| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Anna, West Quarry Mountain, East Quarry Mountain, North Straightback Mountain, Straightback Mountain, Little Avery Hill, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Old Stage Road, Precipice Path, Anna-Straightback Link, Marsh Crossing, Dave Roberts Quarry Trail, Straightback Mountain Trail, Blueberry Pasture Trail, Little Avery Hill Spur |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, September 21, 2025 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
About a half-dozen vehicles at the trailhead at the end of Alton Mountain Road when I got there around 9:40. About the same number when I got back around 2:15. No issues. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
|
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The often-wet stretch of Old Stage Road about a half-mile west of the trailhead was completely dry. The brook crossing on the lower Marsh Crossing still had a little bit of running water in it, but it is easily rock-hopped. Other than there, I didn't see a single drop of water anywhere else on the trail. Conditions are very dry right now. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple of blowdowns on Precipice Path, but they weren't a major issue. All signs are in place, but some of them are small and/or not located at the actual trail junction. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
A few were buzzing in places, but they weren't an issue at all. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
This was an enjoyable hike in the Belknaps. I took Old Stage Road down to Anna-Goat Pasture Trail and then quickly swung a right onto Precipice Path. Once I took a left to ascend the western part of Precipice Path, the fun began almost immediately with the waterfall climb. At least, that's what it would've been in normal conditions when New Hampshire isn't in a drought. But since New Hampshire is in a drought, there wasn't a drop of water to be seen anywhere in this section, so it was effectively just a climb up a steep rockfall area. There are blazes to mark the route, but there are still a few places during this climb where the route was ambiguous - a few more blazes in those spots wouldn't hurt. The climb starts off on the left side of the rockfall, then crosses to the right side, and then above the steepest part, it crosses back over to the left side and moves away from the streambed to follow the cliffs. There were some interesting scrambles on the rockfall section - it's not for the inexperienced or faint-of-heart. The section that runs along the cliffs is rough, with rocky and dusty footing for most of the way. There are a few good viewpoints, and as you go further up the trail, a few short descents as well. The spot where the trail turns sharply right up a ledge is well blazed, but still easy to miss since a herd path continues straight from there (made by all the hikers who missed the turn and then had to go back). The trail gets somewhat easier after that point, and eventually just climbs gradually up to the ridge to meet Anna-Straightback Link.
I did the short out-and-back to Anna, and then followed Anna-Straightback Link to Marsh Crossing and from there up to West Quarry. The brook crossing on Marsh Crossing still had a little bit of flowing water - a desperate person could probably have filtered water there, but it's easier to just bring all you need for a hike like this. The climb up to West Quarry is steep but not too bad, and I made sure to take the short, unsigned spur path to the true summit of West Quarry. I then followed Dave Roberts Quarry Trail over to East Quarry, then gradually down and steeply up to North Straightback, and along the ridge to the main summit of Straightback. If the list of options for Surface Conditions above had an option for "Pine Needles - Significant/Slippery", I would've checked that - the drought has dropped enormous numbers of pine needles all along the trail, they frequently cover footholds on the many ledges on this section, and they can be very slippery, so be careful about them.
From Straightback, I descended Straightback Mountain Trail and Blueberry Pasture Trail. This was my 14th summit of Straightback, and a half-dozen of those involved ascending this route, but I had never actually descended it before. It's a gradual descent, with generally good footing except for some areas where the footing was loose. Heading back to the trailhead on Old Stage Road, I decided to take the snowmobile trail up the short distance to the summit of Little Avery Hill. It was nice, and had a good view of the Wall of Straightback that I had just descended.
The drought has definitely taken its toll. I saw cracked earth in many places, and in some spots the thin layer of moss that covers rocks is cracking, making it easy to accidentally kick the moss off the rocks entirely and kill it. I tried to avoid doing that. The trails were also extremely dusty, and in some cases slippery with fallen pine needles. Many normally secure rocks are loose now due to the contraction of the soil. And the fall colors were quite muted, which I suspect will be the case this whole leaf-peeping season. But on the bright side, all of the normally muddy areas were completely dry and solid today. And it was still a great hike. |
|
 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2025-09-21 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
