| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 15, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Large lot, paved, only car there when we arrived about a dozen when we came back |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Drifts, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water levels are higher than previous months but still rock hoppable with careful foot placement. |
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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: |
All of the shoulder season conditions are around up to the engine hill bushwhack. The trail starts out fairly dry for the first .5 miles. The first traces of snow appear after this. The snow gradually increases up to engine hill where it is about 2-4 inches in depth. Underneath the snow is mostly mud,leaves, and running water.
When we reach engine hill we saw that it had seen no traffic and had no signs of a trench so we chose to put snowshoes on. Snowshoes proved to be essential with snow that became deeper throughout and soggy ground throughout. The snow started at about 4 inches at the start and at its deepest was around 8 inches. Travel without snowshoes would have been much more exhausting.
When we came out onto Davis path we saw that so express had seen recent travel and a solid trench remained. We followed the path that had been laid out. The snow started at about 4-6 inches and at its deepest had some drifts 12-24 inches in depth. We kept our snowshoes on for this section as well. Davis path is in full winter mode, with 6-12 inches of snow throughout and some 12-24 inch drifts, snowshoes stayed on to the summit. We ran into our first other hiker at the river crossing on our return trip. We ran into about 12-15 others throughout the day, most were in snowshoes. Engine hill by this time had a solid track laid down but we kept snowshoes on due to soft snow and soggy ground. We took snowshoes off once we returned to rock branch where we barefooted down carefully. Spikes would have been useless as there is more mud, slush, and water than ice. With the coming storm trail conditions will likely changed somewhat. If going out snowshoes are 100% needed, I guess it’s that time of year already :(. |
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 | Name: |
George & Gemma |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-11-15 |
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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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