| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bald Mountain (Milan) , NH |
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 | Trails: |
French Hill Extension, woods roads, herd paths, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, October 13, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
In Milan we drove French Hill Rd to just before its end and packed outside the gated French Hill Extension. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
no issues |
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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: |
We jumped on the unposted woods road known as French Hill Extension heading northeast/ turning east for about a mile. At this point we jumped off a well-traveled French Hill Extension and picked up another less traveled and a little overgrown woods road heading north then turning east.
At a half mile or so we crossed a steep drainage ditch and then within 50 yards we picked up an older woods’ road running north on the shoulder of Chickwolnepy Mountain. After a mile or so and past Chickwolnepy Mountain this wood road splits heading east / west with our destination Bald Mountain with its very steep and possible cliff like terrain directly in front of us.
That said we decided to approach this peak from the southeastern side that was a little bit less steep. We then headed east turning southeast in a much more overgrown woods road and within 300 yards or so we forked left or northeast for about 400 yards towards a clearing and the col between Chickwolnepy Mountain and Bald Mountain. To this point there was several up and down but nothing too bad.
From this clearing we could see all the new growth from previous logging running up the north side of Bald Mountain just to the knob or false bump. We then started bushwhacking north through this very tight, steep and slow-going new growth and after 400 feet of elevation gain in a quarter mile or so we popped out into nice woods that somewhat leveled out for a bit.
After crossing over that false bump, we dropped down crossing through some more new growth and headed straight up up up in nice woods towards the east side avoiding the cliff bands to the west. We then somewhat leveled out, turned west towards another false bump, dropped down and then we approached the steepest scramble of the day and the final push to lots of blow downs and the recognized high point of Bald Mountain ‘s summit.
Our plan was to then to summit Chickwolnepy Mountain and Chickwolnepy Mountain South peak but after getting a late start and nursing a bad knee we thought it would be best to save those for another day.
Really nice hike, we heard what we think was coyotes’ pups yipping in the valley, seen lots of moose and bear sign as clocked in 9.5 miles and 1650 feet of elevation gain.
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 | Name: |
Brian Bond |
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 | E-Mail: |
brianbond@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-10-14 |
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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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