| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bald Knob, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Shannon Pond Trail, Bald Knob Cutoff, Bald Knob, Turtleback Mountain Trail, Oak Ridge Trail, Whitten Trail, Settlement Trail, Brook Walk, Connector |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, April 15, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Shannon Pond Trailhead which has lots of parking. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridges. Real bridges! I love Castle in the Clouds! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
These are really impressively maintained trails. Really. Unfortunately someone gouged out the bottom 1/4 of the informational sign on the Bald Knob CutOff Trail (the one about the Columnar Jointing, which is really fascinating!!). I brought a trash bag to pack out trash and didn’t find a single scrap of trash today! Phenomenal! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
My dog loves these trails because they are easy on her paws. We saw lots of dogs (and people!) on the Brook Walk Trail, enjoying the day! |
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 | Bugs: |
Not yet - what a blessing!! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. Nada. Pristine!! |
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 | Comments: |
It was an amazing morning in the Ossipees - bright sun, warm temperatures, minimal wind, no more snow or ice where we hiked, minimal mud and NO BUGS!! I thought that I was dreaming! Today my dog and I finished out the trails in the Lake of the Clouds area, and wowza, I inadvertently left the best for last!
We started by hiking up Shannon Pond Trail, which is wide and has great footing. No mud. We took a right on Bald Knob Cutoff Trail. It is a steep climb with excellent footing and no mud. The view from the viewpoint was excellent. The next 0.5 miles to the Bald Knob Trail were muddy in spots - I did fine stepping across the available stepping stones (my dog had a blast tromping through the mud!). We stopped to check out the columnar jointing information and examples - that was pretty fascinating! We then took a right on Bald Knob and hiked the 0.3 miles out to the summit. The footing, on this trail, is absolutely excellent. Truly. One little runoff section of mud but otherwise dry. The summit was beautiful and the little platform with the sign was a nice place to rest and regroup.
We then hiked the 0.7 miles back to Turtleback Mtn Trail, which I snowshoed down last month - no snow now and minimal mud. It was so inviting that we hiked down it!! There are some really new and impressively built bridges along this trail (that were possibly there when the snow was there but I couldn’t tell!!).
We took a right on the Oak Ridge Trail and stopped along the way to learn about trees and animal prints. The view was really terrific from the viewpoint. The trail was minimally muddy from sign 15-18 so we kept going - once again I could use stepping stones and my pup got to tromp in the mud!
At the bottom we used the Pond Loop and Cold Spring Rd to get to Whitten Trail. We stopped and looked at the old home locations, and I had my pup stay outside the cemetery while I took a quick look. At Settlement we took a left and hiked it down to Mt Robert Trail - wowza, again with the great footing and no mud! We hiked back Settlement and then got to that really odd thing called the Settlement Loop. Which we hiked but even my dog, who is quite experienced at the shenanigans of Hiking the WMG and is now helping me to Hike the Southern NH Trail Guide, thought was a little silly. But it was a beautiful day so it was fine! We hiked the rest of Settlement Trail and then down Cold Spring Road back to the pond. This was when we first saw people! Lots of people!!
Finally we hiked down Brook Walk Trail - what a hidden gem! Well, not all that hidden - we saw more than a dozen people and three dogs. It was terrific to have the informational signs for each of the seven waterfalls.
We crossed Shannon Brook on the bridge and hiked up that steep incline back to the Shannon Brook Trail and then up to the Connector and up to Turtleback, where we touched the sign and turned around. We then hiked Shannon Brook Tr back down to the parking lot.
I love hiking every trail in a guidebook because I get to see everything and learn, firsthand, what I will repeat. The next time that I have visitors who want to see waterfalls, I know where to take them! (Sorry Sabbaday and Snyder Brook!!) |
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 | Name: |
Bikecamphikegirl |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-15 |
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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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