| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Stony Brook Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 17, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked one car at the Stony Brook Trailhead lot and another car at the hiker's lot across from 44 Bangor St. in Gorham, near the Carter-Moriah Trailhead. Both lots were nearly empty. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The first crossing of Stony Brook (right at the trailhead) is over a large bridge. The second crossing (at 1.0 mi up Stony Brook Trail, elevation 1250 ft.) was challenging but doable with waterproof boots - we did not have to go further upstream to cross. The third crossing (at 2.3 mi up Stony Brook Trail, 1850 ft. elevation) was easier. There were many other crossings of small tributaries, all easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
About 2 or 3 large trees have fallen across the Stony Brook Trail, and likewise for the Carter-Moriah Trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
We saw a few dogs descending while we were ascending Stony Brook Trail. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We went up Stony Brook Trail, and then followed Carter-Moriah Trail up to the summit of Mt. Moriah and continued all the way down the other side to Bangor St., where we had arranged a car spot. Stony Brook Trail was snow-free until about 2000 ft. elevation, then a mix of snow/ice and rocks, which we handled using bare boots. Soon thereafter the snow/ice cover was nearly universal, including a few inches of fresh snow (probably mostly from Friday night), so we put on our microspikes and kept them on until the summit and after that until halfway back down. The unpacked fresh snow was never deep enough for snowshoes to be needed for flotation. The only places at these higher elevations that did not have snow/ice cover were the many ledges on Carter-Moriah Trail between the Stony Brook Trail junction and the Mt. Moriah summit, including the summit knob itself; we considered it too much trouble to remove the microspikes for each ledge. The route from the Mt. Moriah Trail northwest down Carter-Moriah Trail was challenging and slow-going because many of the steep ledges were icy (or simply wet, at lower elevations). We succeeded in descending these in microspikes (with a few minor slips, and a few detours around the worst sections); on the steeper icy sections during the first half of the descent, it would not have been unreasonable to use the crampons we were carrying. About halfway down the snow became interpersed with rocks, and a little lower the snow disappeared completely, so we removed our microspikes and kept them off for the remainder of the hike.
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 | Name: |
mathbp |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-17 |
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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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