| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cone Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Bushwhack, herd path, unknown trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I didn’t like the looks of approaching from Dickey Notch Trail and parking at the Welch-Dickey lot and I heard that I probably wouldn’t be able to find legal parking and I’d run into access on Orris Rd so I made due with coming in from Woodwinds Drive. I parked alongside the road just before the private road signs. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
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|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The unknown trail is very difficult to follow |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
|
 | Bugs: |
I don’t remember them being too bad. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
Day 253, Peak 251. 3rd hike and peak of the day after Brown Ash Swamp Mtn and Hall Ponds Mtn.
I headed due west into the woods soon coming to some very large boulders/ledge. Easy to find a way up bud I was a bit surprised given that the contours looked relatively forgiving. Cool though. A pattern seemed to take place where I’d walk on flat ground for a bit, then have to acable up some bouldery rise to another flat section. As the boulders seemed to mostly cease, I headed just north of west over a minor ridge south of a small knob and descended to a short ways to Cone Pond. What a pretty sight! Beautiful spot :)
From here, I slabbed steeply up the S/SE ridge of Cone Mtn. Not too long after hitting the true ridge I began to hit some ledge as the woods had transitioned and I soon ran into a herd path. I soon noted flagging along said path and carefully followed it up to the summit. There was some flagging and a descent sign cairn but no jar in a spot one may believe to be the summit but continue beyond to a slightly higher bump with the jar. Just NE of here there’s a grand cairn and view :)
I signed in and returned along the same trail. It was hard to follow and I retraced my steps many times to correctly follow it. Some blowdowns obscure it. Just as it seemed to be trending off the ridge to Sugar Run Rd (where I’d noticed that some had approached from) and I thought I’d have to leave it to return to my car (which made me sad as I really wanted to see where this ended up!) it turned and led me down to Cone Pond. It really follows the ridge the whole way down. I lost it just before reaching the pond; I was within eyesight but not the shoreline. I picked up a herd path again though as I made my way north alongside the pond. Although the herd path seemed to end as I left the pond and the last flagging I saw was along the ridge just before reaching the pond, I found at least one more cairns and traces of a herd path as I crossed the ridge south of the minor knob back to my car. Attempting to stick on any trace of a path and stay on ledge, I stayed just south of my ascent line. Interestingly, though no consistent herd path, I ran into a couple more paths every time I came near a ledge. One such ledge had a nice framed view of Sandwich Mtn. I came down very steeply off some of the boulder/cliff I’d come up earlier and soon popped back out nearby my car.
I didn’t know what a treat this mountain was! A true bushwhack for sure but a good one to take a friend on that’s new to it. A real treat :) Gaia had me at just under 3mi with about 950ft of gain, taking me 2.5hrs to complete. 112 more days and 124 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2022-07-12 |
|
 | 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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