| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Scar Ridge - West Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Access road, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, July 1, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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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: |
This is a hard bushwhack. But we were prepared (as you should be). First, the side-country ski trail/ herd path is very easy to follow. Just find the yellow sign just below the summit to the east, which mark the entrance. Follow this for 0.6 miles. This is where the bushwhack starts. Note that someone had placed an arrow with logs (obvious) at 0.55 miles pointing to the start of the bushwhack. The GPS track that I was following goes a little further on the ski trail, but we decided to enter at this point anyways. In reality, since there is no herd path that leads to the summit, so you can enter anywhere from 0.55 miles to 0.6 miles. From there, it truly is a bushwhack in it's fullest sense. I was trying not to deviate from the track that I had downloaded onto my GPS watch, but for the climbing portion, we were mostly climbing in the general direction of the summit via the path of least resistance. Resistance, however, is unavoidable. Some easier sections, some harder sections. Every so often, we would find what seemed like a herd path, which never lasted more than 20 or so feet. At around 3500 feet, lots of blowdowns. Near the summit, tight. It flattens out near the summit, and we followed an ill-defined herd path (through blowdowns) and kept expecting to see the canister at the next turn, but it was further along. Greeted by flies and mosquitoes at the summit, so signed the log, took our picture and u-turned. On the descent, relied on my GPS track for bearing. If you are not careful to stay near the ridge on the way down, the fall lines will bring you away from the shallow saddle at 2880 feet near the start of the bushwhack that you should be targeting. The actual bushwhack (2 mile loop) took 2 hours. Slow going, but expected. We took our time and enjoyed as much of it as possible. This was number 93 on our NEHH! More details and pictures on the activity link below. |
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 | Name: |
Paul Heron |
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 | E-Mail: |
pheron14@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-07-02 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/2496276990 |
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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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