Trails Used

Signal Ridge Trail, Sawyer River Rd

Trail Conditions

Notes

There is some snow on the final stretch to the summit after signal ridge. It ranges from patches to covered. I imagine it will be melted by Wednesday. I put pictures on AllTrails if you want to see what snow looks like.

Water Crossings

One tough water crossing, ended up just walking trough it.

Trails Used

Sawyer River road, Signal Ridge trail & return

Trail Conditions

Notes

Started at 7:20 AM. Sawyer River road walk was quick and easy. Signal Ridge trail was in good shape. Water crossing was not difficult (stayed dry). Great views from the tower. Met a few hikers on my way down. Weather was unexpectedly good.

Parking

Empty lot early, a few cars later.

Water Crossings

Rock hopped the wide crossing on the Signal Ridge trail. Stayed dry.

Wildlife

A few

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road and Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Finished my NH48 on a beautiful day on Carrigain which delivered its famous views. The road walk was fine, but what people don’t mention is it does add substantial elevation, not just distance. It basically turns a moderate difficulty 4000 footer (10 miles and 3400’ of elevation gain) into one of the more strenuous outings (14.5 miles and 4000’ elevation gain). So yes, the road is a relatively easy way to begin and end, but you do end up feeling it. I would actually rate the difficulty of this hike as comparable to Owl’s Head (with the bushwacks) and Isolation (via Rocky Branch). I took what I think was the old water crossing (trail left headed in) despite the logs blocking the option. It was shallow and made for easy barefoot wading on relatively small/flat rocks. I rock hopped the remaining crossings. It was a relative warm and humid day given the prior day’s rain, which seemed to inspire the black flies. They weren’t much of an issue as long as you kept moving. They were worst on Signal Ridge which was breezeless. A few mosquitos made an appearance over the day.

Parking

Easy parking (large lot)

Water Crossings

Waded the shallow old crossing (to the left). Rock hopped others.

Wildlife

They’re out. Mostly black flies but also a few mosquitos. Worst was on Hurricane ridge where there was no breeze.

Trail Conditions

Notes

Exceptional heat and humidity during hike. Part of a grid-getting challenge. Led by Redline Guide Chase Hall.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Signal Ridge Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail, Vose Spur herd path, bushwhack

Trail Conditions

Notes

A worthy challenge today, tackling not only Vose Spur but also the connecting ridge to Carrigain so I could get my reward of sweeping views from the tower. The forecast was for potential rain showers, but fortunately there was only a couple occasions of drizzle lightly wetting things; the sun made quick work of that once it came out. I started the bushwhack up Vose Spur right upon the end of the last drizzle. The herd path to Vose Spur starts after (not at) the big rock at the south end of Carrigain Notch. The trail makes a bend left after the rock, and then you'll see an obvious path opening to the left (not marked by a cairn). It quickly becomes a stream and it's not always obvious that it's the herd path - but it is. After a few hundred vertical feet, it enters deciduous woods for another few hundred feet before entering the conifers for good. Someone has put down sporadic pink flagging to mark key locations of the path (they're more useful for ensuring you're on the right track rather than as a way to follow the trail). In general, if you're good at following such paths, you won't have a hard time staying reasonably on track. Once the herd path reaches the crest of the south slope of Vose Spur, it is pretty easy to follow to the rock slide. Occasional small blowdowns means you'll have to correct course a few times. Upon reaching the slide, move up along the right side for best footing. At the top end, the path exits to the left and then becomes quite steep and trickier to follow. You'll need to pull yourself up by tree roots, etc. Once you reach the summit crest, there is lots of blowdown and you'll need to navigate it to the summit on the far side. It was a nice workout to get here, and the temps were beautiful and the bugs kept at bay. I'm definitely going to consider this time of year to get in some of the other Hundred Highest semi-bushwhack peaks! Now for Carrigain. It is actually pretty easy to get to the col between Vose Spur and Carrigain if you stay on the N side of the Vose Spur crest on the way down - forest is relatively open. The col is a bit thicker, but it's not too hard to get to the rock slide below the NE sub peak of Carrigain. Some nice rare views from there. At the top of the right side of the slide is a small opening where it's evident others have gone before. But that route is only clear for about 50 feet - the next 200 feet or so is the crux, just straight up whacking through thick brush and doing your best to gain elevation. As you go higher, perhaps trend to the right to try to get more open woods, but you'll still need to work hard. It took me just over an hour to get from Vose Spur to the top of the sub peak. From the sub peak to Carrigain, there is a very faint herd path. Lots of little blowdowns means you must weave left and right along the ridge - but thankfully there's no huge deadfalls. Some snow patches were along the ridge in this section. Near the top of Carrigain the scrub gets a bit thicker. There is a nice small alpine meadow on the E side of the small bump just east of the Carrigain summit. My time from Vose Spur to Carrigain was 2 1/2 hours. Beautiful breeze and temps on the top. I only saw 2 people all day, on the Signal Ridge Trail. There were just 2 tiny avoidable monorails in one spot on the way down, the only actual snow on a maintained trail. The final upper elevations of deciduous forest (2000-2500 feet) are just beginning to leaf out.

