| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Hope, Mt. Hope - South Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Davis Path, herd path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, May 5, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for more than a dozen cars at the Davis Path parking area but I was only one of a couple there.
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossings near the beginning of Davis Path just beyond the houses as some old “balance beams” for you to wobble across on. Crossings after that on both Davis Path and the bootleg trail were easily rock hopable. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No blowdowns on Davis Path that I recall. Easy to follow. I feel like saying it was blazed in white hut that doesn’t seem right… the bootleg trail is blazed in a dark blue-ish teal color at regular intervals. Unsurprisingly, it has several blowdowns along it that obscure the it. Do not attempt to follow unless you are an experienced hiker and have off-trail navigation skills. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
There’s some out but not annoying yet |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 186, Peaks 176 & 177. 1st hike of the day and man was this my type of hike!! A very lightly traveled but still followable abandoned trail, views, sunshine and decent temps, and even a bushwhack to a slide. I was one happy boy out there on Thursday :D
Go 0.1mi after the rock, dry brook bed and wilderness boundary. On your right, look for a path that goes very steeply up the side of a hill. Not very noticeable because of the hill. If you’ve hit the first brook crossing after the wilderness boundary, then you’ve gone just a smidge too far. Ascend up this hill. Get whacked in the face by some tree branches. When the trail seems to disappear near the top of this little hill, turn right and you should see it again. From here, you should start seeing the old teal blazes soon. The blazing is actually surprisingly regular and intact, but the trail is still very difficult to follow and it would be foolhardy for an inexperienced hiker to attempt this. Most experienced hikers/bushwhackers loose the trail at some point too. That said, if you’re intentional about it and you’ve got the experience, it’s definitely doable to stay on the trail the whole way to Hope. When it seems to just disappear, look behind the nearest blowdown. Chances are it’s obscuring the trail. Look for blazes. They really are quite often and they’re what will keep you on it. I was very intentional about following this trail and I had to stop and back track slightly at many points throughout the day but I always found it. The trail goes in and out of the hardwoods several times which can make it tricky. Also, look for very small cairns, marking the way. The trail ascends east for about 1/3mi to roughly 1350ft, then turns SE and stays on the same bearing all the way to Bemis Ridge almost a 1/2mi north of the peak. It ascends along a brook for awhile with some nice cascades. Beautiful garden path at times along the ridge and shortly before it too.
Anyway, enough lamenting about how cool that trail was! As you reach the summit of Hope, keep an eye out for a “spur” to the right that leads you to the view ledge looking west and the register. The trail seems like it goes on beyond this bud it ends pretty quickly. From there, it’s a sometimes steep and sometimes thick whack down to the col. Nothing terrible but not a particularly nice ridge walk. I tried to come down to the col the most gradual way but I got pushed too Far East by thick woods and actually came out just east of the col. From the col to the summit of south peak is also steep and thick at times but is much shorter. Also, there’s definite evidence of a herd path forming to the summit which made it enjoyable enough. Great ledges and views from south peak.
On my way over to south peak I got a look at a small slab slide just east of the summit. I of course then needed to bushwhack to it. I didn’t get a great view on it but I did reach the top of at least one big slab. Not far at all from the summit so I’d say it’s worth checking out. Not hard to get to but definitely a point where I said “and now I won’t take one step further ????”. I made my way back up to the summit and back to the col the same way. I tried to head up more directly/less steeply from the col, but the woods pushed me east again and I basically followed my footsteps back up to the summit of Hope. Fun to follow the trail back out to Davis Path :)
I think I had to step in snow exactly once which was along the bootleg trail, getting close to Hope. There was virtually no snow, any we’re. Just a few small patches off trail other than the one just mentioned. Other than a some mud before the little brook crossing by the houses at the start of Davis Path, there was virtually no mud on the trails either! Quite impressive!! A bit of wet/dampness in all the lichen-y, mossy goodness of trail though ;)
The hike was roughly 6.5mi with 2300ft of gain, taking me 5hrs. 179 more days and 188 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: |
2022-05-07 |
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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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