| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Clay, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Trinity Heights Connector, Gulfside, Clay Loop, Jewell Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, July 17, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room in the Ammonoosuc Ravine/Jewell lot on Base Station Road. Only notable thing here is that a few dozen yards of Base Station Road, closer to Route 302, were under 1-2 inches of flowing water, probably because a pond or swamp next to the road overflowed with all the rain yesterday. It couldn't have been a dangerous situation, since every Cog Railway customer today and every Ammo/Jewell hiker today drove through it. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Both major crossings on Jewell Trail have bridges. Good thing too, because the rivers were roaring today. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No blowdowns on Jewell Trail (there was evidence of old blowdowns having been cleared), and all other trails were above treeline so there wouldn't be any blowdowns anyway. Signs are all in place. A little bit of standing and running water on a few trails above treeline, and a few muddy spots on Jewell Trail below treeline but nothing too bad. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw one. Above treeline in the Presidentials isn't the best place for dogs, since the sharp, jagged rock can really hurt their paws, but I suppose a tough, trail-hardened dog could probably do it. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not an issue today. The only bugs I saw above treeline were the ones that wanted a bite of my sandwich when I stopped to eat lunch. I only noticed a few on the descent of Jewell, and I was generally keeping a pretty good pace so they never got the opportunity to attack. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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|
 | Comments: |
This day was my way of redlining the trails on Mt. Clay without doing much actual climbing. I started the day by taking the Cog up to the summit of Mt. Washington, the host for my train, Erika, did an excellent job. The summit was crowded and there were excellent views (the last time I took the Cog, the fog at the summit was so thick that I couldn't do any actual hiking because I could barely see 20 feet in front of me - not the best conditions for hiking above treeline). But today was much better, if still quite hazy from the Canadian wildfire smoke. I descended Trinity Heights Connector (more of a marked route across sharp, jagged rocks than an actual trail), and took Gulfside toward Mt. Clay. A short section of it just above the junction with Great Gulf Trail had water flowing down it, but that dropped into the Great Gulf as the trail turned to go around it (I guess that water flowing down the trail might have been the headwaters of the West Branch Peabody River). From there to the southern junction with Mt. Clay Loop, there are incredible views into the Great Gulf, which drops off very abruptly very close to the trail. I did a quick out-and-back from the junction along Gulfside to its junction with Jewell Trail - this part is gentle and has several sections that are nicely paved with flat rocks. Then I took Mt. Clay Loop over the mountain - it had a few small wet and muddy spots, but the vast majority of it was dry. It is quite rough in places, but nothing too bad for anyone used to above-treeline hiking. Views of the Great Gulf headwall were excellent, and I could see waterfalls cascading down it. I took Gulfside to the junction with Sphinx Trail to make sure it was redlined, and then took Gulfside around Mt. Clay to the junction with Jewell Trail. This was the only substantial elevation gain of the day, but it was always gradual to moderate. The trail passes several springs, including one that was actually spurting water - the sections of trail in these areas are wet with running water, but they're not too long.
The second half of my hike was the descent on Jewell Trail. The upper mile or so (i.e. the above-treeline section) was the slowest part of the day - the footing is extremely rough and caution needs to be exercised. In addition, the section of Jewell Trail above treeline seems to have many unofficial, unmarked paths that diverge from the main trail and then rejoin. Following the cairns of the main trail was not difficult, but perhaps some rock walls could be built to keep hikers on the actual trail. Once the trail drops below treeline, the footing gradually improves. Jewell Trail below treeline was actually quite nice. Grades are fairly gentle and never more than moderate. In addition, while there were a few small wet and muddy areas, overall the trail was remarkably dry and in good condition considering the heavy rains we got yesterday. I couldn't help but compare it to Boott Spur Trail, which I did a couple weeks ago - Boott Spur Trail was very wet and muddy below treeline, with lots of slippery rocks and ledges, resulting in a very slow-moving trail (I descended it at about a 55-minute mile pace). Jewell, by contrast, was significantly drier, the rocks were generally less slippery, and there were also significantly fewer rocks and no ledges, resulting in my descending the below-treeline part at a 35-minute mile pace.
Very enjoyable day, and I saw lots of other hikers on Gulfside and on Mt. Clay. Passed a few ascending hikers while descending the above-treeline section of Jewell, but strangely, I didn't encounter anyone else on Jewell below treeline - I guess my pace on that trail was the same as everybody else's. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-17 |
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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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