| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cedar Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Crystal Brook Road, logging roads, bushwhack, Spur Road 30-60-0 |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, October 10, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Crystal Brook Rd was pretty rough, starting immediately at the junction with Cedar Stream Rd. Doable in mid-clearance, but unpleasant and an unwelcome change from all the other roads today, which were in great shape. We got to the junction with spur 30-60-0 and were surprised to see the continuation of Crystal Brook Rd was ungated. A horizontal rut at the entrance to the spur road plus TwinkleToe's prior report led us to decide to park at the junction. We decided to adventure and walk Crystal Brook Rd instead of the spur road. Crystal Brook Rd had recent tire tracks and is the sort of road where the tire lanes form consistent ruts, between an elevated middle and sides. First 1/3 of it might have been driveable in mid-clearance by keeping the tires out of the deep tracks, before we hit some horizontal ruts and mud that would need high clearance. The driveable portion of the road abruptly ended about 2/3 of the way to the junction east of Cedar and the road turned into a single-track logging road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After road walking Crystal Brook Rd, we turned right at the junction and arrived at the landing to the east of Cedar. We decided against following the overgrown logging road continuation further south from the landing (more on this later) and started ascending due west, but pretty quickly got caught in clearcut regrowth and hobblebush. Fought through this only to realize most of the mountain was logging regrowth. Found the summit on the western side of the summit contour line, with some lovely views to the west. An umbrella (in decent shape) hanging on the summit tree.
Descending, we headed just south of east, hoping to get out of the logging quickly. This worked well - we found a steep but open descent that we followed down to the overgrown logging road, which had a nice drainage lane on the edge. Followed this back to the landing, arriving about 45 mins after we left the landing.
We walked the spur road back to our car, to mix it up. Definitely in rough shape - I was glad we didn't try to drive it further.
If I were doing this again, I might look at approaching from the west given all the road walking required from the east and the logging. It looks like the CT get's pretty close from the west and wouldn't be that long an approach from deadwater loop rd. Note neither Lynx Trail nor Bobcat Trail looking inviting to drive on when I drove by later in the day. |
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 | Name: |
Big Al Dente |
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 | E-Mail: |
bigaldentenh@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-10-11 |
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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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