Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cave Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Logging road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, August 8, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Having just finished up Rice and knowing the mixed reports about Flume Brook Rd from rt26, we decided to gamble and try and drive up to the Cave col from the east. From our Rice parking spot, we continued NW to a junction, (passing a cool cabin and picnic table), then heading west from the junction up to the col. The roads were actually in good shape and we made it to the col no problem!
After the hike, we decided to gamble again and descent to the SW. This road was in great shape and probably doable by low clearance vehicle. We did encounter active logging blocking the road, but they graciously moved a truck so we could pass. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
No water anywhere |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Champ and Tucker navigate the thick stuff much easier than the humans do |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
When we arrived at the col, we were surprised to see very recent logging activity, not mentioned in prior reports or visible on sat imagery. There's an obvious newly cut logging road heading in the direction of cave, that we followed up to the plateau around 2800, where there was some pink tape, I think indicating the boundary of the logging area. From here, we ducked into the woods, trying to follow the minor SSW ridge, which were thick for awhile before it opened up a bit around 3000ft, at which point we started slabbing east. On the summit, we found the cannister on the western side of the summit contour area - note that CalTopo has the red dot on the eastern side of the summit contour.
Not happy with our ascent line, we descended a bit further east of our ascent line, hooking up with a minor drainage heading SSW (just barely detectable on some contour maps) due south from the cannister. This was a great route, avoiding the thickest stuff and popping us our right at the top of the logging road, which we followed back to the car. |
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 | Name: |
Big Al Dente |
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 | E-Mail: |
bigaldentenh@gmail.com |
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 | Date Submitted: |
2025-08-09 |
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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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