| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Round Mountain, Slope Mountain (Chatham) , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Slippery Brook Trail, bushwhack, herd path, FR17B |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, August 21, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Only room for 2-3 cars at a pulloff at the Slippery Brook trailhead I think but room for at least a few more nearby. The dirt road in has bumps and some small rocks jutting out but any car should do fine on it though low clearance may need to pay attention to the rocks. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The crossing of McDonough Brook was a nearly trivial rock hop; water was very low. Hopefully today’s rain helps some more with that. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Leaner/widow maker about 10min in to Slippery Brook Trail. Easily walked under. Don’t believe the trail is blazed down here but trivial to follow as it’s an old road. It’s not terribly well travelled so it’s a bit brushy if you’re worried about ticks. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
I believe there were a few mosquitos. Not too bad. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 294, Peaks 271 & 272. 1st hike of the day.
I walked about 0.8mi along Slippery Brook Trail to where the road curves left back to the north before starting my whack. I headed NE into the woods through a bit of scrappy woods around the road, then some young(ish) hardwoods that were thankfully open before coming to a bit more mature hardwood forest. With this though come lots of boulders. Not steep though. The boulders pretty much lasted until I hit the summit ridge which I then easily walked to the register which was not hard to find.
After signing in I headed east off the summit. Woods continued to be open hardwoods but descent was predictably steep. I didn’t hit any cliff bands though I was just to the right of one. At the base of the steeps around 1800ft I hit FR17B. I crossed it, continuing on the same bearing. I then hit another old road at about 1725ft that seemed like it might parallel FR17B then a clear herd path which was on a more N-S bearing, paralleling the drainage of the pond/swamp to the north (McDonough Brook). More softwoods as I approached the brook but nothing too thick or annoying. I crossed the brook then ascended at east, then more moderate/steep grades up to the summit ridge which I hit about 0.1mi north of the summit. No cliff bands here. Woods again went from hardwoods to softwoods as I approached the summit ridge. I finagled my way through some pokey trees to the highpoint which was just north of the highest contour shown on Gaia.
After signing in and checking out a nearby partial view, I began heading north again along the ridge, picking up a herd path that took me off the summit ridge even sooner than the way I’d come up. Seemed to barely pass the cliff bands. Ended before really going back into the woods though. Like got be down quick though. Once down off the steeps I really couldn’t make up my mind as to how to efficiently get back to my car. Sounded like FR17B and nearby roads might be real overgrown. I headed west just south of my line in, crossed McDonough Brook, and soon hit the N-S herd path that seems to parallel it and followed it north for some pointless but easy walking back to the my line in which I then followed out to FR17B. I followed FR17B back to the road that shows as connecting it to Slippery Brook Trail in an overgrown area. The road was horribly grown in but I thought I was on it. A look at Gaia later showed I was most certainly not and I’d been paralleling Slippery Brook Trail North for a couple hundred feet. Oi. I cut left over to it and followed Slippery Brook Trail back to my car.
The hike was about 5.75mi with just under 1200ft of gain, taking me just under 3hr45min to complete. As mentioned above, some of this was “pointless” walking though. 71 more days and 93 more peaks to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-08-23 |
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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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