| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Thirteen Falls, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, bushwhacks, Lincoln Brook Trail, Franconia Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, June 4, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at 0615. Still spots upon our completion at about 1530 |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I had no real issues on any crossings, even Redrock and Hellgate. I was able to 'princess feet' across without getting wet. As per their MO, The_MismatchedHiker just walks through everything. So depending on your level of thrill, you will find excitement. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
(Lincoln Brook Maintainer) I really need to step up on this trail and find some friends to help. This was a 'full run' of my trail to check conditions and perform level 1 maintenance. I was pleasantly surprised as to its current state, even after a good soaking rain the night before. There is one blowdown between Black Pond and Brutus that will require the USFS team to assist with, it's the entire crown of a tree. It does not impede access. The USFS a few years back put in some bog bridges along the back 3.5 miles and they are in great shape still and very useful. I would love to have them assist me put some after crossing 3 and before the slide. This area really needs some love as the trail creep is wild. Bog bridges would be so incredibly helpful here. I also will need to do some minor work to help steer folks after the slide for about 200 yards. There are lots of herd paths and the trail is actually far more ambiguous here than I remembered. Dismantled cairns and log indicators at Brutus. Cleared about 50 water bars along the way. Only one tree needed to be taken out! Looks like recent maintenance was performed on Franconia Brook. There is one fresh blowdown between Bondcliff/LBT junction - saw worthy. Also a huge thank you to the caretaker at 13Falls, whom upon asking, said she had been working on the upper mile of LBT for the past few summers in their spare time. It's in superb shape from her efforts! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Shouldn't have any issues on this long and low circumnavigation of the Owl. |
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 | Bugs: |
The skeeters where about as thick as bugs on a bumper, and made their presence known in the boggy area around the 3200 HOL on LBT, as well as the beaver pond on FBT I did actually find a tick on me, not completely imbedded, on my shoulder. This was the third one ive ever found hiking, and second in a month! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing was lost, but a lovely time was found |
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 | Comments: |
A FINE day was had deep in Henry's Woods. The_MismatchedHiker needed the back 3.5 of Lincoln Brook Trail, and I needed to do some maintenance on it, so it was a win-win. No issues on Lincoln Woods, nor Black Pond. Interesting little find near Ice Pond, we found the old concrete wall. In great shape. It's visible from the trail, especially in the serpentine section. First time seeing it over there. Even after over two dozen times of doing this route, I seem to somehow manage to find a new way to drop onto the Black Pond "Extension." The USFS should really just make this into a trail at this point, as its foot bed is far superior than a lot of the trails in the WMNF Guide. It would actually be more beneficial to the woods then having the spiderweb of trails at present. Lincoln Brook, as you may have gathered, is wet. It's always wet, even in a drought. It's partially an old rail line that built only to haul timber out as quickly as possible. However its in far better shape than it has been in years past. Every year it is getting a little better! As noted above in trail maintenance notes, its ambiguous and required a few instances of backtracking to find the trail. Knowing this, I will go back out and attempt to put some navigational aides to funnel you in the right direction. Noted some azaleas growing in the bog area near the height of land. Also a huge gathering of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (the yellow butterflies) at 13 Falls, probably where someone tinkled. We left thirteen falls like a rocket sled on rails. We shot the line and went for broke with a thousand buzzin' skeeters. On our way out, we met about eleven long haired friends of Jesus, but no chartreuse microbus. We where haulin' dynamite out of there and could have used their help. Surprising how different FBT and LBT are. If you heard a loud boom, that was us. Did find the USGS Benchmark disk at the Hellgate Crossing. I still need to find the one at Redrock. No issues on the way out, other than I should have stashed our beers in Black Island Brook and grabbed them on the way out. Nothing says a successful day in Henry's Woods quite like almost room temp beer and tripping over railroad ties on Lincoln Woods. hic! |
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 | Name: |
The Teal Goat, The_MismatchedHiker |
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 | E-Mail: |
sea2thebiscuit@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-06-05 |
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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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