| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bear Hill (Lyme), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Holts Ledge Trail, herd path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, May 13, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Well I just read the guidebook and evidently I’m a bad boy; I parked at the fork (jct of Dorchester Rd and Grafton Turnpike) which isn’t allowed. You’re supposed to park at the skiway. Plenty of parking there. I came in from the south along Grafton Turnpike which is long and dirt for much of its length but is in fine shape for any car. I even saw two motorcycles on it! |
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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 |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Holts Ledge Trail is blazed in white as it coincides with the AT. I doubt it’s blazed frequently but it’s not hard to follow. I think the Trapper John Shelter Spur may have been blazed in blue. Again, not hard to follow. No blowdowns that I recall on either. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Holts Ledge Trail would be good for them but there’s some very steep and scrambly parts up to Bear Hill that I wouldn’t recommend for most hiking dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
Maybe it’s because I was moving faster but they didn’t seem anywhere near as bad as they were earlier in the day around Cardigan where I was. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Holts Ledge Trail, abandoned section of the AT, bushwhack
Day 194, Peak 184. 2nd hike of the day after Skyland Trail-West Ridge Trail traverse around Cardigan. Very hot and sunny day.
Holts Ledge Trail and the shelter spur were dry and in fine shape. Nice moderate grade to the shelter spur, then contour then descend along the shelter spur. Took me 25min to reach the shelter. I retraced my steps a short ways from the shelter to where Gaia shows a road coming in from the north. A much fainter path also continues to the south. I believe this is the abandoned section of the AT. I followed this but quickly lost it. Thought intefound it several times but eventually just gave up and whacked up to the col. If you look at CalTopo it actually shows the abandoned portion of trail which I hadn’t realized at the time. My mistake was that I followed closely to the drainage to the east whereas the old trail appears to follow the ridge between two drainages. Just north of the col between Bear Hill and Holts Ledge, I turned right and followed the ridge to Bear Hill. As others have noted it gets a bit scrambly at times. Personally I was glad to have done this one in summer without snowshoes on my feet of having to deal with any ice. Some nice little heard paths as you reach the summit area.
Found the register easily and signed in. Stopping of course attracted the hugs which you to this point I hadn’t really noticed on this hike. I accidentally left my compass in the car for this one. Given how short and easy it is, rather than pull out one of my spare compasses from my pack, I just used Gaia to navigate as necessary. Well, I thought I headed the correct direction off the peak but after A couple minutes following the ridge down I said “this doesn’t look familiar”. That’s because it wasn’t, Cooney. Followed the north ridge rather than the east one. Oof. I contoured around, actually avoiding much of the steep ledge, and returned to the col. I followed the eastern drainage back down to Trapper John Shelter and Holts Ledge Trail back out to my car :)
The hike was about 3.75mi with 1200ft of gain, taking me just over 2hrs to complete. 171 more days and 181 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-17 |
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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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