mountain Trail. The road in becomes dirt but is in fine shape and easily passable by any car. There really is nowhere to park though. There is one spot, a bit angled and rough, you could park a car basically opposite the old road that the trail starts up but I wasn't too keen on parking my FWD car there. Just beyond, on the left, just before the sign that says "private drive", there is a nicer pull-out where we left a car. No sign about not parking there that we saw, nor did we come back to an angry note on the windshield, but upon looking at the guidebook now, it seems that we are not supposed to park there. Only other place to park would be much further down the road as mentioned in the guidebook, or, perhaps if you have a 4WD vehicle with very high clearance, along the old road that the trail starts up. We were the only catr there. Fauver Link trailhead also begins on a dirt road that is easily passable but has an actual parking lot that could easily hold around a dozen or so cars before overflowing. Only 2-3 there including ours.

	Surface Conditions:	Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery

	Recommended Equipment:

	Water Crossing Notes:	Crossings on Sutherland Trail were trivial. The crossing on Plymouth Mountain Trail of George's Brook is quite small and was rock hopable though water seemed high and to be gushing. In high water, it may involve a leap or getting your feet wet.

	Trail Maintenance Notes:	Fauver Link and Sutherland Trail, according to the guidebook, are blazed in yellow. Beyond Pike's Peak, according to the guidebook, the paint blazes turn to plastic yellow. It seemed to be blazed often enough. With leaves on the ground obscuring the footbed and your head down, it wasn't hard to miss a turn here or there on the ascent but it was easy to find your mistake and get back on the trail with the blazing. No blowdowns that I recall. The side path to Pike's Peak is well travelled and easy to follow and is blazed in yellow. There is a trail sign at its jct with Sutherland Trail. The trail is not as well travelled above here but isn't hard to follow. Even the spur to the eastern cliffs wasn't hard to find or follow if you were looking for it. It is not signed or marked. The trails are not signed at the summit, but it wasn't hard to find Plymouth Mountain Trail. I didn't find it hard to follow although the Mowglis markings are few and far between. No blowdowns that I recall.

	Dog-Related Notes:	A bit of scrambling on the ledges between Pike's Peak and Plymouth Mountain but most hiking dogs could probably handle it. None seen. Possible dog poop right on the trail (or maybe it was a spur) at one point unfortunately.

	Bugs:	None

	Lost and Found:	None


	Comments:	Yesterday was Day 13, Peak 14. 352 more days and 351 more peaks to go. Wanted to get the west peak of Plymouth Mountain on the way down Plymouth Mountain Trail but didn't have enough time to do the whack. Easy enough to do from the parking area another time. Sutherland Trail is an enjoyable trail. It ascends the north/northeast ridge of the mountain. Mostly dry trail. The spurs were easy to find on the ascent. Nice views from them. I had forgotten that there was a summit sign at the top and we figured that we had reached the summit many times before we actually did. The ledges near the summit were hardly visibly wet but were VERY slick. Not able to move quickly on them and I fell even going uphill sometimes. That said, the scrambles are mostly easy. At one of the "I think this may be the high point" places, we noticed a boulder just ahead of us that was clearly taller so we went over to it assuming it was the true highpoint. There is a spur leading to it that loops back to the trail. Scrambling up that was more difficult, but again, avoidable as it loops back to the trail. From the summit we easily found a path that we thought was Plymouth Mtn Trail; we used Gaia to confirm though as there's no sign. Plymouth Mtn Trail was easy for us to follow though not as well marked as Sutherland Trail. Always cool to see the Mowglis markers. This would be the easier way to ascend to the true summit though also lesser travelled and parking is an issue. The road you walk on back to the car was leaf covered with mud underneath. On the whole, Plymouth Mtn Trail had more leaves on it than Sutherland Trail. No sign for the start of the trail.

	Name:	Liam Cooney

	E-Mail:	liamcooney96@gmail.com

	Date Submitted:	2021-11-14

	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.