| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Stub Hill, North Stub Hill, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Road walk, herd path, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We approached from the Stub Hill Rd side. The plan was to drive as far up the road as we could and hopefully make it to the col between the north peaks. To get here, we took Magalloway Rd, to Smith Brook Rd, then onto Stub Hill Rd. Magalloway Rd has some large rocks popping out of it and many potholes. Some of the rocks would scrap even a mid-clearance vehicle so while the road is wide enough that you can dodge them, low and mid clearance vehicles will need to exercise some caution. Smith Brook Rd was a little narrower but was in fine shape. Stub Hill Rd I was rougher. Something on my car got scraped a couple times though it didn’t seem to do any damage. You’re going to want, at minimum, mid-clearance for the road. We pulled over at a rough, exposed culvert just below 2800ft and paired roadside (which was only a little tricky). In retrospect though, my car probably would’ve gotten over the culvert and from there on the road would’ve been okay but the culvert was definitely a bit sketchy. Mid-clearance minimum and high-clearance recommended. AWD/4WD will help but isn’t necessary. My FWD did okay. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Herd path was in fine shape. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
They were obnoxious on the summit and my can of bug spray stopped working here if I recall correctly |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Day 241, Peak 232 & 233. 1st hike of the day. Late start at noon so it was warm but overall a very nice weather day. We walked the remaining 1.5mi or so along the road to the col between the two peaks. I was cursing myself the entire way claiming “I coulda gotten over that damn culvert!” Oh well, we played it safe. Note that the road continues slightly beyond the col but it makes sense to start your hike in the grassy clearing in the col.
From the col and the grassy clearing where you could park, look for a path into the woods. This is the herd path that brings you to the pond N/NE of the main peak. The path is somewhat lightly travelled, narrow, and a bit overgrown but easy to follow. Moderate grades to the HOL on the path, then gently descends a very short ways to the pond. The footing of course had to become very wet and muddy if we wanted a view of the pond. No wildlife seen but very scenic.
My friend had heard there was also a herd path to the summit shortly before the pond so we retraced our steps a little ways looking for one but inky found another short path that led to the pond. We finally started up something I’ll defined but it fizzled out. No matter though; a very short (less than 1/4mi) whack at a moderate grade up through thick ferns. We hit the summit ridge also most 0.1mi NE of the summit. We were mostly able to follow herd paths from here to the canister which wasn’t hard to find but may be a bit further along the ridge than you’d guess. We signed in and returned on a relatively similar line back to the herd path and followed it back to the col.
We then headed up North Stub. Because this is such a short whack I didn’t pay much attention to my bearing and just went up which was perhaps a mistake. I often get lazy on these short peaks. Woods were steep at times and thick at times. Little bit of everything on this one. We occasionally ran into what we think was a herd path marked with (blue? green?) surveyors tape. I hadn’t read about this but my friend said that a report said the path was hard to follow on the way up but it was worth following on the way down as it took them around some blowdowns. I hit the summit ridge almost 0.2mi W/SW of the highpoint and we then had to walk through some brush and blowdowns (no huge blowdown patches though) to the summit. Thick at times. Again, sort of an interesting mountain with a variety of woods. Nothing terrible though and like I said I probably made this much more difficult than it needed to be. Canister wasn’t too tricky to find.
Rather than return the same way, we aimed closer to our car instead at about 2950ft on the road. We headed NW off the summit for about 1/4mi then W/SW for almost a 1/2mi. Not a straight line at all that I made ;P Woods were a bit scrappy. Similar to many Pittsburgh woods where you’ve got long gone overgrown skidder roads in the softwoods. Nothing too bad though and it was certainly less distance and at least a little quicker than returning to the col between the peaks. Quick walk 1/3mi back to the car from here.
124 more days and 142 more peaks to go… |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-07-01 |
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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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