| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Upper Jordan Hill (Cree Notch Peak) , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Roads, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 1, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
It had been awhile since I read the trail reports for these which led me to screw up yet again. The upper reaches of Jordan Hill Rd should not be attempted unless you have, at minimum, AWD and mid-clearance. High-clearance wouldn’t hurt. I don’t know what the southern half of the road looks like but beyond what’s shown on Gaia as Jordan Hill on Gaia, the road was very rough. Definitely more of a snowmobile trail than a road or something. We parked at the base of the road (gated) that follows the drainage of Cree Notch. This wasn’t the road we wanted and we should have parked just north at the HOL by the abandoned trailer and such where others have parked. The road is a little better to that point but still rough beyond the Christmas tree farm. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None that I recall. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No major obstructions along the road that I remember. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure but pretty steep the silly way we came up. |
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 | Bugs: |
Some of them are out but not yet bad |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 182, Peak 175. 2nd hike and 3rd peak of the day after the Stratfords. I was very happy in the warm, sunny weather :)
I’d read trail reports for this one awhile ago and thought I knew what I was doing but clearly need to read-read trip reports before I go. First off, I directed my friend to the wrong starting point. You want to park by a grassy old camp with relics at the HOL on the road (go in the north end of the loop) at about 1640ft. No road shown on Gaia here but there is one in actuality. We continued following this road as it bent south and descended. If AWD and mid-clearance wasn’t needed to get to the HOL it certainly was to go down this hill. We parked at the base of the road (gated) that follows the drainage of Cree Notch. I thought this was the road you wanted and could drive up it. Clearly I was wrong.
The plan was to walk up this road to where Gaia shows it stopping, then follow a drainage NE toward the peak but we got talking and the road just kept going so we wound up closer to the actual notch than we wanted to. Crap. We climbed very steeply out of it. No scrambling just crazy steep. Luckily, it was short lived. Grades were soon flat/gentle as we approached the base of the peaks, heading north, at about 2000ft. Shortly before we hit the steeps, we contoured a bit along an old road which was quite wet. We aimed directly for the peak which made the crazy steep grade slightly better since we were slabbing up and we only came to one bouldery/slightly cliffy spot. Woods changed a bit as we approached the high point. Nothing thick. Not hard to find the register.
We signed and and returned to a spot slightly south of the col between the peak and a minor subpeak to the SE where I’d noticed what looked like a road on the way up. Instead of going back the whacky way we came up, we followed this road W/SW down the steep but now very manageable grade. As things flattened out some, we saw the cabins that everyone else passes by. We made our way toward them, then followed the access road back out to Jordan Hill Rd and walked 0.1mi south along Jordan Hill Rd to where we parked…always an adventure!!
Forgot to turn Gaia off so I won’t give you the stats ;P 183 more days and 190 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-03 |
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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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