| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Gap Mountain - North Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Donovan Trail, Metacomet-Monadnock Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 13, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
unplowed area across from Perkins Pond had 1 parked car when we returned - we parked at the Inn at East Hill Farm with owner's permission. FWIW the Inn said the M-M parking lot on Bullard Road is not plowed after snowstorms, which likely will be a moot issue by the time you read this. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
well marked the plentiful both blue (Donovan) and white (M-M) blazes although they're faded, and of course with fresh-blown snow the white blazes were sometimes obscured for whole sections |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A little tricky to follow the start of the trail but the very kind Inn at East Hill Farm office where friends were staying gave us a little map. You enter the road where the sign says "Bridge Closed" and make a left between two Jersey barriers which takes you across said bridge (now a foot path) across Fassett Brook. Walk along the brook passing a lovely waterfall for 0.5 mi, turn R at the SPNHF sign at the start of a big field on the R - look ahead and at the end of the field you'll see a trail sign naming the memorial foot path. Cross the brook a few times for 0.3 (three foot bridges), then you meet the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail. Ascent 0.8 to a largely overgrown area with a lovely view of Mt. Monadnock, then traverse further down a little dip for maybe 0.1-2 to another better viewpoint- again a little overgrown but with a better eastern vantage of North Pack/Pack/Temple/Burton, then south to Watatic, then west to Greylock, Williams, and more.
Surprisingly lovely little peak I had no idea was there and I was grateful for the unexpected detour of the day that put us here. Winter's bare bones of trees made for a full-on view of Monadnock in its snow-capped glory almost the entire way home. The previous day's 5 inches of snow meant we broke trail until the last 15 min when three barebooters with paddle slider sleds passed us. They seemed to have no difficulty bare-booting in the light snow cover. Me personally, I was glad our foursome had snowshoes for the drifted parts of the trail and the underlying sometimes tricky ice flows. The upcoming week's 50-degree temps will make this a mess soon- to me also suggesting snowshoes, maybe spikes for a day - but on Sun 3/13 our trail it was the perfect blank white page on which to write all kinds of new stories.
We thought about heading over to Gap South which the only reports I could find (on AllTrails) suggested it was hard to find - it was pretty evident to me from north with a "Trail to South Gap" sign - and it was punched out from the previous threesome's boots, but the winds were tricky and we had friends to meet so we headed down.
Lastly since I'm a map nerd I was grateful to have Three Rings Cartography Grand Monadnock paper map which showed the trails on Gap beautifully, including the southern approaches which I hope to visit before spring obscures the great views.
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 | Name: |
TwinMom+1 |
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 | E-Mail: |
mk@mkmarinac.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-14 |
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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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