| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Downing Mountain, Eagle Cliff West (Rumney), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Snowmobile trail, unofficial path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 17, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked on Doetown Rd at its jct with Shore Rd. Room for a car or two to pull off on the side of the road. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None that I recall |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The unofficial paths are marked with surveyors tape. I don’t recall blowdowns. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Some steep climbing but sure |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 168, Peaks 157&158. 1st hike of the day. A cold and windy day with on/off snow squalls. Eww. Luckily I had the company of a friend :)
We walked up a snowmobile trail opposite Shore Rd for about 1/4mi. We then took a left onto a flagged route that went steeply NE up to the small 1850ft knob here. A viewpoint or two here over Stinson Lake to Carr, Cardigan, Stinson, etc. To reach the viewpoint, you’d want to scramble very steeply up the herd path to the right where it also splits left to go more gradually and you’d have to out-and-back the viewpoint. We then continued very briefly north along this ridge before dropping down to the east and following the ridge to the summit of Downing Mtn. I believe the flagged route stopped here. The path may be hard to follow anyway but I just followed my friend who knew what she was doing; lucky me! The jar and highpoint on Downing are not hard to find.
From the summit we followed the ridge SE for about 0.1mi, then turned right and “kind of” followed a minor but steep southern ridge down. Lots of boulders here and some minor cliffs to avoid near the ridge. We soon found our way back onto the snowmobile trail though and followed it past the outlet of an apparently nameless beaver pond on Gaia. We started our whack to Eagle Cliff West directly north of the peak at about 1700ft just to the east of what looks like a northern ridge. My friend said she normally starts her whack to the summit a smidgen further east but this worked fine. Got steep close to the summit. All hardwoods. We easily found the jar, signed in and headed down the winding northwest ridge, passing by a cool little shelter and campsite, then a bench with a view, and the snowmobile trail which we followed back to the car, thus making a lollipop loop.
No snow to speak of other than that which was falling on us and beginning to accumulate to a light dusting in a spot or two. The hike was about 3.5mi with 1000ft of gain, taking us 2hr10min. 197 more days and 208 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-04-19 |
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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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