| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Bald Land Trail, Scenic Vista Spur, East Branch Road, East Branch Trail, Wild River Trail, Wildcat River Trail, dirt road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, June 4, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The uppermost part of Carter Notch Road leading to Bog Brook trailhead is rough, with potholes, protruding rocks, and small washouts - definitely in worse condition than when I was there a few years ago. A low-clearance vehicle could probably make it but they'd need to be very careful. We were the first ones at that trailhead in the morning, one other vehicle there upon our return. No issues with parking in the large dirt lot just below the Bald Land trailhead. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
A couple of those on the lower East Branch Trail required some thought but could be rock-hopped if you looked around. The two crossings of Wild River on Wild River Trail between East Branch Trail and Perkins Notch Tentsite were both rock-hoppable, though the rocks were wet and slippery. The crossing of Bog Brook on Wildcat River Trail could maybe have been rock-hopped with care, but since we were completely soaked anyway, we didn't mind submerging our boots on that one. We took the dirt road to bypass the three crossings on the lower Bog Brook Trail. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
OK, this is going to be a long one. No sign for Bald Land Trail at its trailhead (and no sign for East Pasture Trail either, despite such a sign being there couple years ago). No sign where Bald Land Trail turns right off East Pasture Trail 0.4 miles from the trailhead (I only figured this out thanks to my Alltrails). The lower Bald Land Trail is very muddy. Scenic Vista Spur has little evident footway and a wet area. Some very muddy areas on the descent of Bald Land Trail down to East Branch Road. East Branch Trail has a couple of yellow blazes at the beginning, but after that it's marked only with widely spaced blue XC-ski diamonds. Plenty of blowdowns on it, and the upper part of East Branch is extremely eroded with poor footing. Some sections of Wild River Trail are very wet and muddy as well. Wildcat River Trail has several sets of bog bridges across muddy areas, but those bog bridges are very slippery when wet. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
If they like to get wet and to play in mud, they'd probably do fine. |
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 | Bugs: |
Absent for most of the hike thanks to the cooler temperatures. Just starting to come out near the end. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
This was one hell of a hike due to the conditions. Bald Land Trail was muddy in places, and not the easiest to follow, but not too bad. Scenic Vista Spur just leads to a large loop in the woods - considering how tall the surrounding trees are, there hasn't been a view here for a while. No point in going there unless you're redlining. The rest of Bald Land Trail had some muddy spots, but other areas of smoother footing. The road walk on East Branch Road was easy.
East Branch Trail was, uhhhh, quite something. The southern half was mostly along old roads, and sections with good footing alternated with wet, muddy areas and small brook crossings. The northern half was extremely brushy and overgrown, with a lot of undergrowth in the trail, sometimes almost obscuring it. This was a problem because it was lightly to moderately raining the whole time. The rain falling from the sky wasn't the problem - the problem was the rain that had landed on this undergrowth, and transferred itself to my pants when I walked through. (Don't even think about doing East Branch Trail in shorts - long pants are absolutely necessary.) These car wash conditions eventually got my feet and lower legs completely, totally soaked, and even my upper legs were very wet as well from the undergrowth. Much of the trail climbing up to the height-of-land is also extremely rough and eroded, requiring hopping on wet rocks across mud and sometimes deep holes. The descent down the other side had better footing but still had car-wash conditions. By the time we reached the open bog 0.1 miles from Wild River Trail, we were so completely soaked already that we didn't mind taking a few steps into the muck if necessary. (Even if our feet had somehow stayed dry before, they would've gotten wet crossing the bog - there was no way to keep them dry.)
Reaching the end of East Branch Trail at the junction with Wild River Trail, the area has a real sense of remoteness. The Wild River (more of a stream at this point) babbles next to the junction. We didn't stop, however, because it was still raining and we needed to stay warm. The two crossings of Wild River in this section were rock-hoppable, but the rocks are wet. Wild River Trail here is narrow and still somewhat brushy, but the footing was usually somewhat better. There were still plenty of muddy sections, though, particularly after passing Perkins Notch Tentsite. This section was very brushy and overgrown (still car wash conditions) and rough and wet in many sections as well. Couldn't really tell where the height of land was in Perkins Notch, but we were glad to get through it. As soon as Wild River Trail leaves the Wilderness, and particularly after its junction with Rainbow Trail just afterward, the condition of the trail improves dramatically - it becomes a lot drier and with smoother footing. The section between Bog Brook Trail and Rainbow Trail clearly has a trail adopter who has done good work here. I don't know if they read NETC, but if you do, thank you - your work is very much appreciated.
The portion of Wild River Trail after the junction with Bog Brook Trail is not in such good shape though - it has some nice areas, but also lots of large mud bogs with unavoidable deep mud - my feet and boots got even wetter and muddier than they already were. Reaching Wildcat River Trail was a relief, since we'd done it before, and the main issue with it was that many of its bog bridges were slippery. We decided to take the dirt road back to the trailhead rather than cross Wildcat River, which was flowing quite strongly - no issues with the road.
Can't say I'm exactly itching to do this hike again, but it was an interesting experience - a hike that's long (13 miles) but doesn't have a lot of elevation gain (less than 2,000 ft. across the entire hike), but that nonetheless kicked my butt because of the tough conditions. Didn't see anyone else until we were less than 2 miles from the end on Wildcat River Trail. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-06-04 |
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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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