| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Doublehead, West Doublehead, Mt. Squam, Mt. Percival, Mt. Morgan, Mt. Webster, Mt. Livermore, Cotton Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crawford-Ridgepole Trail, Cotton Mountain Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 29, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for one, maybe two, vehicles near the trailhead on Sandwich Notch Road. This is a narrow, rough dirt road - my Corolla would've had a very difficult time making it to the trailhead (though I made it to Beede Falls just fine). My friend's pickup truck did much better. The Cotton Mountain trailhead is much more accessible, with room for at least 10 cars in the lot and on the side of Route 113. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only a couple very, very small ones that were easy. This trail goes along a ridgeline, so there's not much water. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns, just one or two of which were significant impediments to travel (the rest were easy step-overs). A couple of widowmakers scattered around. One section in the northern half where the trail has become a small, sluggish, slow-moving stream. Signs were present at all junctions, though some of their mileages were either contradictory or just incorrect. Overall, the trail was in good condition considering how little-used most of it is. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Some of the scrambles in the northern half of the trail would be very difficult for dogs, particularly the "difficult rock scramble" on the initial climb from Sandwich Notch Road. Dogs wouldn't have trouble with anything southwest of Mt. Percival. Make sure to bring a lot of water - there's practically none along the trail. |
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 | Bugs: |
They're out. Pretty bad at the trailhead on Sandwich Notch Road, not so bad along the ridge in the northern part of the range. They got worse further down the southern part of the ridge. If you kept moving at a good pace, they weren't insane, but they will bother you when you stop. My friend and I both wore head nets for parts of the hike. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
What a way to get back into the swing of summer hiking - a 12-mile traverse of the Squam Range that took about 8:15.
As others have said, the northern half of the trail is no joke - lots of steep ups and downs (though, apart from the initial climb, none of them were too long), and a lot of rock ledges. I definitely recommend doing the traverse from northeast to southwest to get the difficult part done first. However, the rocks were dry and the trail was clear (it was well blazed with yellow plastic diamonds for the entire length), so we could still go at a good clip. We saw only a single other hiker before reaching Mt. Percival, where at least a dozen hikers were resting. Between Percival and Morgan, we saw at least 20 other hikers, and another bunch at Mt. Morgan.
After leaving the Mt. Morgan Trail, we saw only about a half-dozen other hikers for the remainder of the day. This section is easier and generally smoother, and we made better time on it. This section of trail also had blue plastic diamonds at widely scattered intervals - we weren't sure what purpose they served. The opening of Brooks Fisher Trail definitely seems to have increased the usage of this section. The climbs up Livermore and especially Cotton were tiring at the end of such a long day.
Views were outstanding, and the weather was warm but not too hot. Thanks so much Ben for joining me! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-29 |
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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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