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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mowglis Mountain, Hanging Rocks, Cilley's Cave, Soup Bowl Glide, NH
Trails
Trails: Carter-Gibbs Trail, Elwell Trail, Mowglis Trail, Hanging Rock Spur Trail, old Hanging Rock Spur Trails, Cilley's Cave herd path, Groton-Orange Road, Province Road, bushwhack
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 12, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking at Hardy Country Rd (.7mi up from Sculptured Rocks Rd) - I parked roadside but there was nobody else there. Trail sign for Carter-Gibbs Trail is prominent but quite small.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: all easily rock-hoppable 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Most trails I was on had almost no visible footbed due to leaves but most were well-blazed. No sign for Hanging Rock spur path. There is also no longer any trail marker for Cilley's Cave but it's still easy to find. I did not see a trail marker for Mowglis Trail at the big log landing at the top of the Groton-Orange Rd. Groton-Orange Rd was (as usual) extremely rutted from ATV usage.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: didn't see any 
Bugs
Bugs: a few near the brooks 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: nothing 
 
Comments
Comments: Carter-Gibbs Trail, Elwell Trail, Mowglis Trail, Hanging Rock Spur Trail, unmaintained/closed Hanging Rock Spur Trails, Cilley's Cave herd path, Groton-Orange Road, Province Road, bushwhack up Dane Brook

Terrific day - around 11.5 miles for this loop. Saw a BIGLY group of people on the beaver pond overlook near Mowglis but that was it for anybody else today. Really pretty.

NOTE: my objective was the old trail around/under Hanging Rocks. After re-studying the 24th edition of the White Mountain Guide (1987), I realized it could be explored without ladders/ropes which is what earlier guides had suggested. The 24th edition was pretty accurate: "Hanging Rocks is an interesting glacial formation that forms a natural shelter. About 100 yds from the Mowglis Trail the spur forks. The right fork leads 0.1 mi across the top of the ledge, with a fine view east, and the left fork descends 0.1 mi among the rocks at the foot of the ledge. There is a steep connecting link at the far end of these paths." I recommend taking the left path for descent. I paced off about 100 yards and headed down near a big birch tree. There are lots of blowdowns and "holes" between the big chunks of rock so you have to be careful. At the bottom, there is a faint path under the overhang - it is quite impressive. You can crawl in amongst the lower boulders. At the far end, there is a big step up - i used a sapling to pull myself up. Then, the path kind of disappears and reappears in places, but, it's quite easy to find a way up away from the dropoff. It is quite steep getting back up but once above that big step, it was very doable.

From Hanging Rock, I headed back to re-check out Cilley's Cave - all things good there. Nice views back to Hanging Rocks. Then, I headed out via the Groton-Orange Rd. Around 1100' I cut in to Atwell Brook to look for Soup Bowl Glide - I'm pretty sure I found it but there is a HUGE pile of tree debris from the earlier brook blowout from the intense rains. Then, back down to the road - I walked a bit less than a mile and then turned up Dane Brook - very open woods along the stream - really incredible granite bowls in there! Once back up a half mile, I cut across the log landing where I had parked my car.  
Name
Name: Becca Munroe 
E-Mail
E-Mail: beccahiker@yahoo.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-10-12 
Link
Link: https:// 
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