| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moosilauke, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Gorge Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The start of the road is pretty rutted and pot-holed, nothing a good grading won't resolve, but might be of some concern to hikers driving Maseratis and Lamborghinis. Gates are all opened, and I was car #5 on the side of the road at the "No Parking" fork before the Ravine Lodge road. I drive my CrossTrek like most Jeep owners should drive their Jeeps, and had no problems exceeding the unmarked speed limit. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
n/a |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail maintenance of the reported blowdowns at the top of the Gorge Brook Trail was my secondary mission of the day, as my main goal was Moosilauke for my May Grid. My Big Boy 2000 and I hiked up assessing the needs and doing some minor clearing, and spent a few hours cutting our way back down and out. There were obvious signs of previous saw and axe work, so I definitely "stood on the shoulders of giants", but much of what had been previously felled was still on trail, some of it large and leggy, and a lot of it shading, and frozen into, the remaining monorails. As earlier reported, the trail was navigable, but with some effort, and above the spot where I started repeating "good enough" frequently enough to decide to skedaddle, the trail is now nearly perfect, aside from some remaining branch and bough debris. I left two step-over height blowdowns as-is, but sawed down the broken branch nubs to make them snag-free. Being pooped, I pretty much ignored all but the most egregious impediments on the way out. One area of note lower down the trail was a saw-cut bypass cut into three trees that had fallen across the trail. I limbed these down to expose the trail, and brushed in the muddy pit bypass with the cut branches. Hopefully this is obvious in both directions and keeps people on the real trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few pups, all but one on leash. All animals and handlers were well behaved. |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw a few, none biting (yet) |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing lost, nothing found |
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 | Comments: |
Overall, the trail was pretty good aside from up top, and should now be pretty near awesome. Aside from the two blowdowns that I was too tired to cut out, the trail should now be a straight shot to the summit. Some well drained but flowing water at the steeper sections, and after the second outlook there's a few sections of low monorail, especially where they were covered with tree damage. With the recent warm weather, and the trail maintenance, these should be gone soon. Most of the mud was dry, soft, and not sinky, aside from some navigable puddles up top as you go through the tree tunnels to the summit. That's also where the monorails were the highest, probably two or more feet in spots, but easily avoided by walking around it. I think I also met Bostocrates, who warned me about the mess further up the trail, as well as a few duos, couples and a family group who were effusive in their thanks for the trail work as they came down behind me. A labor of love. |
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 | Name: |
bogboy |
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 | E-Mail: |
onequack@duck.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-05-14 |
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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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