| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Stairs Mountain - East Peak, Mt. Resolution, Stairs Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Jericho Road, Rocky Branch Trail, Rocky Branch Shelter 1 Spur, Stairs Col Trail, bushwhack, Davis Path, Mt. Parker Trail, Mt. Resolution Spur, Stairs Mountain Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, October 22, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Unfortunately the forest service has closed the gate though the road is still drivable to the washed out bridge and you have to park by a gate on Jericho a road about 1.75mi from the trails start. The road in is dirt for part of the way but is easily doable for low clearance cars. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I don’t recall them being difficult which means they were probably rock hopable. I did have waterproof boots on though. See notes below about the bridge |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Rocky Branch Trail has been informally “extended” due to the gate along the last 1.75mi or so of Jericho Rd. Signage at the start gives distances. I don’t recall the blowdown situation on any of the trails which means they were probably in decent shape. This section of Rocky Branch Trail isn’t difficult to follow; just be aware it intersects with other old roads. It’s got some yellow blaze on it. I don’t recall blazing on the other trails but the trails along the ridge aren’t hard to follow. Stairs Col could be just a little tricky with all the leaves down on it and if not being a terribly well travelled trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I’d be careful on East Stairs due to how steep it can get and the ledge. It can be scrambly even when there’s not ledge too; some real steep dirt, lol! |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 356, Peaks 346-348. Beautiful but very cold morning followed by a nice warmup and sunny day :) I needed East Stairs and Resolution and Stairs will count toward my final total as a “redo” as I wasn’t sure if I hit the true summit hears before when I was here
Easy walk in along Jericho Rd to the start of the trail. Be warned that getting up the washed out bridge can be very difficult though particularly if you’re short. They’ve placed some rope and a rock to step up on which is better than the rickety stool I found last time I was here but still not great. Your only other option would be to wade the river. And, on that note, I’ve heard somewhere that they plan to totally remove this bridge someday thus necessitating a wade of the river. I haven’t confirmed that though.
I walked the trail for about 2mi to its jct with its jct with the side path to the shelter which I explored, then, Stairs Col Trail. I followed Stairs Col Trail for almost 1mi to just above 2000ft where I started my whack to East Stairs. This was due south of the peak. The woods are open and the grades reasonable to start but I soon came to a boulder field in the hardwoods. Not too hard to get through and probably avoidable but shortly after that the grade became very steep. It’s then a long, slow slog up from there up to the winding SE ridge of the peak. The woods weren’t too tight in my opinion as others have said; it’s more the steepness that slows you down. Once I hit the winding SE ridge, I began to hit the ledge and cliff bands. Woods transitioned more too but we’re never too thick. Nice views to be had from the ledge which I mostly avoided due to the angle of it. Easy enough to stick to the woods. The true summit and register were just outside of the highest contour for me on Gaia. I signed in and returned roughly the same way for 0.1mi, then turned SW and slabbed back down to the trail around 2350ft. I had to go down and up and over some minor drainages as immersed the trail. The only reason I didn’t take the same line back to the trail was I hated how much elevation I was “pointlessly” losing ;P I considered sticking to the ridge to hit Stairs but I knew how thick that was.
I ascended Stairs Col Trail, steeply at times, to the col, then descending slightly to the jct. Here, I took the trails over to Resolution Spur, enjoying the ledge and views along the way. From the Resoltuon summit Spur which is NOT the true summit, I whacked over to the northern knob which is the true highpoint. The whack is whack you’d expect around ledges: thick with bushes but doable. Some minor herd paths too. I came fairly naturally to the highpoint of the other northern knob. No register but a cairn in some trees which is the true high point. Fantastic views here. I whacked just south of due west back to the trail from here through more bushes, then thick woods, then two “mini-marshes” as I neared the trail. I wouldn’t recommend this approach any more or less than whacking from the Resolution Spur.
I returned to Stairs Col, somehow getting off Mt Parker Trail on the ledge and whacking briefly to Davis Path. I dropped my pack in the col then did an OAB to Stairs Mtn along the spur trail. There are several little bumps just off trail about the same height. I believe the highway was just a couple feet off trail around where Gaia puts the summit and is most of the way to the viewpoint at the end of the spur. I returned to the col, and descended Stairs Col and Rocky Branch Trail to my car. Gaia had me at 15mi with 3700ft of elevation. It took me a little less than 8hrs to complete. 9 more days and 17 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: |
2022-10-26 |
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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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