| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Goves Mountain - Northeast Peak, Lucias Lookout, Lucias Lookout - South Peak (Little Sunapee), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Pillsbury State Park Road, Five Summers Trail, bushwhack, Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, Steve Galpin Shelter Spur, Bear Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 26, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at the gated entrance to Pillsbury State Park. Room for a little more than a half dozen cars there before things might get a little tricky. Probably room to park roadside nearby though. When the park is open, you have to pay (but don’t have a 1mi road walk each way). A handful of other cars when we arrived at 8:30am and left at 4:30pm but most cars parked there seem not to be hikers but people out walking their dogs, visiting the ponds near the park headquarters, etc. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No issues |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The Five Summers Trail is blazed in blue (connects with MSG) and is easy to follow most of its way as it follows old roads. As it approached the MSG, it becomes a footpath that is obscured some by leaves which could make it a bit hard to follow for a beginner. The MSG is blazed in white and was easy to follow. Bear Pond Trail was blazed in blue (connects with MSG) and was easy to follow as it follows old roads. Spring cleanup hasn’t happened yet so there’s lots of small debris on the trails. The only major blowdown I recall was on the MSG between the Steve Galpin Shelter and Bear Pond Trail. It was in the attractive pine forest section that contours around the bumps shortly before dropping down to Bear Pond Trail. We sat down and scootched underneath it. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure. A couple were seen. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 146, Peaks 134&135 (Goves northeast and Little Sunapee count; the feature shown on most maps as Lucias Lookout does not count). 1st hike of the day. Sunny morning and clouded up throughout the day even having some very mild and fleetingly rain/snow showers on us at times.
From our car, we walked 1.1mi along the road to the start of Five Summers Trail noting that the bathrooms in the park were still open despite the park being closed! We walked Five Summers Trail to 1800ft where it turns east and is shown on Gaia to change from a road to a footpath (though this wasn’t the case). From here, we took a bearing and headed N/NW on a pretty straight line to the summit of Goves- Northeast Peak in semi-open hardwoods most of the way and at easy, then moderate grades until just south of the peak where the contour lines become much closer together and we negotiated some much steeper terrain. Not real tricky though. The register was not on what we thought was the obvious highpoint but was quite close by. We signed in, took a bearing and headed back down, coming a bit more directly down the steep section than we did on the ascent. We followed a drainage much of the way but there’s many drainages and most of them that would take you on a direct line are quite small. We popped back out onto the trail in the same spot we started our whack without even looking at my GPS…maybe there’s hope for me after all ;P
We swung north around the small pond to the east on Five Summers Trail (sorry to disappoint hit the trail doesn’t go directly through the water as Gaia indicates) and continued up to the jct with the MSG. Gaia seems to have slightly misplaced the trail in another spot or two here as well. At the jct with the MSG, we turned left and climbed the short steep section to Lucias Lookout. There’s a short spur to the right with a nice eastern lookout where there’s a sign for Lucias Lookout and a mailbox with a sign in for the MSG. Just beyond, closer to the true summit, there’s a very short but more obscure side path to the left with a nice viewpoint to the west.
We retraced our steps from here and continued south along the MSG to just north of Lucias Lookout - South Peak/Little Sunapee and began our whack to this peak. There is a register on both peaks but it’s the westernmost one that is taller and is needed for the NH500 Highest. A short, easy whack. Back on trail, we continued to the Steve Galpin Shelter Spur which we redlined, noting that it has two privies in different spots - quite unique! We then began the long and mostly flat trek out to Bear Pond Trail. We hit some a nice pine forest further south where the trail roughly contours around the west side of a bump before dropping down to Bear Pond Trail.
Five Summers Trail and Bear Pond Trail mostly follow old roads and as such were rather wet and muddy. My friend dunked his boot in deep mud several times. Glad I hadn’t brought out the trail runners yet but stuck with my warm winter boots instead!! There was some slick rock and a bit of ice on the ascent to Lucias Lookout. We carried spikes with us but I never though about using them.
Gaia had us at nearly 14mi with a little over 2100ft of gain though the latter is likely an underestimation. It took us 7hr45min to complete. 219 more days and 230 more days to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-27 |
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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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