| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Roberts, Faraway Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Roberts Trail, High Ridge Trail, Faraway Summit Spur, Faraway Mountain Trail, bushwhack, Turtleback Mountain Trail, Oak Ridge Trail, Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 18, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Spots available at the parking area at the end of Ossipee Park Road at both 9 AM, when I arrived, and 2:45, when I got back. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The Ossipees are normally good at providing bridges for river crossings, with one glaring exception - the crossing of Shannon Brook on Pond Trail just above Shannon Pond. This was a rock hop, and I got one foot wet going across since there were no dry rocks to step on. On the way back (I was just redlining this one little section), I found a way to rock-hop slightly downstream of the actual crossing. But I found the lack of a bridge here to be very odd, since a lot of much smaller crossings have bridges! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple blowdowns along this route, but nothing that was difficult to get by. A few wet and muddy sections. All junctions had signs except for the junction of Faraway Summit Spur - this seems to be an unofficial trail so it is neither signed nor blazed (but still easy to follow). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw several. I appreciated how many of the owners kept their dogs close and put leashes on when they saw me approach - this was very considerate. |
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 | Bugs: |
None. Not too surprising since it was below freezing in the morning. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Today's hike finished my redlining of the western part of the Ossipees (and had much more views than my hike last weekend). First I hiked up to Mt. Roberts - I'd done this several times before, but I don't recall ever doing it without any snow on the trail. The views from the ledges were excellent. Even higher up, there was only a tiny amount of ice, and it was easily avoidable. After enjoying the view from the summit of Roberts, I headed along High Ridge Trail. This is an old carriage road with gentle grades, though it does have some rocky sections and all the fallen leaves can obscure the rocks. It first dips into a shallow col and then rises gently toward Faraway. The trail runs right by a high-altitude marsh that seems to be the source of Shannon Brook - that was nice to see. The junction with the Faraway Summit Spur is unsigned but obvious, and the spur has a few wet areas but is easy to follow. The summit of Faraway is a large clearing with no views, but it did have a solar-powered tower of some sort. I saw more people than I was expecting during this part of the hike - I guess we all wanted to take advantage of such cool, clear weather! The viewpoint along High Ridge Trail past the spur was very nice, and then the trail does a long switchback to lose the necessary elevation to reach the top of Faraway Mountain Trail.
Since I had redlined this portion of Faraway Mountain Trail last weekend, I decided to do a little bit of bushwhacking to avoid all the switchbacks. It turned out to be pretty straightforward - it never got too steep or thick - and I made it down to the junction with Cold Spring Trail in about 25 minutes. I may have surprised a group of hikers who were ahead of me at the top of the trail, never saw me pass them, and then somehow encountered me eating lunch at the junction when they arrived there. From there, I redlined the rest of Faraway Mountain Trail over to Turtleback Mountain Trail, and then hiked that over to the start of Oak Ridge Trail. Oak Ridge Trail was a nice easy, gradual climb to a viewpoint and then a gradual descent. Disconcertingly, I encountered two different groups of hikers in this area who seemed to be looking for the waterfalls on Shannon Brook. I informed these hikers that the series of falls are actually below Shannon Pond, not above it, and tried to point them in the right direction.
This was an enjoyable hike - slightly more strenuous than the hike last weekend, but more varied and with better views, and I still got 5 new miles of redlining. Fun day! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-10-18 |
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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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