| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Flat Mountain , NH |
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 | Trails: |
Drakes Brook Trail, Fletcher Cascade Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I was surprised to find the parking lot mostly full with a half dozen cars or so in it at 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easily rock hopable crossings on Fletcher Cascade Trail though the rocks were slick. I find a good enough place to cross Fletcher Cascade. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No blowdowns that I recall. Fletcher Cascade Trail is blazed in yellow. It’s old and not too frequent. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I’d be real careful with them in crossing the cascades and on the steep scrambly stuff you may hit climbing out of the ravine. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
I found what I’m pretty sure is an old sleeping bag on the north side of the cascade a short ways into my whack. Not far from the drainage. Elevation maybe 2300ft. Seems unusable at this point but feel free to message me if it’s yours. |
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 | Comments: |
Day 325, Peak 306. Quick post-work hike. Haven’t been here in years! It was nice to be back especially as I didn’t remember the trail or cascades well.
The trail was still a bit damp but drying out. Of course today’s weather will reverse that pattern. Many rocks along it were quite slick. Mud wasn’t too bad. The trail continues well beyond where at first I assumed it stopped and where it shows “Fletcher Cascades” on Gaia. They’re actually more consistent blazing beyond this though the trail is a bit steeper and rougher. From the true end of the trail, I crossed beneath the small waterfall getting only a little wet, and went into the woods. Very steep climb with a little bit of easy scrambling as I headed east out of the ravine. There were some larger boulders/scrambles too but you could avoid them. Woods were relatively thick too.
As I climbed out of the ravine and the grade lessened, the woods also opened up. I had good walking for a ways then came to some blowdowns and thicker woods. I think that was in the sag just shy of 3000ft. Overall though, I had usually good woods and gentle grades up to the summit. Woods became nicer and nicer as you approached the summit :) Some wet areas but I mostly avoided them. The summit is flat but I didn’t have much trouble finding the register. High point is a boulder right next to it which you can probably scramble up. I headed down the same way but on a more direct west line. A tenth or two of a mile west of the summit I got pulled into a swampy area, I ascended back up to a ridge, though a bit out of my way, and continued west from there, avoiding the swampy area.
At 2950ft, rather than cut a little south and descend down the very steep scrambly stuff to the end of Fletcher Cascade Trail, I continued due west and descended about 0.1mi north of my ascent line, hitting the first cascade; this is where Gaia shows the Fletcher Cascade icon. This descent was very steep and a little postholey (hurt my ankle once) but was quite doable and was certainly easier than the way I ascended. Quick walk back out the trail to my car and I clocked in at just under 6.5mi with a little less than 2000ft of gain. It took me 4hr15min with a decent break on top.
40 more days and 59 more peaks to go… |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-09-22 |
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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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