| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Blueberry Mountain, Owls Head (Benton), NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Long Pond Road, Blueberry Mountain Trail, bushwhack, unnamed trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, December 24, 2019 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked roadside at the junction of Long Pond Road and High Street in Benton. Long Pond Road is plowed due to the ongoing road repair, but is gated and closed until work is complete (it's gated in winter anyway). At times, the road may be posted against foot traffic when heavy equipment is in the area. The rebuilt road looks fantastic, hopefully it doesn't get wiped out again by nature. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blowdowns on BMT and one small leaner on the summit spur. Blazing is long overdue to be redone. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Nope. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
|
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|
 | Comments: |
Well, this didn't quite turn out as I planned, but still an adventure. :)
Minimal snow everywhere, I carried spikes but barebooted round-trip. Easy walking up the new road and very little ice on the upper ledges of the mountain. The snow was crusty enough to offer plenty of grip. From the summit, I descended to the northwest ledges, where someone built a snowman. Plenty of traffic on this side of the peak as well.
On the descent, I left the trail to trace the route of the upper section of the old Owls Head Trail as depicted on the 1930 USGS topo. No super clear signs of any trail corridor at this point, but I did find some random flagging and what looked like an old log bridge over a stream. Bushwhacking was easy through open woods with a few scrappy sections.
I popped out on the bootleg trail which leads to Owls Head and began to follow it back toward Long Pond Road, but soon lost it completely. Rather than bushwhack ahead through unknown terrain, I looped back to my bushwhack route, followed my tracks back up to the ridge, then walked the BMT out.
Great views from all the outlooks today and it was quite warm on the SE side of the mountain out of the wind and with the sun. |
|
 | Name: |
KenM |
|
 | E-Mail: |
kmacgray@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2019-12-24 |
|
 | 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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