| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Fletcher Mountain - North Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, Victoria’s Mountain Way, windmill access road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 10, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
You cannot park on Victoria’s Mountain Way. As you pull onto it, there’s a sign on your left saying that it’s a private road and continuing without permission is trespassing. It faces perpendicular to the road so it would be easy enough to drive by. So, instead, I parked roadside, in between the abandoned couch and trailer and Victoria’s Mountain Way. Just enough room to get my car entirely off the road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 161, Peak 150. 2nd hike and 4th peak of the day after a Dinsmore-Doublehead loop in Sandwich.
Given the sign at the base of the road (see parking notes) it seemed prudent to not walk right up the road. So, as others have done, I walked up past the abandoned trailer instead. It sounded, based upon others reports, that the road wasn’t posted higher up, but I wasn’t sure at what point this was so I whacked up a minor ridge through some nice woods (after an initial pass through young growth after the RV; I passed by an old bench here too) for between about 1/3mi, when I hit some blowdowns so I began walking along the road. After just a tenth of two of a mile, I saw a house, so I hopped back in the woods for another 1/4mi, passing the ruins along Old Coach Rd. I came back to the road, then saw another house, and whacked along the north side of it until Victoria’s Mountain Way becomes undrivable near its intersection with a road to the north. I followed this Victoria’s Mountain Way to its end on Gaia almost 1900ft at which point I headed NE along the ridge and intersected the access road to the wind mills at its end where it’s a loop. I followed the east end of the loop, then a diverging road to one of the windmills, scrambled up some rocks behind it, and “whacked” all of a couple hundred feet maybe to the highpoint (cairn) and jar just beyond. I returned the same way to the drivable part of Victoria’s Mountain Way but this time turned right (north) along the road to the north to avoid Victoria’s Mountain Way as it seemed best not to travel along it. Well, although I’d planned on taking these roads back down to Halls Brook Rd 1/4 east of my car, the road soon became very overgrown so I just whacked NW through many nasty parched of young growth and prickers. I crossed Old Coach Rd again and reconnected with my ascent route maybe 1/4mi from my car.
Given that this land appears to be private property, it would seem prudent to me to approach this peak from a different direction. Perhaps Groton Hollow Rd to the NE?? Also, trying to avoid the road by staying on either side of it was a real pain at times as there was lots of prickers. Hike was about 4.5mi with 950ft of gain, taking me 2.5hrs. 204 more days and 215 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: |
2022-04-12 |
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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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