Parking

As most know, Sawyer River Road is closed indefinitely, adding 4 miles to the round trip hike.

Water Crossings

Carrigain Brook is still running a bit high - had to take off my boots to ford it. On the way back, was able to rock hop due to more stable footing at the end of the hopping. Most would still want to ford though.

Wildlife

Some present, but thankfully not a nuisance yet! That will likely change quickly due to 5/19 and 5/20's warm weather.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

A few tiny avoidable patches of snow near top.

Water Crossings

Impossible to cross without getting wet. High water. Kept trail sneakers on and wet to just below knee.

Wildlife

Some no see ums but not bad

Trails Used

Road walk, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Conditions are great right now. The trail conditions have almost completely transitioned into spring, with only a small amount of monorail above 3,850, but it is easily avoidable and spikes are no longer needed at all. While it's pretty muddy in its usual spots along the corduroy road, it's generally pretty dry. Get it before the bugs come!

Parking

I was the third car in the lot at 7 AM, but it was basically full by 12:45.

Water Crossings

The "new" crossing can be managed going over logs, but poles are very helpful. The water is too high at the old crossing to rock hop.

Wildlife

Saw a few flies around, but nothing too bad.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

A good hike with excellent trail conditions and weather. Road walk added 4 miles to hike. Trails were mostly dry - no big mud - no running water down trails. Up high there was a rotting monorail easily walked beside or on. Traction not needed. Signal Ridge to summit snow free. A great time to snag Carrigain.

Parking

Route 302 Parking Lot - plenty of room

Water Crossings

Rock hop - no problem

Wildlife

None - Zero - a miracle on this trail.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

A good hike with excellent trail conditions and weather. Road walk added 4 miles to hike. Trails were mostly dry - no big mud - no running water down trails. Up high there was a rotting monorail easily walked beside or on. Traction not needed. Signal Ridge to summit snow free. A great time to snag Carrigain.

Parking

Route 302 Parking Lot - plenty of room

Water Crossings

Rock hop - no problem

Wildlife

None - Zero - a miracle on this trail.

Trails Used

Road walk, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Trail was dry except for the minor perpetual mud around the installed stepping stones. Vestiges of a monorail appeared midway up the long straightaway and stretches of full, stable monorail covered the trail leading up to Signal Ridge but not beyond. Much of the monorail could be avoided along its side. Overall, conditions were ideal. Great hike with Chris in weather and conditions that made the hike seem shorter than the 14 miles. We were entertained by boreal chickadees in the woods below Signal Ridge.

Parking

Only one car in the lot all day.

Water Crossings

The crossing on the old trail segment could be rock hopped, staying dry.

Wildlife

A swarm of blow flies buzzed along Signal Ridge, for some reason. No biting insects.

Trails Used

summer route

Trail Conditions

Notes

Road walk included. Warm temperatures made monorail descent tedious but no postholing. Saw Ken Cutting and 3 backpackers filtering water. Otherwise quiet. Hiked with dog Echo.

Water Crossings

Single water crossing on way up with dry feet. Crossing was ankle deep on way down.

Trail Conditions

Notes

Camped below the tower on Carrigain. Took a bushwhacking detour to Signal Ridge Parking Lot Peak for the NH500. Observed fire in the area of Frankenstein Cliff while driving north through Crawford Notch.

Trails Used

Roadwalk, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

April on Carrigain are words that would normally make me shiver. Could not have asked for a better day, all things considered. Little bit of monorail was supportive. Some in spikes, some in bareboots. Jeremy and I wore shorts and trail runners, it was dreamy out.

Parking

Same same, still closed, yay roadwalkin’ for extra credit/snacks.

Water Crossings

On the way up we took the old trail, Jeremy and I took our shoes/socks off and cold soaked our hooves, Donna put some bags on. Way down we took the regular trail and with the various logs that always seem to collect here were able to get across with dry feet.

Wildlife

Couple things flying, nothing landing.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

The high water crossing and the thin monorail that swung back and forth between stable and collapsible made this a true April hike. Barebooted all the way up to the summit. Wore rock spikes down, then took them off too early and took a tumble before putting them back on. But snowshoes not necessary nor helpful for the amount of snow left on this day.

Parking

Room for 20 or so cars at the winter lot, which seems like the forever lot as Sawyer River Road is still washed out.

