| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Roberts, Faraway Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Roberts Trail, High Ridge Trail, herd path, Faraway Mountain Trail, Faraway Connector, Cold Spring Trail, Cold Spring Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 24, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Many different spots to park. There is a 'foot travel only' sign blocking car passage to the barn if you are thinking of parking there. The small parking lot before the gate was full by 10AM so I parked inside Castle Grounds beside the white fence and off the road. Still full around 2:15pm. The various parking areas inside the Castle Grounds were very full when I arrived and still hopping by the time I left. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Overall, these trails are in great shape in many ways and well maintained. I don't recall seeing many blowdowns, at least of note. I did take my saw and removed a small branch that required stepping over. Mount Roberts Trail, Faraway Mtn Trail, and Cold Spring Trail (and road) were all marked by orange diamonds. High Ridge Trail had blue diamonds. The unofficial trail to Faraway Mtn was not marked but was still on a wide road and obvious so no problem at all following it to its end. Cairns marked the Mt Roberts Trail on ledges. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw several and had no problems. These trails should be fine for most dogs but the loop I did may be long if they aren’t used to hiking. Beware that there’s no very little water anywhere on the loop and that this area is well known for proliferating ticks. |
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 | Bugs: |
Hardly saw any bugs but encountered ticks on the summit of Faraway Mountain. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Hike to Roberts and continued on High Ridge Trail, doing the out-and-back to the true summit of Faraway Mtn along the way, then took Faraway Mtn Trail, Faraway Connector and Cold Spring Trail/Rd down. My hike was just over 10 miles with 1600ft of gain.
The Mount Roberts Trail is VERY dry. Some spots of minor mud but it had mostly dried. No major mud, puddles, wet rock, etc. Very impressive! The lack of rain recently has really dried things out nicely where there wasn’t still more snow to melt (this continuing the endless mud cycle in those areas). There are just one or two spots of more significant mud on the High Ridge Trail around the swampy area but really not bad at all. Everything else was dry.
I think I only saw eight people once past Mt Roberts. Two trail runners presumably doing the loop I was doing or something very similar, I met the other four on the Faraway Mountain Spur. Then a couple heading on the High Ridge Trail possible heading over to Roberts. I had Mount Roberts summit all to myself for a few minutes. Pretty easy to social distance as it wasn’t overcrowded, had wide trails.
The trails were all very easy to follow. |
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 | Name: |
RollingRock |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-04-24 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/PemiValleyHikers/ |
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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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