| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bear Mountain (Bartlett), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Road walk, bushwhack, herd path |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, June 4, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
No parking where I wanted to start my whack so I just parked at the start of FR43.3 on CalTopo, seen as XB411 on Gaia. This is an entrance to the Bartlett Experimental Forest. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
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|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I think I crossed one drainage on my way out near the road. Nothing of significance. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
N/A |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
|
 | Bugs: |
Mix of mosquitos and black flies. Not really noticeable until I stopped at the summit, then they were bad. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Road walk, bushwhack, abandoned Bear Mtn Trail/herd path
Day 216, Peak 203. 2nd hike and 3rd peak of the day after the Bartlett Haystacks next door. Luckily, the woods were really starting to dry out at this point so I wasn’t sopping wet the whole hike!
I’d gotten recent intel from a group that whacked Bear that following the NW ridge (the one the abandoned Bear Mtn Trail followed) was very thick. They followed the next ridge south/west over on the way down and found much better woods. So, from my parking spot at the start of the the experimental forest, I walked 1/4mi SW along Bear Notch Rd, then turned into the woods and whacked SE. I whacked relatively close to the drainage that leads to Bear Notch in the flat area surrounding the notch, then whacked up very steeply to what I guess would be a (very steep) NW ridge of the mountain (NOT the winding one). Steep but open hardwoods. When the woods transitioned to softwoods, the woods didn’t ever really get thick. No scrambling even though it was steep.
Once this very steep ridge merges with the winding NW ridge around 2800ft, the grade eases up. You come to an open brushy, flat area too and the abandoned trail and/or herd paths from people and animals become visible. I didn’t know how evident the herd path would be! Don’t know how much of this people would consider the originally abandoned trail but it still felt very cool to walk along and made for very easy going. Easy to find the highpoint. I signed in and returned the same way, cutting off a bit of my road walk on the way down, crossing the drainage. The abandoned trail was not as easy to follow on the descent.
3.5mi, 1500ft of gain, 2.5hrs and I was rushing. 149 more days and 162 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-06-06 |
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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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