| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Cleveland, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Roads, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 15, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at a pullout on the north side of the road jar after Mount Cleveland Road bends north. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I wouldn’t recommend it given the close proximity to houses. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Not as bad as elsewhere. Perhaps due to the rain. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Wrong date on original report, sorry.
Day 196, Peak 189. 2nd hike of the day after Success Hill and after Cummings Mtn was a no-go due to the fact that the gate on Cedar Pond Hill Rd in Dummer was still closed. Rained on me some but not too bad. Nice to have some cooler weather.
I knew that you could no longer access this peak via the trail at the end of the road. Another obvious but much longer approach would be from Swazey Ln to the east. Before I went there, I wanted to attempt getting this peak from the southern ridge. Gaia showed some trails diverging south from Mount Cleveland Rd that would take me to the southern ridge that I could then whack up to the summit. Unfortunately, the trails shown on Gaia appeared to be down a driveway so that was a no go. There was a pull-off just beyond on the opposite side of the road though as well as what looked to be an old road between two houses just after. I followed this old road south roughly paralleling the trail shown on Gaia, just to the east of it. I soon turned east, then northeast finally following the SW ridge up the mountain after having descended some. I passed one no hunting sign and no posted land but this still felt like the land behind someone’s house so I personally wouldn’t do this again and would recommend the approach from Swazey Ln.
As I followed a road up the ridge, I unfortunately saw a house through the trees shards of me at roughly 2050ft. I took care to stay away from it as I dropped down the SE side of the ridge and contoured around before climbing back up to the ridge out of sight of the house. Shortly after this you hit the very steep summit cone. Very bouldery and a bit cliffy. I was able to work my way up but there was some genuine scrambling. Beautiful and remote feeling though for such a low elevation. Pretty cool. Stay to the north to avoid the scrambling.
At the top of the scrambles, the grade eased up significantly and I walked to the highpoint. One spot seemed quite likely but wasn’t recognized in any way. I walked around the summit area a bit soon finding a higher point recognized by a cairn and yellow blaze on a tree. No register and no sign of the path up from the end of the road anyway. That said, I had run into a path on the way up at the top of the steeps. I was able to follow this much further on my way down, avoiding the scrambles. Nice garden path. Where I lost it, I headed more south to avoid the house again. From there I bushwhacked and followed roads back. There is a clearing most of the way down with an (apple?) tree that I also went by on the way up. A few roads intersect here. Pick the one that makes most logical sense. On my way down I followed a road all the way back to Mount Cleveland Rd. It popped out JUST beyond where I parked at the start of the driveway to 374. Again, no posted land but didn’t feel great about popping out at the base of someone’s driveway.
The hike was about 2.25mi with 600ft of gain, taking me 1.25hrs. 169 more days and 176 more days to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-18 |
|
 | 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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