| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Springfield Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Noyes Road, bushwhack |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, January 3, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked on the side of the side of the road in a large plowed area on the N/E side of 4A. On Gaia, this is not where Noyes Rd starts but where some other road (snowmobile trail) seems to cross 4A (though only shown on the Noyes Rd side on Gaia) and soon joins Noyes Rd. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Several brook crossings, mostly small. Usually easy to cross. One slightly larger one I crossed, getting back to Noyes Rd was a bit more difficult. Snow bridges have yet to form though and water was also elevated at the time I did this. In general, I imagine these crossings are easy. For now, waterproof boots and gaiters are more than enough ;) |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I don’t recall any blowdowns on Noyes Rd. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure but be careful if along Noyes Rd and the connecting road as they seem to be snowmobile trails. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 64, Peak 55. 3rd and final hike of the day. Cloudy and windy with temps in the lower teens. Nasty, snow conditions with an icy crust. Microspikes recommended.
I followed the connecting road in for 0.3mi to where it meets Noyes Rd as shown on Gaia, then followed Noyes Rd to its jct with Kings Hwy where I began my bushwhack. Others have done this as well, though, in retrospect, I think it would make more sense to not follow Noyes Rd as long and start the whack much sooner. If I were doing this again, I’d hike only about a half mile along the road, then start walking due south and pick up a ridge that takes you to just north of the peak and seems to merge with a drainage at about 1900ft. I will say that I think I recall some young growth along the road earlier on though…maybe others have said something about this in other reports?
Anyway, from the jct of Kings Hwy and Noyes Rd, I turned left, and saw a footpath (and many footprints!). I followed this path but it was heading SW whereas I needed to head SE so the bushwhacking began. There were still, many, many footprints around (I wonder what this person or people were doing!). The woods weren’t hardwoods but were still open enough. I headed south at a nearly flat grade to just above 1600ft where I came to a clear cut. I walked up the eastern edge of it and back into the woods which were now open hardwoods. I now travelled SW’ly slabbing at a moderate grade below the knob to the NW of East Springfield. I encountered more footprints though they did not go to the summit. I came across some drainages here. I found myself a bit north of the col and whacked up to the summit. Not hard to find the jar. I signed in and started headed down.
I figured it would be easier to follow one of these drainages back down to the road so I followed my footsteps back to one and that’s what I did. This was quick and worked well until, looking at Gaia now, the drainage likely split, or just changed directions, and I got pulled way off course and actually crossed my path up unaware. I soon noticed and cut back to the road but the time it took me to do this probably evened out the time I saved by just following the drainage. Ugh. So it goes when you get lazy and don’t follow a bearing. I would up on the road just 0.1mi east of where I left it on my ascent.
Roughly a 4mi hike with 600ft of gain taking me 2.5-2.75hrs. 301 more days and 310 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-01-07 |
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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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