| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. D'Urban, Snag Pond Peak, Salmon Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Border Swath, Bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, September 11, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
East Inlet Road is open all the way to the pond and frankly a joy to drive on after all the time I've been spending off Coarser Brook Rd. Think 25mph.
We spotted a car at the boulder-blocked entrance to an unmapped logging road which heads north, just to the west of the Mt Kent access road. And we drove the other car all the way to Boundary Pond, which has a nice little parking area and a privy!
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I had hoped to make use of the low water levels and skirt around Boundary pond, but it has a rocky shoreline and not obviously low water. The swath to the north of the pond is a bog, that was passable with dry feet due to the drought. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Champ and Tucker were less respectful of the international border than their human counterparts (but they did have their rabies certificates and US import docs should they be needed) |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
With East Intel Rd confirmed open all the way to Boundary pond, this was the time to hit the eastern border swath peaks. But with Ingersol Brook seemingly still closed, we had to get a bit creative on the route.
We started around Boundary Pond to the east, following an (wet at times) old woods road that departs where the pond access road bends SW towards the pond. This took us most of the way to the swath, at which point we started following the swath up a steep, overgrown and poor footing at times ascent of D'Urban. Swath got better once it merged with SF1 and we made it to the D'Urban highpoint, just off the swath.
From here we backtracked on the swath, past the pond (which has a bog to the north on the swath, which would be unpleasant if we weren't in a drought). There were definitely times where we would have made better time on SF1, but we didn't want to risk crossing into CA to use it. Going up Snag Pond Peak from here was unremarkable and we made good time.
From Snag to Salmon, the swath is really steep on both sides of the col. Particularly ascending Salmon out of the col, the swath is near impassible at points, where I ducked into the (US) woods to skirt the steeps and tall overgrowth. But the swath got better as we attained the NE ridge of Salmon and we followed it to the summit, which was the furthest of the 3 peaks from the swath.
From the summit of Salmon, the plan was to head due east, to the southern tip of an old, mapped logging road, then pivot SE to hit the northern tip of the unmapped logging road we parked at the junction of. The plan worked pretty well - the woods were steeps at first, and not open, but not awful either. We followed some drainages and ended up a bit north of due east of the summit, crossing the remnants of the mapped logging road around 2375.
I was hoping this logged area would be helpful - it wasn't. Roads were very overgrown and there was lot's of boggy areas that were OK due to the drought. We basically contoured at 2375, around the minor NE ridge, until we hit the unmapped road (which is a true road, maybe driveable if it weren't blocked with boulders), and a quick jaunt back to the car.
Whole route took us about 4:40, of which 1hr was from Salmon back to the car - definitely faster than back tracking on the swath. Plenty of hunting blinds on the CA side, but no encounters with any border authorities or evidence of any surveillance. |
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 | Name: |
Big Al Dente |
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 | E-Mail: |
bigaldentenh@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-09-12 |
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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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