| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhack, Isolation Trail, bushwhack, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Fully plowed with good access. Icy. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossing 2.5 of Rocky Branch (see comments section) is not fully bridged but is very doable with some caution.
Lots of wet sections with many of the small tributaries (and wet sections on the BWs) not fully bridged - but nothing complicated. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Blowdown section on Davis Path just before the Isolation Spur. Hard to see how bad this section is because of the snow. The tracks cut up to the summit before this section - hence it is avoidable. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Excellent trail conditions and route for the canines. Getting over or around the blowdown section before reaching Davis Path (see comments below) will be a challenge, though. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The main purpose of this report is to thank the people who broke this out - a superb effort - and to highlight that this is not the "normal" route.
The EH BW sits lower than what is usually the case in winter and I was initially a bit disappointed that it does not catch several of the nice open glades sections (only 2 on this route) - but it is a good route. However, it reaches the Isolation tr. well before the "normal" exit point (which is much closer to the 3rd crossing of Rocky Branch). Then it only follows Isolation tr. for only about 150-200 ft. before cutting down to Rocky Branch and over it. As this crossing is between the 2nd and 3rd crossing on the trail I'll call it crossing 2.5 (see comments on the crossing itself above).
Then the tracks take a direct route towards Isolation through mostly open woods. A couple of awkward blowdowns and a short narrow corridor just before reaching Davis Path are the only (small) challenges. It reaches Davis Path in the small col about 0.1 miles from the Isolation Spur tr.
The distance from the start of the EH BW to the summit is about 2.5 miles - maybe a little less - making this the shortest and most direct route to Isolation that I can think of. After some initial skepticism with respect to this route I now believe it was set by highly experienced people who knew exactly what they were doing. Again, a superb effort. Thank you!
Snowshoes door to door. Upper part of the trail is not very consolidated. A couple of shorter sections just before reaching the start of the EH BW are moose-postholed (no complaints, though! They have the right-of-way).
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 | Name: |
LongMark&Helle |
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 | E-Mail: |
perfrost@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-01-17 |
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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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