| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
West Quarry Mountain, Straightback Mountain, North Straightback, East Quarry Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Reed Road Trail, Dave Roberts Quarry Trail, Marsh Crossing Trail, Belknap Range Trail, Quarry Spur Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, June 19, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
lot decent sized and empty at 1030am on Thursday; it is a holiday although I know not everyone has it off. It was cloudy and showers & later Tstorms were in the forecast later afternoon/evening. zero cars (besides mine) when I returned around 2/230. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
nothing significant although as of now there are water sources along Reed Rd and the lollipop route I took |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
There is loud, enthusiastically protective dog at the house by the beginning of Reed road trail. I saw the dog and who I presumed to be its human on my way in; the dog barked a bit after I walked by, no issues. On the way back I came out of the woods and paused on the (public) road for less than 10 seconds looking @ my GPS since I forgot which road to take at the fork to get to the lot. The enthusiastic dog ran towards me, aggressively barking and jumping near the road. I have no problems with well behaved dogs but there was no fence and given the enthusiasm (which did not appear friendly) of the dog and no visible human, I made a split second decision to book it down one of the roads, which ended up being the wrong one. Luckily the dog was well trained enough not to follow me (and there may have been an invisible/electric fence) but given the encounter I decided Id rather risk poison ivy and/or being shot for possibly trespassing and bushwhacked back to the road. |
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 | Bugs: |
only bothersome when not moving or moving slowly. 2 of the places I wanted to sit at a lookout the bugs were too bothersome to stay. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Fun lollipop loop to get some redlining done. I had marked the viewpoints on Gaia on my laptop, but for some reason it didn't sync to my phone - I didn't see any significant views on the way in, the views may be more overgrown than described/remembered in the SNH 5th edition guide. A good reminder for me to buy the new 6th addition.. best place to rest was the ledge near the caves between N Straightback and E Quarry- I actually ran into the only 2 people I saw all day, what looked like 2 trail runners, or fast moving/light geared hikers, which was a pleasant interaction. Lots of birds singing; had a friendly encounter with a black throated blue warbler and 2 accidental encounters with a mother grouse and her chicks. Also hermit thrush, eastern towhee, black and white warblers, blackburnian warbler, jays; all of which I didn't see. 3 low flying turkey vultures at South Straightback ledges. A scarlet tanager which I did not see was loudly singing near the E Quarry/caves ledge. All in all a nice day to get back to the mountains and acclimated to the summer heat; was able to avoid the showers completely. Some of the rocks were slipperier than they appeared and I did have 2 slip/falls, easy landings with no injuries. |
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 | Name: |
Kendra O |
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 | E-Mail: |
kocanez@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-06-19 |
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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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