| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Uncanoonuc Mountain , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Incline Trail, Walker Trail, The View Spur, Perimeter Road summit loop, Summit Trail, Taber Trail, Kenlaw Trail, Link Trail, Bickford Trail, Scout Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, December 4, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for a half dozen of so cars I think at the Link trailhead on Mtn Rd. Note that Gaia shows this as “Old Woods Road (Class 6)” and shows Link Trail to the north which is incorrect. None when I arrived at 8am and just one or two others when we returned at 3pm. Room for more like a dozen plus cars at the Incline Trail lot on Mountain Base Rd. Both lots are dirt bud easily accessible by any car. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I don’t recall any |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Incline Trail is unblazed as far as I recall. Easy to follow since it’s an old road though. Note that the trail sign at its jct with Walker Trail is basically gone. Not hard to find, just a little confusing. Walker Trail is blazed in yellow…mostly yellow tin cans!! Not really hard to follow but with a bunch of herd paths going this way and that particularly around the old cabin, it can be hard to know if you’re on the true trail. Summit Trail is blazed in red. Taber Trail is unblazed as is Kenlaw Trail. Bickford Trail is blazed in blue and I don’t recall the blazing, if any, of Scout Trail. The only blowdown I recall was a large widowmaker. I’m not sure which trail it was on but I think it was along the eastern section of Kenlaw. It will likely be left there until it falls. Trail jcts were not always clear. I believe it was around Walker Trail, Summit Trail, etc. where there were signs for the trail but in the middle of the woods…not at trail jcts. If you’re redlining, be prepared to be confused and find this area somewhat annoying. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Great day of redlining with an even better friend :) Should I even attempt to describe how we redlined this…
Incline Trail —> OAB on Walker Trail and View spur as described in Summit Trail description —> Incline Trail to summit area —> Perimter Loop Rd —> Summit Trail to —> Taber Trail to —> Kenlaw Trail OAB to Summit Rd —> Kenlaw Trail to —> Link Trail (eastern section) —> OAB on Summit Trail to summit then all the way back down to Incline Trail parking area —> Bickford Trail to —> Scout Trail (with a weird spur in here) —> OAB on missing section of Bickford that bypasses Scout —> Kenlaw Trail —> Link Trail (western section) to parking on Mountain Rd.
This is a cute little mountain but a bit of a pain to redline with all the trails and a lack of a great way to do it. For about 5.6mi worth of trail described in the guidebook on South Uncanoonuc, Gaia had us at 8.5mi. Of course Gaia is often off, and we did a lot of wondering, but still. Additionally, there are, at least at times, many herd paths to and fro which make being “on the trail” a bit ambiguous. I believe this was mostly in around the Walker Trail where the old cabin is. Unfortunately there’s also a good deal of trash and glass here. Conditions were mostly dry trail with very little ice. Probably even less now since the rain mid-week. The view spur from Summit Trail that connects to Walker Trail isn’t hard to find (just difficult to know if you’re on IT with other herd paths everywhere). The only other spurs it appears you need for redlining are the summit loop and on Taber Trail connecting to the road and that is trivial. The distance in the guidebook is way off…it’s not even 100ft to the rd. The sign at the jct says it’s 100yds too…kind of weird. Note that there’s many other trails/spurs shown on Gaia that aren’t needed. We’d thought this one shown on Gaia around the jct of Bickford and Scout was needed (and was a bit confusing) but it’s not mentioned in the guide. Cool artifacts around the jct of Incline and Walker Trails. Note notes above about lack of a sign at the jct of Walker and Incline trails, and Gaia incorrectly showing part of Link Trail.
Gaia had us at 8.5mi with 1400ft of elevation. I wouldn’t be too quick to rely on either of these. Sorry for another very late one… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-12-10 |
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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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