| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Paugus - South Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bolles Trail, Beeline Cutoff, Beeline Trail, Old Paugus Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, November 17, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked one car at trailhead at the end of Paugus Road to complete the loop. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Whitin Brook crossing for Bolles Trail at Paugus Mill was manageable with a small amount water running over our shoes; Paugus Brook at Beeline/Bolles junction was a bit trickier, we chose to cross slightly downstream and still had one spillover spot. Whitin Brook crossing on Old Paugus trail (near mill site) was the same as lower Bolles-Whitin Brook crossing. Rocks were submerged just enough to run over our boots some. Our feet stayed dry despite the spillovers. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Two large seemingly old blowdowns criss-crossed and hanging over Beeline Cutoff at Bolles jct. No jumping, it's duck under. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One cute pup with some trail runners on Bolles trail |
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 | Bugs: |
A few floating helplessly here and there. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Started out a 8am; yesterday's snow was still fairly firm and crunchy under our feet. Helped a lot throughout the entire day to mitigate leaf slippage. Trip was done counterclockwise for reference.
Beeline Cutoff was in great shape, one easy crossing for Paugus Brook (small). Looped back to Bolles via Beeline. Bolles is bridged further south for the snowmobiles but this trail had the worst mud pits. The leaves didn't help much, and only hid the depth of it - as we could tell from the looks of a hole that could have possibly claimed one of the trail runners shoes.
Back to Beeline heading up to Paugus, the snow here was still crunchy and really started to accumulate at 1600-1800'. Snow was hanging onto the trees about 2200'. Scrambles higher up on Old Paugus were iffy. We bypassed some on the way up, some on the way down. Definitely some wet slippery rock, and black ice coating. Wet bare rock (no mosses) were surprisngly grippy ascending and descending. We took in the on/off views at the viewpoint by the summit (someone has created a homemade sign so people stop missing it!) and then made our way back down.
Walking through the woods on Old Paugus trail around the shoulder at 2300' was surreal with all of the downed trees on either side of the trail from the area's last significant ice storm. All downed trees aross the trail were cut by hand by the USFS's professional team because it is considered wilderness. Dang! Dropping down into the boulders was fun, stepping cautiously and taking in the wild sights in there. Once we met the junction for Whitin Brook Trail it was pretty standard procedure from there. Stopped to check out some relics along the way, otherwise made our way down a slightly defrosted trail.
Saw four other people out there. |
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 | Name: |
bria, Nordic gal |
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 | E-Mail: |
breahmaria@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-11-17 |
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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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