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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Gunstock Mountain , NH
Trails
Trails: Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Overlook Trail, Round Pond Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 12, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parking is at the big lot for Gunstock for both trails. Park just to the left of the ski lift for Brook Trail and head up to the kiosk. Stay to the right of it but bear left just after you pass it. There’s orange blaze there and a sign shortly thereafter. Overlook and Round Pound Trail start shortly before the road turns to gravel parking lot near the pond. Not much more than a dozen cars total in the lot around 8:30am. Probably close to 100 (mostly for zip lining and other non-hiking activities it seemed) by 1pm but still plenty of room.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: A small crossing on Brook Trail on the way up and another on Overlook Trail on the way down. Both were little streams and very simple.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Brook Trail is blazed in yellow, Overlook Trail is blazed in orange, and Saddle Trail is blazed in white. All were very well blazed and easy to follow. No blowdowns. I threw some small sticks/limbs off the trail. A section of Broom Trail right near the jct of Saddle Trail seems to have recently been rerouted. The new trail is as soft as a baby’s bottom and easy to follow. Kuddos to BRATTS!! Nevertheless, we went the wrong way here 😂 See my notes below. Also, these trails must drain very well as there was hardly any mud.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Didn’t see any but these trails would probably be fine for dogs. Might have to bring some extra water for Overlook a Trail.  
Bugs
Bugs: None 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: None 
 
Comments
Comments: Finally back at Southern New Hampshire redlining :D My father and I have been looking at this loop since spring and we finally got to do it! A nice way to finish celebrating his 73rd birthday week :) Unfortunately we were socked in at the summit and even we’ll before. This was sort of annoying as we did this in lieu of Pierce because my mother didn’t want to expend all the effort required of a 4000 footer to not get a view. Coincidentally, it seemed like the clouds were much higher across Lake Winnipesauke. Oh well.

There appears to be a very recent reroute of the Brook Trail near its jct with Saddle Trail. If ascending Brook Trail, you’ll descend briefly (enough that my dad was concerned we were going the wrong way) and then begin to see the land rise again ahead and to your right with lots of rocks suggesting it may be a little scramble. We were so fixated on this that we just headed in that direction instead of staying straight (left?) where the yellow blaze was. We soon became confused as there seemed to be a few diverging trails and the blaze disappeared. One “trail” led to a ski area and I figured that they just didn’t finish the blazing (I recall the guidebook mentioning hard to follow section of one at least one of the trails we were on today). We eventually reached the jct with the proper trail and noticed our mistake as there was yellow blaze and arrows. We descend this way and it was very soft and pleasant being new and you could see remnants of the trail construction; very cool and came complete with a picnic table! :)

Just before the end the jct of Overlook Trail and Round Pond Trail the road splits. The left fork is the proper trail although the both reach Round Pond Trail At nearly the same point. This spot was rather confusing because although the left fork is blazed in orange as Overlook Trail is, Gaia indicates that the right fork was Overlook Trail. Furthermore, neither fork was marked 7A (Short Oak) as the guidebook indicated it should. I think this is just a small trail error as coming on from the other direction it is labeled as 7A.

Beyond these two confusing points the hike was very straightforward. Brook Trail was not as steep as I thought it was and I didn’t think the footing was poor as the book described. Although there were plenty of wet rock and leaves on the trail (especially Overlook), neither seemed slippery for whatever reason. There was NO mud other than one little spot on one of the upper ski glades crossings on Brook Trail. VERY impressive.  
Name
Name: Liam Cooney 
E-Mail
E-Mail: liamcooney96@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-10-12 
Link
Link: https:// 
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