| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Hall's Ledge, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Hall's Ledge Trail, Hutman's Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, May 28, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking at Rocky River...all NH plates in parking lot for the first time this year. 4 cars total. There is no parking at the traihead, which is down behind a guardrail on the bridge over the Ellis River. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None of note |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail is overgrown in areas; a lot of getting whacked by Beech saplings |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitoes, black flies, even deer flies are out in full force. Lots of standing water on the ski-trails portion of this loop. Bring lots of DEET and consider a mosquito net. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Did the 7.5 mile loop up Hall's ledge and down Hutman's (with a 1.5 mile road walk on 16) for our redlining quest. The west side climbing the ledge is steadily steep until on the ridge. Once on the ledge there is little elevation changes of note until the last half mile descent which is similarly steep. The trail can require some slight care at times to follow going up Hall's Ledge. This trail is lightly used, covered in a significant amount of leaves in the lower section masking mud underneath, but is blazed well. Almost the entirety of the hike (with the exception of the two steep sections) the trail is riddled with poison ivy. Near the trail, on the trail; we had to be hyper vigilant the entire time, with much deliberate high-stepping and creative footing to avoid touching the ivy. I would highly recommend pants for this hike regardless of weather. If you are extremely allergic I would avoid these trails all together. The only place I've seen ivy worse so far was when we decided to head down a ski trail on Waterville valley in the summer once (whoops). There is a nice viewpoint looking south a little ways east of Hall's ledge which has a sign with the mountains being labeled for you, which I always appreciate.
Upon reaching the ski trails at Hall's Ledge, you stay on them until the last half mile of the hike, which means a wide easy trail. It also still means much poison ivy, and many sections were completely waterlogged on Hutman's. This led to battling foot placement between getting your feet soaked or traipsing into poison ivy. The bugs were ferocious in this section. If not for the winning combo of bugs, heat, water, and ivy, this would have been a nice pleasant loop through some nice forest. As it is, I would recommend you do this trail much earlier in the season before the ivy and bugs are out; I think it would be much more enjoyable then.
As a nice bright spot, we met a guy named Mike in the parking lot, who, along with his wife Lauren, are finishing up their second grid pretty soon (his wife might have already finished...I can't remember). He attempted Isolation, but the water crossing is still chest high, so it was a no go. Really great guy; he was a pleasure to talk to, and good inspiration for us to get out into the Whites even more. Thanks for the conversation Mike. |
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 | Name: |
HotRodJimmy |
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 | E-Mail: |
hotrodjimmy04@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-05-28 |
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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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