| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Big Coolidge Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Old Osseo Trail, bushwhack, herd paths |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 13, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the visitor turnoff in the usual spot, no issues |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The venerable Birch, of which has seen atleast twenty years of hiker trash, is still holding strong over Clear Brook |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A LOVELY day was had in Henry's Woods. We are on a tangent of Steve Smith's ASAP program (Avoid Snow in April Program). All of the peaks I needed for the NH100 are too high currently and with snow, so we opted for a NH200, because, we are normal - and I'll get there eventually. With only a handful of trip reports for this one, and knowing it might be bad, I went in this one with the mindset of short, steep, and terrible. Nordic_Gal had set an incredible line, and maybe I am just desensitized, but our ascent was amazing and really no issues. We hit a cliff band at about 2900 but it was short lived with some four wheel drive crawling, and no real note of jail cell spruce. Again, we never really stopped moving at an incredible clip, aside from my need to stop because I am not accustomed yet to hiking at like a 30d clip at 1-2mph. An absolutely scintillating ascent. Nordic_Gal let me find the summit proper, which featured many familiar whacko names. (Erik, you mentioned a month ago lots of snow, none today!). We found a bootleg cut trail due north off the summit. Different vintages of cuts, too. We lost it in the col to Hardwood Ridge. We where prepared to call for a ride over in Franconia Notch. "We don't have enough food or water but lets go for it" (hah). This offers zero advantages as it was a nightmare having to cross contour swim through spruce back to the car. If we had just out and backed, it would have been far zippier. Not sure who cut this, but there as a LOT of effort involved in doing so - for no real gain. Excellent post meal grill of steak tips, garden fresh asparagus, and the most expensive potato salad ever. Another one for the 200! |
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 | Name: |
The Teal Goat & Nordic_Gal |
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 | E-Mail: |
sea2thebiscuit@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-13 |
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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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