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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Wolf, South Kinsman, North Kinsman, NH
Trails
Trails: Reel Brook Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Mt. Kinsman Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, November 11, 2022
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: I parked at Mt Kinsman trailhead (ample parking) and rode my bicycle to Reel Brook Road. I locked it up and walked up the road to the trailhead. No cars in the trailhead parking but there are pickup trucks along the way.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All water crossings are easily rock hoppable.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Someone has done a wonderful (and very recent!) job with the drainages on Reel Brook and Mount Kinsman trails. There is very recent axe work and chainsaw work between the Eliza Brook Shelter and South Kinsman (on the Kinsman Ridge Trail) and on the upper portion of the Mt Kinsman Trail. There are numerous remaining blowdowns on KRT and Mt Kinsman trail (none at all on Reel Brook) but given the recent work it seems that they are known. If anyone wants specific details about what I saw 11/11/22 please feel free to contact me via social media or at my name at yahoo. Thank you to whoever is working so hard on these trails - you are much appreciated!!  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: I didn’t see any today.  
Bugs
Bugs: Good golly. I pulled 4 ticks off my neck while I was hiking. Ticks in November?! There is a section of the Kinsman Ridge Trail between Mt Wolf and Reel Brook that is black fly gathering spot. I have two bad bites on my arms. Argh. Snow please! Cold weather please!!! 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: There is one lonely Teva sandal perched on the Mt Kinsman trailhead sign.  
 
Comments
Comments: I rode my bicycle from Mt Kinsman Trail trailhead to Reel Brook road (and saw a bobcat on my way - so neat!). I hiked up Reel Brook, south on Kinsman Ridge Trail to Mt Wolf and then back north on Kinsman Ridge Trail to Mt Kinsman trail and down. Reel Brook (first time for me) and Mt Kinsman Trail (4th or 5th time for me) are beautiful trails with excellent footing. I did notice those new spiffy drainage solutions on the bottom of the Mt Kinsman Trail - I see you USFS and your crafty and terrific new solutions to trail drainage!! ;). Thank you for this!!
Kinsman Ridge Trail is easy to follow because it’s the AT, and the section between Mt Wolf and Reel Brook I am calling “path of least resistance.” I get it. If I were a NOBO AT thru hiker unfamiliar with the Whites and facing Franconia Ridge and a Presi Traverse with a heavy pack then I would probably want to make my Kinsman Ridge traverse as easy as possible too. You almost have to laugh because at every little spot, in this section, that is not just one foot in front of the other you will find a well beaten path through the woods as a bypass. I am used to leaping across mud and scrambling over boulders and worming my way through tight spots but you can pretty much avoid that in this section of trail, due to the hiker-created workarounds. I don’t know how these workarounds can be stopped - they are really beaten into the landscape at this point.
The Eliza Brook shelter is one of the nicest little shelter spots that I have seen. If you are reading this and trying to figure out if you should camp there - yes, yes, yes definitely camp there. Water is very accessible without walking very far, which is great, and it doesn’t seem that the brook is any sort of long term threat to the shelter. It’s really idyllic. The bear box is intact and there are no recent signs of bear activity at this shelter. I didn’t have to clean up other people’s left-behind trash, so that made it a good day for me!
This was a long hiking loop but made for a really nice day. I kicked it into high gear on my descent down the Mt Kinsman trail and was able to beat both the rain and the darkness!  
Name
Name: Bikecamphikegirl 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2022-11-12 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share 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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