| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Black Hill, Lampier Hill, Lampier Hill - East Peak , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Snowmobile trails, bushwhacks |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the drivable end of Quinttown Rd. There is still a snowbank on the road so you can’t drive to the normal summer parking area. Instead, parking is shortly before next to the last house on the road. Pay attention to the signs: don’t park in front of the snow bank (plow turnaround) but park next to the house at a “park at your own risk” sign. One other car there when I arrived. Having driven on Quinttown Rd last week as well, I can tell you it’s been muddy but with recent cold temps it was fine on Tuesday morning. Still very rutted though in spots so I recommend something with a bit of clearance. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I’m sure I crossed a few drainages; nothing of significance |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No major obstructions on the roads that I recall |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I saw something that looked like one run in front of me while whacking but I think it was a wolf or coyote. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 149, Peaks 137, 138, and 139. I figured that the weather on Tuesday wouldn’t be quite as bitter cold as on Monday but I don’t think that quite panned out. A very chilly and blustery hike. What’s more, while I expected there to be a trace amount of new snow at least at elevation, I was surprised to find new snow even at low elevations and that there was often still a base of old snow underneath this new snow while in the woods making snowshoes preferable. Unfortunately, I hadn’t brought them given that just a week ago I’d hiked in this area and seen only small patches of minimal snow. I was honestly very lucky that the snow underneath was quite supportive. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to complete this hike and/or would’ve been very miserable. Some postholes were made, particularly around the sprucey areas, but all in all I stayed on top of it.
I followed the snowmobile trails east to just above 2000ft where I hit the western ridge of Black Hill and started bushwhacking. The ridge twists and curves as it approaches the peak but it’s pretty easy/natural to follow and is at mostly very nice grades until closer to the peak. The woods were mostly open hardwoods until the north turn along the ridge. Then, things became sprucey. I thought I could work around them, but I eventually pushed through a small wave before coming back out into the open. You had to negotiate sprice around the summit as well. That said, you could avoid it by swinging slightly east before the summit. The jar was a bit hard to find in the spruce but I’ve certainly had more difficult. Note that the jar is just to the west of the highest contour shown on both Gaia and CalTopo. The jar seemed correctly placed; the GPSs seem wrong here. I signed in and headed off.
I retraced my steps a short ways then headed SE down the mountain to intersect the snowmobile trail just below 2200ft about 0.1mi east of what’s shown as Gaia as “beaver pond”. I walked south along the snowmobile trail, soon passing the jct with Ten Mile Trailand continuing past Rocky Pond to a point just north of east of Lampier Hill - East Peak where I began my short and easy whack to that peak in open woods and at a moderate grade, becoming easy and in open woods. Easy to find the register. I returned back to the snowmobile trail the same way.
Once back on the snowmobile trail, I walked almost a 1/2mi west along it to south of Rocky Pond then began whacking SW up Lampier Hill. I still hit some very steep going though I wasn’t that close to the pond so you may want to start your whack a smidgen further north. I made a few good postholes here. The summit area was a bit flat so it took a few to find the highpoint but it wasn’t difficult to find. Open woods. I signed in and headed NW down the NW ridge. It was maybe halfway down this where I saw something run in front of me that looked like a husky. My first thought was a coyote of course but I honestly think it looked more like a small wolf. I got some pictures of its tracks if anyone is interested. I passed some old skidder roads while whacking which eventually brought me to Ten Mile snowmobile trail. I crossed it and continued bushwhacking NW north of the drainage, aiming for the end of a trail shown on Gaia that ends between 1900 and 1950ft. Whacking through here was a bit of a pain with hobblebrush and some wet footing (not much of a problem this time of year but could be in the summer?). I found a road east of the pond in the drainage but it was heading the wrong way. I continued whacking and saw it again closer to my bearing (it turned) and decided to follow it. The snowmobile trail soon brought me to the “end” of the trail shown on Gaia to the left but this trail continued ahead and sure enough dumped me out on the first snowmobile trail I was on of the day about 3/4mi east of Eastman Ledges. Wonderful! Quick walk out from there.
Gaia had me at 11mi with 1900ft of gain, taking 6hrs. 216 more days and 226 more peaks to go…
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-03-31 |
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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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