Water Crossings

The major water crossing was high, but wadeable, up to about my ankles. Go just upriver from the trail and the current is slower and brook bed is flatter.

Wildlife

Not yet.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Sporadic snow covering half the trail starting at 2800', can easily be avoided. Around 3000', snow covers most of the trail for a quarter mile, but is never more than a foot deep. The higher you go, the snow disappears and reappears for no rhyme or reason. A three-foot-deep monorail for a hundred feet is followed by a trace of snow in other spots. Most of the time, the monorail was around a foot deep and stable. Signal Ridge is bare ground, and the final half-mile is 90% snow free, no spikes needed. With today's warm temperatures, this could have been bare-booted up with little to no issue and bare-booted down with care. I wore my rock spikes so I could move a little faster. With the cold weather coming over the next week, rock spikes will probably be a good choice. Nice morning for a cruise up Carrigain, made it to the tower before the clouds came rolling through to catch some sweet views with the Dood!

Parking

Big lot off 302. One other car there at 6AM, about twenty there at 10:30AM

Water Crossings

Running a little high. I just walked through the water, under a foot deep at most, water current was a non-issue.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Rd and Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Overall great conditions! Bareboots for the first 4 miles on a mix of bare ground (road is 99% clear) and snow and ice but easily avoided or walked on. I put on rock spikes on the 2nd lower switchback all the way to the summit and back then bareboots out. The trail above this was consistently snow and a little ice but fairly grippy. The trail and occasional monorail was flat, wide, firm and stable and made for fast easy hiking up and down! Probably the best Carrigain hike ever!

Parking

3 cars at 730 am. Plenty of room.

Water Crossings

Winter route 1st water crossing was deep enough to warrant garbage gaiters in the morning but was rock hopable with some moderate boot submersion in the afternoon. 2nd and 3rd water crossings were easy rock hops.

Wildlife

A few scouts out and about.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Our crew found the conditions really good. The road walk was mostly bare with some ares of ice and slush. We put on spikes as soon as we started up Signal Ridge trail. There were still areas of mud and bare ground and rock but plenty of ice to make spikes a good call. The water crossing was high as we expected, but not moving too fast. Up higher the snowpack was firm and the monorail held up well. Don't stray from it or you will posthole. There is one stretch of blue ice on the last push to the summit that was covered by the fresh snow. Good spikes worked well but rock spikes slid. This was a wonderful day with friends and both Dave and I gridded this one out!

Parking

We parked in the lot at the end of Sawyer River Road which was clear of ice and snow and had plenty of room.

Water Crossings

We opted to take the regular trail not the winter route which meant only one water crossing. It was high enough that we donned trash bags/waterproof boot covers. Both options worked well and we crossed successfully. Levels were higher on the return trip.

Wildlife

Still in Hell

Trail Conditions

Notes

Firm conditions on ascent, mushy conditions on descent

Trails Used

Road Walk, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Nice seeing Chad out there today. Read his report first. We met Chad near the top of the "misery mile” as we were heading up and he was heading down. As we were on the trails later in the afternoon, the snow was softer so there was more posthole action up high by the three hikers that were not in snowshoes. 5 of us were in snowshoes for the steeps on the way up and down. The trail was mostly in good shape with some bare ground down low with small patches of ice throughout. The road walk was mostly clear with snow mostly at the start then patches ice and snow while the majority of the road was clear.

Parking

dry and clear

Water Crossings

The choice today was wet feet or plastic bags/waders. While we made it across mostly dry in the morning, conditions had changed by the time we returned with higher water levels.

Wildlife

I counted seven (7) little black flies on the flats.

Trails Used

Road Walk, Signal Ridge Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Surprisingly good conditions for April. Barebooted all the way to the summit thanks to packed early morning trails. Wore spikes on the way down as the trails were getting soft. Post holed a few times, but the descent was best described as getting choppy and 3 inch divots every few steps. A few hikers were wearing snow shoes which helped pack the trail a bit, but it's very much a choose your own traction situation. Great to meet Chief and his crew today.

Parking

About 8 cars all morning

Water Crossings

Didn't have much luck finding a rock path, so I opted to cross in Crocs. The water is about a foot deep and much warmer than I expected.

Trails Used

Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail, cut off, Signal Ridge

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The road has bare spots and was unpleasently slushy by day's end. The flat part of signal ridge is in great shape, very easy, I chose microspikes but probably could have barebooted. The 3 miles of incline was perfect sticky lumpy snow - not slushy - I switched to snowshoes which made it much easier. I only saw one posthole. I also saw a mink by the observation tower.

Water Crossings

on the cut off that bypasses the Carrigain Notch Trail there are 2 significant water crossing that require some balance skill, water rose throughout the day. All others are small and hoppable.

Wildlife

saw a few towards the base