| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Blueberry Mountain, Owls Head (Benton), NH |
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 | Trails: |
Long Pond Road, Blueberry Mountain Trail, bushwhack, unnamed trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, December 26, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Room for one car next to gate (not blocking it) on Long Pond Road where Dan parked. I parked on side of High Street where it intersects with Long Pond Road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few easy blowdowns |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Fin had a blast-great trail for dogs. No scrambling and easy grades. |
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 | Bugs: |
none |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Margaret lost a mitten on the bushwhack so we re-traced our steps and luckily found it 1/2 mile from Owls Head cliffs on the flat, easy, open section |
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 | Comments: |
We followed in Ken M's footsteps (literally) from the ledges down to Owl's Head. Like he said on his 12/24 report it was mostly easy whacking with a few gnarlier spots. We saw lots of fresh bear and moose tracks on this section, and one large, fairly fresh pile of moose scat. Fin had her bear bell on and we made lots of random noises to scare the critters away. We lost Ken's prints a few times but would just use GPS and kept finding his path again. We then successfully followed yellow blazes for the bootleg trail down the mountain. The blazes were very apparent for the first few hundred feet and then they became much more faded and obscure. It was a blast looking for them and the hiking was easy- the trail basically runs South-North along the side-hill contour on a topo map. Sometimes the corridor was obvious, other times we had to stop and scratch our heads and hunt around a bit for the next blaze. About halfway back to BMT this bootleg trail jumps onto an old logging road for a hundred yards or so before dipping back into the woods on the right(blaze). At this point we scared up a snowshoe hare and had the pleasure of watching it bolt through the woods for a hundred feet until out of sight. Luckily Fin was doing her own thing and was oblivious to the fleeing rabbit. The very bottom of bootleg trail coincides with another logging road, which spits you out right back on the BMT. Really fun adventure. This route turns a somewhat tedious out and back into a fun-filled lollipop. Cool views of Mount Mist and Webster Slide from Owls Head. Spikes were not necessary but I prefer using them when I have the munchkin on my back. Dan prefers them because he is weak and unsure on his feet, I suppose... |
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 | Name: |
Spence and Dan and Margaret and Fin the Dog |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-12-26 |
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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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